2026 WRC2 Championship
The 2026 FIA WRC2 Championship was the fourteenth season of WRC2, a rallying championship for organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the second-highest tier of international rallying. It was open to privateers and teams using cars complying with Group Rally2 regulations.[1] The championship began in January 2026 with the Monte Carlo Rally and concluded in October 2026 with the Rally Italia Sardegna, and runs in support of the 2026 World Rally Championship.
Calendar
[edit]The 2026 season was scheduled to be contested over fourteen rounds across Europe, Africa, South America and Asia, but it was ultimately reduced to thirteen rounds.
| Round | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 January | 25 January | Gap, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France | Mixed[a] | 17 | 339.15 km | [2] | |
| 2 | 12 February | 15 February | Umeå, Västerbotten County, Sweden | Snow | 18 | 300.66 km | [3] | |
| 3 | 12 March | 15 March | Nairobi, Nakuru County, Kenya | Gravel | 20 | 350.52 km | [4] | |
| 4 | 9 April | 12 April | Rijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia | Tarmac | 20 | 300.28 km | [5] | |
| 5 | 23 April | 26 April | Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain | Tarmac | 18 | 322.04 km | [6] | |
| 6 | 7 May | 10 May | Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal | Gravel | 23 | 344.91 km | [7] | |
| 7 | 28 May | 31 May | Toyota, Aichi, Japan | Tarmac | 20 | 302.82 km | [8] | |
| 8 | 25 June | 28 June | Loutraki, Corinthia, Greece | Gravel | 17 | 323.31 km | [9] | |
| 9 | 16 July | 19 July | Tartu, Estonia | Gravel | 18 | 301.80 km | [10] | |
| 10 | 30 July | 2 August | Jyväskylä, Central Finland, Finland | Gravel | 20 | 316.60 km | [11] | |
| 11 | 27 August | 30 August | Encarnación, Itapúa, Paraguay | Gravel | 22 | 358.88 km | [12] | |
| 12 | 10 September | 13 September | Talcahuano, Biobío, Chile | Gravel | 16 | 311.70 km | [13] | |
| 13 | 1 October | 4 October | Alghero, Sardinia, Italy | Gravel | 17 | 306.92 km | [14] | |
| Sources:[15][16][17] | ||||||||
The 2026 Rally Saudi Arabia was included on the original calendar published by WRC Promoter GmbH and was scheduled to be the fourteenth round of the championship, but was later removed from the season:
| Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Removal reason | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 November | 14 November | Jeddah, Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia | Gravel | 16 | 320.34 km | 2026 Iran war | [18] | |
| Sources:[15][16][17] | ||||||||
Calendar changes
[edit]
- The Croatia Rally returned to the championship after missing the 2025 season, replacing the Central European Rally.[19] The rally featured new headquarters in Rijeka, instead of Zagreb and a brand new set of mixed tarmac stages.[20]
- The Italian Rally and Rally Japan swapped calendar slots, and the new Rally di Roma Capitale was confirmed to replace the Rally Italia Sardegna from 2027 onwards.[21]
- The organisers of the Acropolis Rally announced a change of its headquarters, with Loutraki serving as the new base after five years in Lamia.[22]
- The Rally Saudi Arabia was set to hold the season finale, but it was removed from the calendar in September due to the 2026 Iran war.[23] An all-gravel round in Catalonia, Spain was reportedly mooted as a replacement, however this did not materialise as the deadline for its confirmation was not met.[17]
Entrants
[edit]The following teams and crews were under contract to contest the WRC2 championship in 2026. All crews competed under Rally2 regulations and use tyres provided by Hankook. Teams had to enter two crews to be eligible for Teams' Championship points.
