WRC Promoter has today announced a 13-round calendar for the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship.
All rallies in the 2014 schedule were confirmed for next year by the FIA World Motor Sport Council at its meeting in Beijing, with some significant date changes in the first part of the season.
January’s opening round at Rallye Monte-Carlo will start a week later than this year, providing a longer end-of-season break and increased preparation time for manufacturers, teams and drivers.
The year’s curtain-raiser will adopt Rally 2 regulations for the first time, allowing retired competitors the opportunity to restart the following leg subject to technical approval. Rally 2 is employed by all other rounds.
Portugal’s fixture will return to its traditional fanbase in the north after 10 years in the southern Algarve area and swaps places with Argentina.
The South American round will be in mid-April, when conditions are likely to be warmer and drier, with Portugal moving back to late May. The changes mean Italy’s round will be a week later in mid-June.
Poland, which successfully returned to the championship in 2014 after a five-year absence, retains its place for next season.
“We’re delighted to confirm the 2015 calendar and to retain all 13 rounds for next season. The breadth of events geographically ensures a truly global championship,” said WRC Promoter’s managing director, Oliver Ciesla.
“We’ve again blended a mix of classic events that date back to the championship’s origins with newer, but firmly established, rallies. All will offer a challenging variety of roads and conditions to ensure that WRC will provide the ultimate all-round test of driving ability,” Ciesla added.
The 2015 FIA World Rally Championship calendar is:
Monte-Carlo – 22 – 25 January
Sweden – 12 – 15 February
Mexico – 5 – 8 March
Argentina – 16 – 19 April
Portugal – 21 – 24 May
Italy – 11 – 15 June
Poland – 2 – 5 July
Finland – 30 July – 2 August
Germany – 20 – 23 August
Australia – 10 – 13 September
France – 1 – 4 October
Spain – 22 – 25 October
Great Britain – 12 – 15 November