The recently concluded WRC season has once again highlighted a persistent issue regarding the uneven distribution of road surfaces across the championship calendar. This recurring structural flaw has sparked intense discussions within the service park as competitors and teams face another year of heavily skewed scheduling.
The season traditionally kicked off with Rally Monte Carlo, followed closely in the spring by the Croatia Rally and Rally Islas Canarias held in rapid succession. However, the final asphalt rally of the campaign took place as early as the end of May with Rally Japan, triggering an unbroken sequence of six gravel rallies to close out the year.
The initial calendar had originally accommodated seven gravel events, but the planned Saudi Arabian round was ultimately cancelled due to the volatile political situation in the Middle East. Consequently, top-tier crews will face an almost identical logistical and sporting challenge next season.
There will be five predominantly asphalt rounds packed tightly into the first half of the calendar, with Croatia, the Canary Islands, and Japan running as consecutive events. Once the championship moves past Rally d’Italia in early July, gravel surfaces completely dominate the remainder of the schedule.
WRC Promoter chief operating officer Julien Vial openly acknowledges the gravity of the problem and assures that active efforts are underway to rectify the imbalance in future editions of the championship.
“As you can understand, our agreement was only confirmed in August, so we do not have much room for manoeuvre with the 2027 calendar,” Julien Vial explained regarding the strict limitations currently binding their immediate scheduling decisions.
Despite these restrictions, the promoter insists that fixing the calendar remains a high priority. “However, it is an important issue and we are working on it. Every country has its own constraints, so finding a date that suits everyone is not easy,” he noted, emphasizing the diplomatic and logistical hurdles involved.
While a gravel-heavy finale successfully delivered incredible marketing value this season—with the world championship fight going down to the very final stage of the final rally—management recognizes the underlying competitive unfairness for the championship leader.
“On the other hand, leading the championship should be a reward rather than a constant punishment,” Vial admitted, acknowledging the persistent disadvantage of sweeping the loose gravel roads for the championship frontrunner.
Looking ahead, integrating an asphalt event later in the schedule is firmly on the table. “If possible, adding an asphalt rally later in the season could be an interesting option,” the WRC Promoter executive stated.
While a complete global calendar overhaul may take time to materialize, long-term solutions are actively being evaluated. “That would allow us to try to balance the calendar globally. I do not know whether it could be achieved in 2028, but in the longer term we are considering this option,” Vial concluded.
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