Rally de Portugal will not feature on the 2027 World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar after a last-minute change to next season’s schedule, organisers have confirmed.
The Vodafone Rally de Portugal had already been allocated a date from May 13 to 16, but the Automobile Club of Portugal (ACP) said changes made by the WRC promoter during the final preparations for the 2027 season affected the event.
The promoter is seeking to make the championship more geographically diverse and intercontinental, according to the ACP, which has already opened talks with the WRC Promoter over a possible return for the Portuguese round in 2028.
The decision comes less than 18 months after Portugal secured a three-year agreement to remain on the WRC calendar through the 2026, 2027 and 2028 seasons.
The agreement was announced in May 2025 following the Portuguese round, with the WRC describing the event as a mainstay of the championship since its inception. The latest decision therefore changes the previously announced schedule, leaving Portugal with a one-season absence in 2027 if a return is secured for 2028.
The 2027 edition was also expected to bring a change of base, with the rally poised to move from Matosinhos to Viseu. That move will now not take place as part of the WRC in 2027.
Rally de Portugal has a long history in the championship. First held in 1967, it was among the events on the inaugural WRC calendar in 1973. It remained in the championship until 2001 before a five-year absence from the WRC between 2002 and 2006.
The rally returned to the WRC in 2007, missed the 2008 season and has been continuously part of the championship since 2009, apart from the disruption to the WRC calendar caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Portugal’s exit comes as the WRC prepares for a significant reshaping of its calendar. Rally Scotland is set to return the championship to the United Kingdom in 2027 under an initial three-year agreement, with the gravel event based in Aberdeen and stages planned across Aberdeenshire and Moray.
The United States is also being considered as part of the championship’s expansion. A 2026 candidate event was held in Tennessee and Kentucky as part of the assessment process for a possible full WRC round from 2027, although the United States’ place on the 2027 calendar had not been confirmed at the time of the latest announcement.
The full 2027 WRC calendar is yet to be formally announced. For Portugal, the immediate focus will now be on discussions with the WRC Promoter and whether the rally can secure a return for the 2028 season.
