After two seasons as the FIM Sand Races World Cup, the series has been elevated to World Championship status to become the FIM Sand Races World Championship.

As part of its new identity, the series’ 2025 calendar has been expanded from four races to six. The Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais, the crown jewel of sand racing, will serve as the season opener as it has since 2023, but the season will extend into the next calendar year and finish with the 2026 Enduropale du Touquet.

This approach is rare since most series prefer to keep their seasons within a single calendar year, but not unprecedented. The FIA World Endurance Championship’s 2018 season included both the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, though this was more a quirk of transitioning to a winter-based schedule and Le Mans only appeared once on the 2019–20 calendar onward.

Sand Races appears to be following the same blueprint. Touquet is its only race held in the winter, while the second round in Argentina is not scheduled to take place until over six months later in August. The Bibione Sand Storm and Monte Gordo Sand Experience are just a month apart in October and November, with a new race in France sandwiched in between.

A specific date for the 2026 Enduropale du Touquet was not immediately revealed.

The Sand Races World Championship was debuted in 2023. It is overseen by the FIM Cross-Country Commission, who also runs the FIM Bajas World Cup and World Rally-Raid Championship.

Tentative 2025 FIM Sand Races World Championship schedule

#	Race	Country	Date
1	Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais	France	February 8–9
2	Enduro del Invierno	Argentina	August 29–31
3	Bibione Sand Storm	Italy	October 24–26*
4	TBA	France	TBA
5	Monte Gordo Sand Experience	Portugal	November 29–30
6	Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais	France	February 2026

Featured image credit: Frederik Herregods