Results and standings
[edit]Season summary
[edit]Scoring system
[edit]A team has to enter two cars to score points in an event. Drivers and teams must nominate a scoring rally when they enter the event. Originally, the best six scores from seven nominated rallies counted towards the final classification, but in response to the removal of Rally Saudi Arabia from the calendar, the FIA reduced the eligible score requirement to the best five of seven rounds. Registered drivers are able to enter additional rallies with Priority 2 status without scoring points.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
FIA WRC2 Championship for Drivers
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FIA WRC2 Championship for Co-Drivers
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FIA WRC2 Championship for Teams
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FIA WRC2 Challenger Championship for Drivers
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FIA WRC2 Challenger Championship for Co-Drivers
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Notes
[edit]- ↑ The Monte Carlo Rally was run on a tarmac and snow surface.
References
[edit]- ↑ "2022 FIA World Rally Championship – Sporting regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ↑ "Itinerary Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ↑ "Itinerary Rally Sweden 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
- ↑ "Itinerary Safari Rally Kenya 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ↑ "Itinerary Croatia Rally 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ↑ "Itinerary Rally Islas Canarias – Rally of Spain 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ↑ "Itinerary Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ↑ "Itinerary FORUM8 Rally Japan 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Itinerary EKO Acropolis Rally Greece 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ↑ "Itinerary Delfi Rally Estonia 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
- ↑ "Itinerary Secto Rally Finland 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ↑ "Itinerary Ueno Rally del Paraguay 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ "Itinerary Rally Chile BIOBÍO 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ "Itinerary Rally Italia Sardegna 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
- 1 2 "2026 FIA World Rally Championship calendar revealed". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- 1 2 "FIA World Motor Sport Council approves 2026 WRC Calendar". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- 1 2 3 Evans, David (17 September 2025). "WRC drops 2026 season finale and won't replace it". DirtFish. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ↑ "Itinerary Rally Saudi Arabia 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
- ↑ Howard, Tom (15 November 2024). "Croatia strikes new deal to rejoin WRC in 2026". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ↑ Heinonen, Toni (12 December 2025). "Croatia's WRC rally set for a complete overhaul". rallyjournal.com. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
- ↑ Barry, Luke (31 July 2025). "WRC 2026 calendar confirmed". DirtFish. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ↑ "A New Chapter for EKO Acropolis Rally Greece: Loutraki to host the 2026 edition". Acropolis Rally. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
- ↑ Howard, Tom (17 September 2026). "Evans favourite to become WRC champion as Rally Saudi Arabia is cancelled". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Entries Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- 1 2 "Entries Rally Sweden 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
- 1 2 "Entries Safari Rally Kenya 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- 1 2 "Entries Croatia Rally 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- 1 2 "Entries Rally Islas Canarias - Rally of Spain 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- 1 2 "Entries 59. Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Entries FORUM8 Rally Japan 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Entries 70. EKO Acropolis Rally Greece 2026". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ↑ "Rapid Rossel rules WRC2 at Rallye Monte-Carlo". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 January 2026. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ↑ "Korhonen conquers WRC2 in Sweden". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 February 2026. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ↑ "Virves claims WRC2 victory on Safari Rally Kenya debut". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 March 2026. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ↑ "Last-stage twist sends Katsuta to Croatia Rally win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 12 April 2026. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
- ↑ "Rossel wins WRC2 as Léo hits late heartbreak". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 April 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ↑ "Suninen stays steady to take WRC2 honours in Portugal". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 10 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "Gryazin survives Cachón charge to claim WRC2 victory in Japan". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 31 May 2026. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "Virves wins as Korhonen takes WRC2 lead in Greece". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 28 June 2026. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
- ↑ "Virves victorious at home in nail-biting WRC2 finale". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 19 July 2026. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Suninen penalty hands Virves WRC2 victory in Finland". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 2 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "Domínguez seals dream home WRC2 victory in Paraguay". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 31 August 2026. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ "Rossel claims WRC2 honours as Virves tightens grip on title". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 14 September 2026. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- ↑ "Korhonen takes control of WRC2 fight in Sardinia". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 4 October 2026. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
- ↑ Howard, Tom (17 September 2026). "Evans favourite to become WRC champion as Rally Saudi Arabia is cancelled". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "WRC2 standings 2026". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
External links
[edit]- Official website (in English, French, and Spanish)
- FIA WRC2 Championship 2026 at eWRC-results.com
- FIA WRC2 Championship for Challenger 2026 at eWRC-results.com