The FIA has announced the return of Rally Spain and Rally Australia, along with seven other events on the provisional calendar the 2021 FIA World Rally Championship season.
In a World Motorsport Council meeting chaired by FIA President Jean Todt, and FIA Deputy President for Sport, Graham Stoker, a proposal for the 2021 calendar was approved along with regulation changes ahead of the 2020 season.
The first nine events of the season have been confirmed, with some having been announced in 2019. The provisional calendar sees the return of both Rally Spain and Rally Australia. Rally Australia was dropped in 2020 to make way for Rally Zealand, however it was confirmed that Australia will be back in 2021, in a new location. Coffs Harbour has hosted the rally since 2011.
Dates of these rounds, and the remaining events are yet to be confirmed by the FIA.
In 2021 you will see the WRC visiting:
| Rally | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Monte Carlo 1 | Tarmac | |
| Finland | Gravel | |
| Portugal | Gravel | |
| Sweden | Snow | WMSC confirmed in 2019 |
| Kenya | Gravel | WMSC confirmed in 2019 |
| Spain | Tarmac | WMSC confirmed in 2019 1 |
| Italy | Gravel | WMSC confirmed in 2019 |
| Japan | Tarmac | WMSC confirmed in 2019 |
| Australia 2 | Gravel | WMSC confirmed in 2019 1 |
2. New location, same organiser
*Monte Carlo is subject to an agreement with the event promoter.
In the meeting it was also confirmed that there will be cost-saving measures implemented in the regulations to aid with the restart of 2020 season, following the global Covid-19 outbreak.
This includes a reduction in the number of engines used by teams, from three to two if there are fewer than eight rounds in 2020, and a limit on pre-event testing to one day for every manufacturer driver entered in a European WRC round, with the test used before the corresponding round.
