Evans favourite to become WRC champion as Rally Saudi Arabia is cancelled

The FIA has confirmed that the 2026 World Rally Championship season finale in Saudi Arabia has been cancelled and will not be replaced - so Rally Sardinia is now the last round.

Saudi Arabia was due to host its rally on 11-14 November, but it was among many motorsport events in the Middle East facing uncertainty amid the ongoing conflict in the region.

This decision follows weeks of discussions and comes days after both Toyota and Hyundai communicated to the FIA that team members cannot travel to the Middle East due to company wide travel policies.

M-Sport-Ford had been prepared to travel to Saudi Arabia as of last week given the British foreign office declared it was safe to travel to Jeddah and the surrounding region.

The British team had also sought safety assurances from event organisers, but from Wednesday the foreign office updated its advice advising against travel to parts of Saudi Arabia.

So the WRC and FIA had been closely monitoring the situation and remained in dialogue with event organisers and teams to evaluate all options to allow the event to continue.

Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

But the FIA has now made the decision to cancel it, as the governing body's president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “We have worked closely with our partners in Saudi Arabia, our member club the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, WRC Promoter and our championship stakeholders in recent months to explore every possible route that would allow Rally Saudi Arabia to take place as planned.

"However, ongoing regional developments mean that the WRC element of Rally Saudi Arabia will not proceed this year. These are never easy decisions, particularly after the significant work undertaken by everyone involved in preparing for the event.

“While the WRC element of the event will not take place this year, our confidence in the organisers and in the long-term future of the rally remains unchanged.

"The FIA Middle East Rally Championship event will continue as planned in November, and we will continue to work closely with SAMF, SMC and the organising team to support the successful delivery of the event in November.

“Our focus now is firmly on the future. We will continue working together with our partners in Saudi Arabia and WRC Promoter towards bringing the FIA World Rally Championship back in 2027."

Rally Saudi Arabia made its WRC debut last year in what was the first round of a significant 10-year deal signed with the championship in 2024.  

Mohammed ben Sulayem, FIA President

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

A move to end the season at Rally Sardinia on 1-4 October has come as a surprise. It had been anticipated that in the event of Saudi Arabia being cancelled, a replacement round would be sought to fulfill the 14-round calendar.

Speculation had suggested that Rally Catalunya in Spain could fill the void, but instead the season will end a round early.

This will have a significant impact on the title race which had 21 points covering the top three after Oliver Solberg hauled himself into the picture after winning in Chile last weekend.

It now means Elfyn Evans looks set to become Britain’s first WRC champion since Richard Burns in 2001, with the Welshman leading Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari by 17 points.

In WRC2, meanwhile, the news has resulted in Robert Virves being crowned champion as the Toksport Skoda driver leads second-placed Yohan Rossel by 32 points with 25 available.