Date set for 2022 WRC Safari Rally as Kiwis join fray
Kenyan driver Onkar Rai (left) poses for a photograph with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) after winning the WRC 3 division of the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya near Hell’s Gate at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, on June 27, 2021.
What you need to know:
- New Zealand’s flowing North Island gravel roads near Auckland will feature for the first time since 2009 as the WRC celebrates its 50th season.
- The Land of the Long White Cloud’s 32nd WRC appearance, round 11 of the year, will take place on 29 September - 2 October.
Munich
The 2022 Safari Rally will run in June as New Zealand makes an exciting return to an enlarged FIA World Rally Championship after the sport’s first hybrid-era calendar was unveiled on Friday.
New Zealand’s flowing North Island gravel roads near Auckland will feature for the first time since 2009 as the WRC celebrates its 50th season.
The Land of the Long White Cloud’s 32nd WRC appearance, round 11 of the year, will take place on 29 September - 2 October.
Croatia’s asphalt is retained in an expanded 13-round schedule after the central European country hosted a widely-praised debut in April.
With Kenya’s iconic Safari Rally and Japan also listed, the season covers four continents – Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia – as the pandemic eases and commercial rights owner WRC Promoter rebuilds towards its target of a 50-50 split between European and long-haul rounds.
The Safari Rally, which returned to the WRC calendar this year, will again be held in June, running from June 23 to 26.
Next year brings some of the biggest and most far-reaching changes in the sport’s history as the WRC enters a more sustainable age.
Exciting top-tier hybrid Rally1 cars will blend 100kW electric motors and the existing combustion engine, while a hydrocarbon-based fossil-free fuel will be 100 percent sustainable.
The calendar was approved at the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council in Paris and WRC Promoter managing director Jona Siebel said the mix of classic fixtures and newer events would provide a mouth-watering schedule in a landmark season.
“Next year will be a momentous and thrilling one for the FIA World Rally Championship as we welcome the new hybrid era Rally1 cars, part of a portfolio of regulations to drive the series towards a greener and more sustainable future,” he added.
2022 WRC Rounds:
1. Monte-Carlo: 20 - 23 January
2. Sweden: 24 - 27 February
3. Croatia*: 21 - 24 April
4. Portugal: 19 - 22 May
5. Italy: 2 - 5 June
6. Kenya: 23 - 26 June
7. Estonia: 14 - 17 July
8. Finland: 4 - 7 August
9. TBC: 18 - 21 August
10. Greece: 8 - 11 September
11. New Zealand*: 29 September - 2 October
12. Spain: 20 - 23 October
13. Japan: 10 - 13 November
