Calendar
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The 2023 season is scheduled to be contested over thirteen rounds crossing Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Asia.
| Round | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 January | 22 January |  Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo
|
Monte Carlo, Monaco | Mixed[a] | 18 | 325.02 km | [4] |
| 2 | 9 February | 12 February |  Rally Sweden
|
Umeå, Västerbotten County, Sweden | Snow | 18 | 301.18 km | [5] |
| 3 | 16 March | 19 March |  Rally Guanajuato México
|
León, Guanajuato, Mexico | Gravel | 23 | 315.69 km | [6] |
| 4 | 20 April | 23 April |  Croatia Rally
|
Zagreb, Croatia | Tarmac | 20 | 301.26 km | [7] |
| 5 | 11 May | 14 May |  Rally de Portugal
|
Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal | Gravel | 19 | 329.06 km | [8] |
| 6 | 1 June | 4 June |  Rally Italia Sardegna
|
Olbia, Sardinia, Italy | Gravel | 19 | 322.88 km | [9] |
| 7 | 22 June | 25 June |  Safari Rally Kenya
|
Naivasha, Nakuru County, Kenya | Gravel | 19 | 355.92 km | [10] |
| 8 | 20 July | 23 July |  Rally Estonia
|
Tartu, Estonia | Gravel | 21 | 300.41 km | [11] |
| 9 | 3 August | 6 August |  Rally Finland
|
Jyväskylä, Central Finland, Finland | Gravel | 22 | 320.56 km | [12] |
| 10 | 7 September | 10 September |  Acropolis Rally Greece
|
Lamia, Central Greece, Greece | Gravel | 15 | 270.89 km | [13] |
| 11 | 28 September | 1 October |  Rally Chile
|
Concepción, Biobío, Chile | Gravel | 16 | 321.06 km | [14] |
| 12 | 26 October | 29 October |  Central European Rally
|
Passau, Bavaria, Germany | Tarmac | 18 | 310.01 km | [15] |
| 13 | 16 November | 19 November |  Rally Japan
|
Toyota, Aichi, Japan | Tarmac | 22 | 304.66 km | [16] |
| Sources:[17][18] | ||||||||
Calendar changes
The championship was expected to be expanded to fourteen rounds, with eight Europe-based rallies and six fly-away events covering the season.[19] However, the number of the events was reduced to thirteen following a lengthy delay of the calendar.[20] The anticipated rally based in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia was absent from the calendar.[21]
- Rally Mexico returned to championship after missing the 2021 and 2022 championships.[22] The organizers of the rally had previously held a national event in 2022 in the bid of a 2023 return.[23]
- Rally Chile rejoined the calendar after the Chilean protests and COVID-19 pandemic respectively ruled out the event in 2020 and 2021.[24][25]
- The Central European Rally, a tri-nation event running a day each in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, was introduced into the championship, replacing the Catalonian Rally.[26] The rally was based out of southeast Germany, in the city of Passau in Bavaria, and ran on tarmac.[27]
- Rally New Zealand, a round of the 2022 season, was not included on the calendar, but the organizers were seeking an opportunity for a 2024 return as a part of the rotation program with Rally Australia.[28]
- Ypres Rally Belgium, which was a part of the championship for the prior two seasons, dropped off the calendar and instead formed part of the 2023 British Rally Championship.[29]
Several rally organizers also expressed their interests to return to the championship, including Rally Argentina, Rally Australia, the German Rally, and an event in Northern Ireland.[30][31][32][33] The Argentine and Northern Irish bids ultimately failed.[34][35] In addition to the candidate events, the WRC Promoter GmbH was also working on the calendar expansion to the Middle East and United States.[36]
Location changes
- The headquarters of the Rally Italia Sardegna would be once again moved from Alghero to Olbia.[37] The 2020 event was previously based in Olbia as a result of major route revisions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[38]
- The 2023 edition of the Safari Rally was based at the Lakeside town of Naivasha.[39] The rally was previously based in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.[40]
