WRC 2026: Czech & French Rallying’s Future Potential

The competition calendar undergoes minor changes; gravel continues to dominate

The 2026 WRC season calendar largely resembles the schedule of the previous season. This year, 14 stages are planned in four continents – Africa, Asia, Europe, South America. There are no significant innovations in the season calendar. After a short absence, the always well-attended asphalt rally will return in Croatia, where this year instead of Zagreb, Rijeka has been chosen as the base. The Japanese and Sardinian rallies have switched places – respectively, the slippery asphalt will await the athletes at the end of March, while the Sardinian gravel rally will host the elite in early October. Also, the rally base has been changed for the gravel rally in Greece – from Lamia to Loutraki.

However, there are no other surprises in the calendar. As usual, the world championship will traditionally start with the legendary Monte Carlo Rally, which is expected from January 22 to 25 on the winding asphalt roads of the Alps. The Monte Carlo Rally is known as both the most unpredictable and prestigious race in the calendar, as well as an all-season race, as snow and ice can surprise drivers in the Alps. On the other hand, the end of the season is expected with last year’s innovation on the desert roads of Saudi Arabia from November 11 to 14.

Invariably, the only true winter rally on the WRC calendar will be the Swedish round in mid-February. Overall, the gravel surface continues to dominate the championship with more rallies in Kenya, Portugal, Estonia, Finland, Paraguay and Chile in front of the asphalt surface, which is also expected in the Canary Islands.

The leading WRC teams have different tactics in filling the empty seats

At the end of last season, the WRC experienced a big blow when two leaders, both in terms of driving and in terms of the number of supporters, announced the end of the rally – Finland’s Kalle Rovanpera and Estonia’s Ots Tanak. If Rovanpera at the age of 25 chose to focus on new challenges in other motorsport disciplines, then 38-year-old Tanak decided to move away from motorsport and devote time to his family.

The question arose as to who will be able to replace them in the ranks of the Japanese Toyota Gazoo Racing and Korean Hyundai Shell Mobis teams, respectively. Both teams chose different tactics to fight for the championship title in the team standings.

“Toyota Gazoo Racing” chose to complement the already proven values – five-time world vice-champion Elphin Evans from Wales, nine-time world champion Sébéstien Ogier from France, Takamoto Katsuta from Japan – to supplement with new hopes: Sami Pajari from Finland, who will have his second full-time season in the highest category of the WRC, and Oliver Solberg from Sweden, who with an impressive victory in Estonia last year has again earned the opportunity to start in the highest category. level. Ogier probably won’t start a full season in Toyota, but that didn’t stop him from winning the world championship last year.

Meanwhile, “Hyundai Shell Mobis” has chosen not to risk. The permanent seats of the Korean team will be filled by the 2024 world champion, Belgian Thierry Neville, as well as last year’s proven Frenchman Adrian Formo. Also, according to the specifics of the respective competition, the third car of “Hyundai” will be shared by three pilots who have previously competed in the colors of the team – Spaniard Daniel Sordo, Finnish Esapeka Lapi and New Zealander Hayden Padon, who will return to the most prestigious level of the WRC for the first time since 2018.

Sesks/Francis will aim to improve the performance so far

On the other hand, the last winner of the manufacturer’s competition – the British unit “M-Sport Ford” – continues to look for new and rising stars. The Irishman Josh McLean will pilot the “Ford Puma Rally1” vehicle for the second season already. However, Irish pilot John Armstrong, who previously competed in the European Rally Championship with a “Ford” vehicle, will make his debut at the highest level of the WRC. It is also expected that in 2026, several other aspirants who will try their hand at the WRC will start with the vehicles prepared by “M-Sport Ford” – it is already known that Luxembourger Gregoire Munster, who last year enjoyed a full-time place in the British team, will be seen in the first stage in Monte Carlo.

