The inaugural Rally Scotland will take place from 30 September to 3 October in an extended 2027 World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar released by the FIA and the sport's promoters. The gravel event in Aberdeenshire will form the 12th round of a 15-event calendar, joining the USA as new events on the schedule. It is the first time the United Kingdom has hosted a WRC round since 2019, and BBC Sport will provide extensive live coverage.
The event will also be a home round for new world champion Elfyn Evans, who clinched the title in dramatic circumstances in Sardinia after rival Oliver Solberg crashed at the end of the final stage. Evans became the first WRC champion from the UK in 25 years and joined the late Colin McRae and Richard Burns as the sport's top-level title winners. Northern Ireland drivers Josh McErlean and Jon Armstrong also competed at the top level in 2026 and will be aiming to return next year.
The season starts on icy tarmac in Monte Carlo from 21-24 January, followed by rounds in snowy Sweden and the vast landscapes of Safari Rally Kenya. Three tarmac events follow in Croatia, the Canary Islands and Japan, before the Acropolis Rally in Greece. The Italian round moves from September to July and switches from Sardinia's gravel to tarmac in Rome. The USA hosts its first WRC round in 39 years from 26-29 August, returning as a gravel round after the Olympus Rally in 1988.
The calendar closes with Rally Scotland in early October, a South American double-header in Paraguay and Chile, and Rally Saudi Arabia. A Saudi round was set to end the 2026 season but was cancelled due to the ongoing Middle East conflict. Rally de Portugal is absent from 2027 but is in talks to return in 2028. The season also marks a new era with a new promoter, WRC27 regulations limiting costs and reducing top-car horsepower, and the return of Ford as a manufacturer with M-Sport.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing