How the WRC is looking to conquer its next frontier

Tom Howard Published: May 7, 2026, 3:26 PM Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on Linkedin Share on Pinterest Share on Viber Add as a preferred source Breaking into the United States has long been a target for the World Rally Championship – yet there appears a real chance that this dream could turn into reality for next season. It’s been almost 40 years since the WRC last set foot in North America, and the memories of Markku Alen powering a Group B Lancia S4 to victory at the Olympus Rally in 1986 and Miki Biasion wrestling a Group A Lancia Delta to claim the spoils in the final WRC edition of the Washington event in 1988 are fading. But there is renewed hope that new memories could be created, with the USA a genuine option to join the 2027 calendar. “There have been people doing the groundwork to bring a WRC event back to the United States for at least three or four years now, and we got real serious about 10 months ago,” says the prospective event’s sporting director, JB Niday. “We have a schedule laid out to get there – and we’re on schedule. There’s not a lot of room for slippage. It’s a lot to do, but we can get there.” The WRC and its teams can see the huge benefits of breaking into the North American market, and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem claimed in January that the USA is “one of the most important growth opportunities” for the WRC. In 2024 the series announced a clear roadmap to an event in 2026 that included direct investment and involvement in promotion from WRC Promoter. But a decision from WRC Promoter and the Automobile Competition Committee of the US (ACCUS, the US’s FIA national sporting authority) was made to delay the country’s appearance on the WRC calendar until 2027 at the earliest to ensure the event has the best chance of success. Formula 1 provides the perfect model, only recently successfully unlocking the American market after several failed attempts. Groundwork for a WRC event in the US started being laid four years ago, says Niday An original bid to host a rally out of Chattanooga has been replaced with a plan for a gravel event based around Knoxville, Tennessee, taking in roads in both that state and Kentucky. In January it was confirmed that the project has now reached a point where the FIA will make a trip to America from 11-17 June to oversee a candidate event, which will go some way to determine whether the nation will feature on the 2027 WRC calendar. WRC Promoter’s Rally USA project leader Marc de Jong said in January: “The confirmation of this candidate event marks a significant step. It is a major milestone in the WRC’s much anticipated return to the US.” FIA delegates will explore stages and infrastructure across Kentucky and Tennessee, gaining first-hand insight into the terrain and facilities. The programme will also include a visit to the Southern Ohio Forest Rally round of the American Rally Association National Championship, offering the FIA a chance to engage directly with the US rally community, including organisers, volunteers and fans. “The confirmation of this candidate event marks a significant step. It is a major milestone in the WRC’s much anticipated return to the US” Marc de Jong Meetings are also scheduled with the proposed event promoter and organiser, Podium Event Partners, which has long-established experience across multiple motorsport disciplines, including NASCAR. “Everything is on course,” says FIA road sport director Emilia Abel. “It’s really positive and it has taken a bit of time to kick off, but for the moment we see full dedication from the USA team, which is brilliant.” Securing a WRC event and running one successfully requires a dedicated team with plenty of experience. Step forward Niday, who has been entrusted with the role of event sporting director. It’s four decades since US fans witnessed Alen’s victory at the Olympus Rally Photo by: LAT/Getty Images He is not short on experience. He competed in rallies in the 1980s before going on to become chairman of the SCCA Pro Rally Series, and then managed Rally America – the US national series that ran from 2005-18, in which Britain’s David Higgins claimed six consecutive titles with Subaru (2011-16). Niday was also heavily involved when rallying was added to the X Games, and today he is competition director at the American Rally Association, which runs the USA’s eight-round national series. “I’ve been doing this in the US for 40 years, but what our national championship is, isn’t the same as the WRC,” says Niday during his visit to Croatia’s world championship round. “The candidate event isn’t like a typical candidate event. They’re [the FIA] coming to observe the Southern Ohio Forest Rally. Then we’re going to go down to Knoxville, Tennessee and tour where the headquarters and the service park are going to be. “We’re going to go out and tour where the stages are going to be. But we’re not running a competition, we’re just looking at the stages to really narrow down what we think of the stages we’ve planned so far and maybe make some changes. “Over the next 18 months, we’ll run each of the days [the itinerary for the WRC event], and have some small competition just to make sure we’ll bring the stage commanders and their teams in to run those stages. The original plan was for a US-based WRC event this year, but a delay was deemed to give the best chance of success Photo by: McKlein Photography/LAT/Getty Images “Once we come up with the itinerary, and the FIA says yes, that’s acceptable, then the candidate event turns into something that could be on the calendar for 2027. But truthfully, I won’t stop working in June and wait until August or September when the [calendar] announcement comes out. We’ll keep charging forward as if we’re going