The final round of the FIA World Rally Championship is underway after a spectacular Opening Ceremony and Super Special Stage in the city of Jeddah on Wednesday night. The first-ever WRC event in Saudi Arabia is the host for the championship-deciding, and 14th round, of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship — with three drivers in contention for the world crown.
The ultimate showdown in the desert’ features nearly 320km of competition across 17 stages with fast-paced desert stretches combined with dramatic mountain climbs and scenic coastal roads that will showcase the speed of rallying with the natural beauty of Saudi Arabia.
A warm welcome to Jeddah
The Rally Saudi Arabia started with a spectacular Opening Ceremony on Wednesday night, in which HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation and Chairman of the Saudi Motorsport Company, warmly welcomed the competitors, teams, officials, media representatives, and rally fans from around the world.
“This event marks a historic milestone as Saudi Arabia proudly hosts its first-ever round of the WRC, reinforcing the Kingdom’s growing prominence in the world of international motorsport,” said HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Motorsport Company and the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. “As the closing chapter of the WRC season, Rally Saudi Arabia promises a unique and unforgettable experience for competitors and fans alike, set against the backdrop of the Kingdom’s diverse and breathtaking terrains.”
The Opening Ceremony included a presentation of every car and co-driver taking part in this historic season finale, before they were introduced to HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sport and HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al Faisal, along with other dignitaries. After a parade along the Corniche, the competitors were waved off with the Saudi flag and onto the first competitive stage of the event.
The battle for the world title
At the top of the WRC drivers’ standings with 272 points is Welshman Elfyn Evans, who, with co-driver Scott Martin, is chasing his maiden title and is three points ahead of eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais — with 35 points still up for grabs this weekend.
Despite losing the previous round in Japan to Ogier, the 34-year-old is still remaining positive going into the Jeddah event. The Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT competitors will lead the competitors off on Thursday morning, followed by their team-mates Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen. Rovanperä sits third in the points and has an outside chance of winning the title going into this final round.
“It’s all to play for this weekend,” said points leader Evans at the Opening Ceremony. “Obviously, there is a tough weekend ahead of us and it is very open for the championship. I’m feeling OK at the moment, but I’m sure we’ll be feeling it when the stages start to get tough.”
Earlier in the day, the crews got the chance to taste a sample of what lies ahead, as they ran on the 4.29km shakedown, located to the north-east of the city. Held in hot conditions, Rovanperä topped the times in the challenging desert terrain.
The super special start
The Jameel Motorsport Super Special Stage was the first competitive action with a packed crowd enjoying the show on the shores of the Red Sea. Located next to the Formula 1 Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the 5.22km tarmac Super Special featured two laps of a circuit — with competitors running alongside each other — laid out with a bridge and crossover in front of a giant grandstand.
The stage got underway at 8.30pm local time, and one of the first runners was Qatari Nasser Al-Attiya, who was making a return to the WRC. Unfortunately, the popular driver picked up a ten-second time penalty for a jump start.
The top two in the world championship, Evans and Ogier, then went head-to-head for the final run at the end of the hour, each trying to find an early advantage over the other. First bragging rights in Saudi went to the Frenchman, who set a time of 3:55.4s, just 0.8s ahead of his team-mate. But it was Estonian Ott Tänak who set the fastest overall time on the dusty tarmac stage and leads Rally Saudi Arabia by 1.2s at the end of Day 1 in his Hyundai i20.
What to expect on Day 2
Saudi Arabia is the 39th country to host the WRC, and on Thursday morning, the crews head into the desert on the outskirts of Jeddah for the second stage, Al Faisaliyah (SS2/SS5), which runs through sand dunes before a climb to a volcanic rocky section. That is followed by the Moon Stage (SS3/SS6), which is as rugged as the lunar surface, and they precede the seven-mile Khulais (SS4/SS7), noted for its spectacular scenery and technical hairpins.