As the name suggests, the World Rally Championship is a cross-continental competition that takes us around the world. The WRC video game series matches this as well, as the full calendar has been included in them.
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We don't see any reason for this to change with WRC 11 either, with the full 2022 calendar set to be included. So, what is the 2022 calendar looking like? We've got everything you need to know right here!
2022 WRC calendar
The 2022 calendar consists of 13 rounds across four continents. There are no rounds in neither North nor South America, but every other continent bar Antarctica is represented.
| Round | Rally | Surface | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monte Carlo | Mixed | 17 |
| 2 | Sweden | Snow | 17 |
| 3 | Croatia | Tarmac | 20 |
| 4 | Portugal | Gravel | 21 |
| 5 | Italy | Gravel | 21 |
| 6 | Safari | Gravel | 19 |
| 7 | Estonia | Gravel | TBA |
| 8 | Finland | Gravel | 22 |
| 9 | Belgium | Tarmac | 20 |
| 10 | Greece | Gravel | TBA |
| 11 | New Zealand | Gravel | TBA |
| 12 | Spain | Tarmac | TBA |
| 13 | Japan | Tarmac | TBA |
We've started in Monte Carlo, the traditional curtain-raiser for WRC and cross the world several times before ending in Japan.
Some rounds still have the number of stages to be confirmed, but all so far vary from 17 up to 22.
Most rallies take place on gravel or tarmac, but Rally Sweden took place in the snow earlier in the year.
Changes from 2021
We've seen several changes to the calendar from last year for various reasons. It's fair to say that the WRC calendar has been in a state of flux ever since 2020.
The first change of note is the return of Rally New Zealand, which will take place for the first time since 2012. It was due to return in 2020, but the pandemic put pay to that. However, it's all set to get going for the first time in a decade later this year.
click to enlarge
+ 2Rally Japan is also back after a two-year absence, and it takes the final spot on the calendar. The only American rounds on the calendar, Chile and Mexico, have both missed out in 2022, but are hoping to return in 2023.
Sadly, Rally GB won't return, as its bid for a Northern Irish event failed in the off-season.
Will other rallies be included?
It's not uncommon for racing game series that have official ties to a championship to include classic tracks. Both MotoGP and the Formula 1 games have done this in the past.
click to enlarge + 2So, will we see this from WRC 11? Well, WRC 10 included plenty of "Legendary" content, so it's very likely. The "Iconic" rallies in WRC 10 were as follows:
- Monte Carlo
- Sweden
- Kenya
- Greece
- Italy (Sanremo, with three different versions: 1981, 1997 and 1998)
- New Zealand
- Spain
- Portugal
- Finland
- Argentina
- Germany
- Mexico
With New Zealand back, this may not be included in the iconic section. However, we could see something like Chile or GB replace it on this list, as they're not on the calendar this season.