The third round of the World Rally Raid Championship in Kazakhstan, which was due to take place next month, has been canceled due to the “current international situation”.
Kazakhstan is a bordering country of Russia which began a military invasion of Ukraine on February 24 – a conflict that is still ongoing.
In a joint statement provided by Rally Kazakhstan organizer, the Automotosport Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the W2RC promoter, the ASO, confirmed the five-day event will no longer feature on the 2022 calendar, with a replacement round to take place at the end of the year.
“The current international situation has forced the organizer of the Rally Kazakhstan, round three of the FIA & FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), to cancel its 2022 edition, which was due to take place from April 25-30,” said an official statement from the ASO.
“As a result, the next W2RC round will take place from June 7-12 at the Andalucía Rally in Spain and will be followed by Morocco’s Rallye du Maroc from October 7-12, 2022.
“In view of this situation, all stakeholders of the discipline – the FIA, FIM, the teams and W2RC promoter ASO – are now jointly considering a number of possible replacements to host a fifth and final round, to be held at the end of the season. The Rally Kazakhstan will be fully restored to the 2023 calendar [subject to approval by the World Motor Sport Council and FIM Board of Directors].”
Bahrain Raid Xtreme’s Sébastien Loeb currently leads the W2RC points standings after two rounds, having finished second on the season-opening Dakar Rally and ahead of chief rival, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Nasser Al-Attiyah, in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
