The World Rally-Raid Championship (officially abbreviated as W2RC) is a

rally raid Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon ra ...

series organised by the

Amaury Sport Organization The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is part of the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury. It organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events. The president of ASO is Je ...

and co-sanctioned by the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

and

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

. The championship's seasons culminate with world championship titles in both automobile and motorcycle categories. Beginning in 2022, the series replaced both the

FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies The FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies was a rally raid series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver, co-driver, and team; with additional trophies awarded to T2 and T3 drivers & teams. Starting with the 2011 season, the p ...

and

FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship The FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship was the premier championship of Rally raid racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), from 1999 to 2021 (from 1999 and 2002 as World Cup). Asides the main championsh ...

as the top echelon of the sport of rally raid. The ASO will serve as series promotor for a period of five years.

History

The combined World Championship series was conceived as a result of efforts by the ASO,

and

to harmonize regulations. After a vote by the

World Motorsport Council The World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) is a major organ within the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's governance structure. Its primary role is amending current regulations and drafting new regulations for all of international motor spor ...

to officially make

the seventh world championship under the FIA in 2021, they joined with the FIM to combine their respective international cross-country rallying series into a single World Rally-Raid Championship. The ASO, promotor of the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal ...

, was chosen by both world-governing bodies as the sole promotor of the series for a period of five years. The inaugural World Championship officially kicked off with the

2022 Dakar Rally The 2022 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 44th edition of the Dakar Rally organized by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The event took place between 1–14 January 2022. This was the third time Saudi Arabia had hos ...

and ended in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

following revisions to the schedule due to the

Russian Invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, forcing the cancellation of that year's

Rally Kazakhstan The Rally Kazakhstan is a rally-raid which is held in the country of Kazakhstan since 2017. Motorcycles first took part in 2021; with the original debut cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was part of the FIA World Cup for ...

, and environmental concerns that forced the

Andalucia Rally Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

to be rescheduled. The inaugural winners of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship were

Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah ( ar, ناصر صالح ناصر عبدالله العطية : nāṣir ṣāliḥ nāṣir ʿabdullāh al-ʿaṭṭīyah; born 21 December 1970 in Doha) is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter. He wa ...

and Mathieu Baumel with

Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing (or Toyota GR/TGR) is a motorsport/performance brand of the Japanese automaker Toyota. Many divisions in various racing disciplines use the branding, including Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, Toyota's World Rally Championship t ...

as the winning manufacturer; while

Sam Sunderland Sam Sunderland (born 15 April 1989 in Poole) is a Dubai-based British rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally, which he won in 2017 and 2022. Career Sunderland made his Dakar debut in 2012, riding a Ho ...

did likewise in the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship with Monster Energy

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

Format

The championship consists primarily of two forms of cross-country rallying: :Cross-Country Rally: Between four and six timed stages; total distance of 1200km. :Cross-Country Marathon: More than six timed stages; total distance of 2500km. The cross-country baja format continues to be contested in the international

FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas The FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas is a rally raid series organized by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver, co-driver, and team; with additional trophies awarded to T3 and T4 drivers & teams. Starting with the 2002 season, the pre ...

and FIM Bajas World Cup competitions, separate from the world championship.

Categories and awards

The series covers various categories under both the

and

FIA categories

*T1: Prototype Cross-Country Cars *T2: Series Production Cross-Country Cars *T3: Lightweight Prototype Cross-Country Vehicles **FIA Rally-Raid Championship for T3 drivers and co-drivers. *T4: Modified Production Cross-Country Side-by-Side Vehicles **FIA Rally-Raid Championship for T4 drivers and co-drivers. *T5: Prototype and Production Cross-Country Trucks **FIA Rally-Raid Championship for T5 drivers and co-drivers. Groups T1, T2, T3 and T4 are eligible for the overall FIA Rally-Raid World Championship titles for drivers, co-drivers, and manufacturers. Additional Group-specific championships are awarded in Groups T3, T4 and T5.

FIM categories

*RallyGP **FIM Rally-Raid World Championship for riders and manufacturers *Rally2 **FIM Rally-Raid World Cup for Rally2 Riders **FIM Rally-Raid Trophy for Juniors **FIM Rally-Raid Trophy for Women **FIM Rally-Raid Trophy for Seniors *Rally3 **FIM Rally-Raid World Cup for Rally3 Riders **FIM Rally-Raid Trophy for Juniors *Quad **FIM Rally-Raid World Cup for Quad Riders Only riders competing in the RallyGP category are eligible for the FIM Rally-Raid World Championship. World Cup titles are available for champions of the Rally2, Rally3, and Quad categories.

Champions

FIA Rally-Raid World Champions

FIM Rally-Raid World Champions

FIA Rally-Raid Champions

FIM Rally-Raid World Cup

FIM Rally-Raid Trophies

References

External links

* * - FIA Rally-Raid * - FIM Rally-Raid {{Main world championships

Rally raid Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon ra ...