RIYADH, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Rally Saudi Arabia will not take place as part of the 2026 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, organizers announced Monday, weeks after the country lost its scheduled World Rally Championship round because of unrest in the region.
The event had been scheduled for November in Jeddah, having been retained as part of the regional championship following the cancellation of its WRC round.
In a joint statement, the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and Saudi Motorsport Company said the latest decision was made in coordination with the FIA following a review of organizational and logistical preparations.
However, the organizations did not specify what prompted the latest cancellation or whether the rally would return to the championship calendar in 2027.
Saudi Arabia had originally been scheduled to host the WRC season finale from November 11 to 14, but the event was dropped because of regional instability and concerns over logistics.
At the time, the FIA said Saudi Arabia remained capable of hosting the event safely, but uncertainty in the Middle East had made logistical planning difficult.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem also expressed confidence in the long-term future of the rally, which made its WRC debut in 2025.
The cancellation comes amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement, which has launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi infrastructure, including airports and energy facilities.
On Monday, a Houthi ballistic missile attack on a training camp for the Yemeni government security forces in southern Yemen killed at least 53 people and injured more than 200, according to media reports. The attack marked the deadliest single incident since the fighting in Yemen intensified in September.
The disruption comes amid wider changes to the international motorsport calendar caused by regional conflicts, with Formula One's Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix also affected earlier this year. ■
