Could the World Rally-Raid Championship have a second European date in 2027? The island of Sardinia wants to be that.

The Sardegna Rally Raid, which will take place this weekend on May 15–18, is designated as a canddiate event for the W2RC. If the organizers impress the FIA and FIM, they might be able to get it on next year’s schedule.

On the national side, the race is part of the Italian Motorally Championship and the Campionato Italiano Cross Country. It also counts for the FIM Europe’s Moto Baja European Championship while having a Classic category for vintage cars.

The Classic is partly inspired by the Dakar Rally’s own Dakar Classic, while the W2RC’s Rallye du Maroc also has one of its own starting in 2026. It’s one of several features that rally organizer Tiziano Siviero hopes will encourage the W2RC to add his race to their slate.

“I started thinking about a rally raid in Sardinia because I wanted to recreate that part of adventure that was being lost,” Siviero explained. “Inspired by the maze of natural roads that Sardinia offers, an authentic heritage, I thought of combining experience with passionate drive and conjugating the verb of ‘Adventure’ in an simply ideal place. But you can’t just take, you have to want to give. At that point, we asked ourselves how to create an event that would bring real value to the territory. Friends chatting, talking, meeting, planning in a fantastic crescendo, that’s how the Sardegna Rally Raid was born: two races that meet only at the night bivouac, the Italian Motorally Championship and the event candidate to become a date on the World Rally-Raid Championship.

“The Motorally with the beautiful route by Antonio Scanu and its 300 participants, and the candidate event for the World Championship which, like the Dakar and other classics, will have two categories competing. The motorbike category, which will also be valid for the FIM Europe Moto Baja European Championship, and the car category, valid for the Italian Cross-Country Rally Championship with an increased coefficient.

“I designed the route for the candidate event with different sections for motorbikes and cars, so as not to ease navigation for the cars which will start one hour after the motorbikes. The starts and finishes of the Selective Sectors for the candidate event will be the same for both categories. Also within the candidate event, there will be the Classic category, like in the Dakar. ‘Strong’ regularity, with imposed times that won’t be easy to respect given the nature of the route, and a more tourist-oriented regularity class, easier and more pleasant to stay within the time limits and enjoy the scenery Sardinia offers.”

The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, held on the Iberian Peninsula, is currently the only European race on the W2RC calendar. The series previously had the Andalucía Rally during the inaugural season in 2022.

Sardinia has hosted several off-road races in its history, most notably the WRC’s Rally Italia Sardegna since 2004. Extreme E regularly competed on the island’s military base with the Island X Prix until its transformation into Extreme H. The Swank Rally, a non-competition motorcycle rally, is also held annually on Sardinia.

Featured image credit: Aprilia Racing