Scotland and USA join expanded 15-round WRC calendar for 2027

Scotland and the United States have been included in an expanded 15-round World Rally Championship calendar for 2027, BBC Sport reported following the schedule's release by the FIA and the championship's promoters. Rally Scotland will be the 12th round, restoring a British event to the series for the first time since 2019.

The Scottish gravel rally will be based in Aberdeen, with its headquarters and service park at the city's P&J Live complex. The FIA's announcement of the project in March specified stages across Aberdeenshire and Moray. Those arrangements put the event in north-east Scotland, rather than returning the championship to Wales, which hosted the UK's most recent WRC round.

The FIA said the Scottish agreement initially covers three years from 2027. Motorsport UK, WRC Promoter and the Scottish Government developed the project together, with backing from Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils. The partners identified economic and tourism benefits as aims for the event, alongside establishing a new British stop on the international championship schedule.

The American round is scheduled for August 26-29 and will be the country's first points-paying WRC event since the Olympus Rally in 1988, according to BBC Sport. Italy's round is also changing substantially: the championship will move from Sardinia's gravel roads to asphalt in Rome, with the event taking a July slot on the new calendar.

Monte Carlo will open the season on January 21-24, followed by Sweden and Kenya. Estonia and Finland retain consecutive summer slots before the championship heads to the United States. Portugal is absent from the announced schedule, although BBC Sport reported that discussions are taking place over a possible return in 2028. That return is not confirmed.

British viewers will also have a new television arrangement for the season. WRC announced in September that the BBC had secured UK broadcasting rights for 2027 through 2029, including live coverage from every round. BBC Sport says its offering will feature five live stages plus the Power Stage at each rally, highlights programmes and digital coverage, alongside extensive live coverage of Rally Scotland.