The eyes of Latvian motorsport fans will be focused on the crew of Mārtiņš Seskas/Renārs Frančas, which will also have the opportunity to start in at least six stages this season in cooperation with “M-Sport Ford”, and the seventh start is also planned.

Cesc/Francis are scheduled to compete in WRC rounds in Sweden (February 12-15), Portugal (May 7-10), Greece (June 25-28), Estonia (July 16-19), Finland (July 30-August 2), Italy, Sardinia (October 1-4) and possibly Saudi Arabia. in Arabia (November 11-14).

Although during the entire WRC season the Latvian crew was accompanied by speculations about whether Sesks/Francis will earn a full-time season in 2026, the “M-Sport Ford” team did not decide in favor of such a plan. The representatives of the crew indicated that at the end of 2025 in Saudi Arabia, the speed of the Latvians attracted the attention of industry professionals, as the potential of the crew was revealed when their knowledge of the road was equalized with the regular WRC pilots.

In the World Championship, Latvian crews started in the aforementioned rallies already last year. Such a program has been selected purposefully – to strengthen the knowledge gained in this competition.

“Our main task at the moment is to drive as much and smarter as possible. Every rally, every record, every kilometer at the WRC level gives very concrete lessons. The goal is not simply to participate, but to build a basis for long-term work at this level. Sport is our only choice. The car is good and we must continue to improve ourselves. And of course, I am happy for the opportunity to return among WRC-level athletes. A full WRC season would not be easy: 14 stages in 12 months is an intense regime. But also half a WRC season together with European and the local stages of the competition, especially the sprint competitions, require an equal amount of energy, you have to give it from the very beginning,” said Francis, the coxswain of the crew.

The season to the start of a new technical era

It is expected that in 2027, WRC will enter a new era – it is designed to be cheaper and more accessible, so that you can see more different cars and more drivers at the highest level. Namely, the power and capabilities of the car are planned to be closer to the current step lower level of “WRC2” class vehicles.

Italian car manufacturer “Lancia”, which has decided to return to the world championship “WRC2” in 2026 with the “Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale” car, could serve as proof of this. “WRC2” vice-champion Ioann Rosell from France and 2025 “WRC2 Challenger” title winner Nikolay Grjazins, who competes with a Bulgarian license, will compete in the “Team Lancia Corse HF” team this season. It should be noted that Lancia, with 10 manufacturers’ titles, remains the most successful manufacturer in WRC history.

While the news of future WRC car homologation is still shrouded in speculation, what is clear is that looking to the future, new manufacturers and teams are looking for skilled crews to be part of the team in the upcoming technical era. Therefore, the year 2026 will mark the end of one stage, in which drivers will have the opportunity to strengthen their place in the future of the world championship.

CONTEXT:

Rally pilot Mārtiņš Sesks and co-driver Renārs Francis are the first Latvian crew to compete in the most prestigious class of the World Rally Championship (WRC) with the most powerful equipment. The Latvians made their starts in the ranks of the British team “M-Sport Ford”.

At the end of June 2024, in a bright WRC debut at the Polish Rally, the Latvian crew surprised by winning a high 5th place with a car that was less powerful compared to its competitors. A month later, Sesks had a strong start in his home rally in Latvia with a “Ford Puma” car equal to his competitors, but technical problems at the end of the race prevented him from finishing in the top three. The third appearance of the Latvians in the WRC debut season was in September 2024 at the Chile rally, where Sesks/Francis experienced a “sour lesson” instead of high results.

Seska’s performance attracted the attention of both motorsport fans and WRC teams.

In the 2025 WRC season, Cesk/Francis returned to the M-Sport Ford team with seven starts: Sweden, where they finished 6th, Portugal, where they finished 15th, Sardinia, where they crashed and retired, Greece, where they finished 15th in a tough rally, Estonia, where they finished 8th, Finland, where they finished in the 8th position. The Latvians also competed in the final stage of the season in Saudi Arabia, where they led the WRC stage for the first time in their career, but in the end, after a hard fight, they were forced to withdraw due to technical reasons.