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The challenges that await WRC drivers in Saudi Arabia
The World Rally Championship will step into the unknown for the third time this year as Saudi Arabia becomes the latest country to host a WRC event for the first time this weekend.
It marks the first time the championship has ventured to the Middle East since Rally Jordan in 2011, with current title contender Sebastien Ogier the only driver from the class of 2025 to have contested the WRC’s last adventure in the desert. While that experience could prove helpful, it is widely expected that this weekend’s Rally Saudi Arabia will serve up a unique mixture of stages and challenges to master.
Saudi Arabia’s inaugural WRC event will offer up stages featuring a mix of mountain, volcano and desert terrain. Some of the gravel roads are expected to be relatively smooth and fast with a hard base, while desert sections will be softer but lined with rocks that are just waiting to catch out the crews. It is likely that a compromise in both driving style and car set up will be required to successfully navigate.
Hyundai Motorsport’s Adrien Fourmaux believes the stages will possess similarities to the roads the drivers face at Safari Rally Kenya and Acropolis Rally Greece.
Managing the rough conditions to avoid picking up punctures and damage will be key, along with surviving the punishing temperatures that are set to hover around 33 degrees Celsius ambient throughout the week.
“It will be a mix of Kenya and Greece. There is sand so it is more like Kenya with some straights with rocks on the side, But also there are some rocky mountain stages which are a bit more like Greece," said Fourmaux.
“From the info I have got it is a very rough event with a lot of sand and rocky places, quite fast and soft in some places, but also twisty, narrow with some rocks at the side. It can be really difficult to find the right set-up between the two. We will also have some rocky mountain stages that look more like Greece.
“I expect it to be very warm so it will be hot for us inside the car. We will have to manage the tyres and the risk of punctures because it’s going to be a really rough event. Maybe if there is some wind the sand will cover the lines from the recce, or from the first stage pass to the second pass.”
A set of detailed pace notes will also be critical for crews with their eyes fixed on challenging for victory.
“I really like it when it’s a brand-new rally because it’s all about the pace notes and not the experience of the drivers, which is different between each of us," added Fourmaux.
“Now it’s all about the performance with your pace notes, your confidence. Most of the time we have been performing really well on new stages so I’m very pleased it’s a brand-new event.”
Watch WRC on DAZN
Follow all the action from the FIA World Rally Championship finale LIVE this weekend from Rally Saudi Arabia - 26th -29th November. The title gets decided right here, right now. The 2025 World Rally Championship is available through DAZN on its own dedicated app channel, Rally TV. It is available either as a dedicated Rally TV subscription, or as part of your existing DAZN subscription for a small add-on fee.
DAZN is the home of Rally TV worldwide, excluding Estonia, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, China, Hong Kong and Japan.
Rally TV also broadcasts every rally from the FIA European Rally Championship.
Watch every WRC and ERC rally this year on DAZN's 24-hour dedicated Rally TV channel. For more information on prices, subscriptions and more, click here.
