WRC Cancels Finale In Saudi Arabia, Season Will End In Italy
President Donald Trump stated earlier this week that the US-Israeli war against Iran is "hopefully" near its end, which probably means there's no end in sight. International motorsport is quickly running out of time to salvage its lucrative events in the Gulf states this year. The FIA World Rally Championship announced on Thursday that its season finale will not be Rally Saudi Arabia in November. The championship will now conclude with Rally Italia Sardegna in early October, the original schedule's penultimate round.
Beyond the ongoing conflict, the rally was first jeopardized earlier this month when Toyota and Hyundai's factory teams sent a joint letter to the FIA confirming they would be unable to travel to Saudi Arabia. According to DirtFish, both automakers currently have company-wide restrictions on business travel to the Middle East. Even without the top-tier international tour, Rally Saudi Arabia will still be held as solely a round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. FIA 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."
What does this mean for Formula 1's season finale?
As it stands, Formula 1 is still slated to host this season's final two rounds in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates; Reuters reports that championship organizers could delay their decision on whether to cancel the pair of rounds until October. F1 can't hold off for too long because the November 29 and December 6 race dates are quickly approaching. However, F1 is expected to follow the WRC's lead and move its finale to Italy. Imola would host the replacement race.
The WRC wasn't the only FIA top-flight series to ditch its plans for closing the year in the Gulf. The FIA World Endurance Championship moved its final two rounds out of Bahrain and Qatar. Instead, the sports car series will run a pair of replacement races in Europe: Barcelona, Spain on October 24 and Monza, Italy on November 7. These racing series might rely on the millions of dollars they rake in from the Gulf states, but it turns out people aren't necessarily willing to travel into an active conflict area.