In a memo released on Thursday, the FIA announced major revisions to the federation’s circular measures related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Most notably, Russian and Belarusian drivers will now be permitted to race in FIA-sanctioned events without having to condemn the war. They can also use their respective countries’ insignias and flags, as opposed to when they were required to race under different nationalities or with a neutral flag (such a rule had already been in place for Russia pre-2022 because of the statewide doping scandal). In the meantime, the FIA will still prohibit international races in either nation.

The new policies were officially adopted with approval from the World Motor Sport Council on August 3. The FIA did not give an explanation for the ruling, though the war is obviously ongoing.

Some races already permitted Belarusian and Russian participation such as the Abu Dhabi Baja Challenge and Taklimakan Rally. While the events are overseen by FIA member clubs, they are national rather than international; ergo, they fall outside the FIA’s jurisdiction as their respective ASNs oversee their organization and operations according to local rules.

Naturally, the rule change sparked much celebration from the Russian side. Silk Way Rally president Vladimir Chagin told Match TV “it’s great to hear this news.”

Boris Rotenberg, the president of the Russian Automobile Federation, gave the following statement:

I wholeheartedly congratulate all our racing drivers, colleagues, and everyone involved in motorsport who played a part in this fair decision. This is a significant day for Russian motorsport. Russia’s legal standing has been restored. Our athletes will once again represent Russia on the international stage without any compromises, caveats, or artificial barriers.

This decision is the result of extensive diplomatic work by the RAF. We consistently maintained professional dialogue with our FIA colleagues while defending our country’s interests.

Sports and culture should be above politics, they are what unite countries. Justice has prevailed. We are grateful to the FIA for the constructive dialogue and stand ready to work together to address all pressing issues.

We have many highly-qualified drivers across a wide variety of disciplines. Even under the restricitons, they continued to win and demonstrate their ability in international competition. Now, they will once again be able to achieve greatness under the proudly-raised Russian tricolor and our national anthem.

Of course, this will have major ramifications for future Dakar Rallies too. Some Russians agreed to the original terms and have continued their careers abroad like Denis Krotov (who races under the flag of Kyrgyzstan now), but those who hadn’t will now be able to take part too. Andrey Rudskoy remarked, “Looks like it’s time to plan for the (world) championship or Dakar.”

Sergei Kariakin, the 2017 Dakar Quad winner, actively lobbied to the FIA to lift the restriction over the years and even connected with FIA boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem on the matter. However, in an interview with Match TV, he noted that he can’t even afford the entry fee for the 2027 race with a lack of sponsors; Kariakin’s Can-Am Maverick R is also not homologated for the SSV class and isn’t competitive enough to hang with Challenger cars. Still, he’s hopeful about making it before registration closes in November.

Anastasiya Nifontova, who’s competed at Dakar on both two and four wheels, echoed similar sentiment. She remarked, “There was a political issue which is gone, now remains the financial issue.”

The fallout from the full-scale invasion in 2022 included several foreign backers pulling out of Russian and Belarusian teams. Truck powerhouse KAMAZ-master lost Red Bull as a result before Gazprom filled the void, though the team leadership has been frank about recent financial hardships due to the lack of sponsor continuity.

On the other hand, things are murky for their Belarusian rival MAZ-SPORTauto. MAZ had already been barred from Dakar prior to 2022 because of EU sanctions on the parent company relating to Belarus’ violent crackdown on protesters following the 2020 presidential election. Still, the team has continued to operate as if Dakar was on the calendar.

While the war has shown little sign of stopping, various sports authorities have started to loosen their policies. The International Fencing Federation fully dropped its ban on Russian and Belarusian passport holders in June, while the International Olympic Committee “provisionally lifted” its suspension last month.

As of this article’s publication, the FIM has not indicated whether it will follow the FIA’s case. Unlike its automotive counterpart, the FIM has a full ban on Belarusian and Russian riders with zero leeway. The Board of Directors agreed in February to keep it intact for the 2026 season.

Featured image credit: Anton Elikov / KAMAZ-master