FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is optimistic that Argentina could return to the World Rally Championship calendar in the near future.
The South American nation has a rich history in the WRC, featuring regularly on the calendar from 1980 to 2019 with only 1995 and 2010 being its only absentees from the series.
COVID-19 ultimately dropped it off the calendar and when the WRC returned to the continent in 2023 with a round in Chile, the championship has remained in South America ever since.
Last year it even added a second South American round with Paraguay signing an initial three year deal and the event is located near to the Argentina border in Encarnacion.
Paraguay held its second edition last weekend and has proved to be a popular addition as it won the ‘best rally of the year award’ for 2025 and Autosport understands that both events are involved in discussions to renew their contracts.
Suggestions that Argentina could rejoin the WRC surfaced in 2022 with Ben Sulayem revealing that negotiations were underway for the event to rejoin in 2023, but those talks did not result in a return.
However, the prospect was once again raised during a press conference where the championship’s new owners announced their vision for the sport in Paraguay last weekend, with Ben Sulayem admitting discussions were underway.
“We are discussing this. It is not just Argentina, there are so many otter countries that logistically could fit,” he said.
“Argentina has a lot of background with rally. I rallied in Argentina twice and the stages are good and the fans are there and there is no reason not to be there.
“I would say we are looking at a picture from the outside of a whole calendar. There are new people that want to come and together with the promoter there will be a calendar and we are limited to the logistics and the numbers [of events] but we are open to looking into every single race that wants to come in.”
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem
Photo by: EYE4images / NurPhoto via Getty Images
The topic was raised again during an FIA American Congress press conference in Buenos Aires, where the subject of Formula 1 returning to Argentina was discussed.
On the topic of the WRC coming back, Ben Sulayem said: “The people, you have been very patient, waiting for the right moment, waiting for the right race to be here. I promise you, the FIA is supportive for you, and also the promoter when it comes to the WRC.
“That’s why I brought him here, they understand it, they can see this is a beautiful market in the side of the economy, in the side of the business plan, and entertainment and motorsport. So, you have our support, just the time is coming.
“We are working, as we speak now, the CEO of the promoter is here. The new promoter is not a promoter, he is a partner, and we speak together with the FIA, with him, all the time.
“So yesterday there was negotiation, the day before yesterday there was also negotiation. Things are going very well, I would say, and I am optimistic that we will see an event of the WRC back where it belongs also in Argentina.”
The earliest Argentina could feasibly join the WRC calendar would be 2028 given a candidate rally would need to be held for the FIA to carry out an assessment.
It is likely that the WRC’s 2027 calendar will feature three new events, with Scotland, USA and Rome completing candidate events this year.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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