The 2026 Junior WRC calendar presented

In 2026, the Junior WRC The season will be contested over five rounds. The calendar, presented by the FIA ​​this Friday, December 5, features a mix of events on all surfaces of the World Rally Championship. The Swedish snow and ice will open the season, as is tradition, before moving on to the Croatian asphalt.

Gravel will be the stage for the final three rounds, with Portugal and Finland taking place before the finale in Chile. This is the first time the South American country will host the Junior WRC finale.

The FIA ​​has today unveiled the 2026 FIA Junior WRC calendar.

The next generation of WRC talent will contest a five-round season across a mixture of surfaces in identical machinery 🚗#FIA #JuniorWRC pic.twitter.com/KFfl9XVMlJ

- FIA (@fia) December 5, 2025

The JWRC winner will be rewarded with four fully funded WRC2 rounds and testing in 2027 in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 run by M-Sport, which, according to the new rules of the 2027 World Rally Championship, means that they will compete in the same category as the top WRC category.

« South America has produced many talented junior crews in recent years, such as Diego Domínguez, WRC3 champion and junior runner-up. It therefore seems entirely appropriate that we visit this part of the world in 2026,” says Maciej Woda, Junior WRC Director. "Overall, the 2026 calendar offers a good mix of challenges that reflect the WRC calendar as a whole, and to win the title, crews will need to be able to demonstrate great adaptability in order to compete in very varied conditions."

The JWRC clarifies in its press release that the addition of a South American round will not impact participants' budgets. Furthermore, the JWRC is not currently in excellent shape, with the number of drivers participating in at least one round having dropped from 23 (2024) to just 14 in 2025.

Emilia Abel, director of road sports at the FIA, added : “The 2026 FIA Junior WRC calendar offers the next generation of WRC talent a clearly defined and diverse development pathway. Each round presents a distinct technical challenge, from the snowbanks of Sweden to the fast, narrow forest roads of Chile, and this diversity is essential to preparing young drivers for the demands of the higher categories.”
We are confident that this calendar will allow emerging crews to gain the experience necessary to progress to the highest levels of this sport.

ALSO READ > Hyundai announces its driver lineups for 2026, Adrien Fourmaux confirmed