Motorsport Ireland awaiting decision on inclusion in WRC 2026

Delegates at a special meeting were told there was a “good chance’ of inclusion in the 2026 WR calendar

Motorsport Ireland president Aiden Harper. 

Motorsport Ireland are expected to learn within the next two weeks if it could be part of the 2026 World Rally Championship. Earlier this week, delegates at a special meeting that discussed rally dates for next year’s Motorsport Ireland calendar, were told following a query about 2026 dates, that there was a “good chance’ of inclusion in the 2026 WR calendar.

However, that’s predicated of the success of MI’s application for government funding. Earlier this year, their plan to host rounds of the World Rally Championship from 2025/2027 inclusive was canned after Thomas Byrne, Minister of State at Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media informed MI that his department would need “at least six months” to undertake further independent economic assessments and analysis of the Motorsport Ireland proposal that sought €15m government funding for its three year WR rotational plan.