Red Bull and KW25's mooted sale of WRC Promoter takes a big step as FIA opens a tender process for commercial rights
Photography by FIA, Red Bull
Words by Alasdair Lindsay, Head of Digital Strategy
The FIA has announced a tender process for the new commercial rights holder of the World Rally Championship.
It’s a year since JP Morgan was retained to investigate the potential for a sale of those rights – a sale reckoned to be valued at €500m (US$550). Since then the service park has been awash with rumours of agreement being close between various individuals and consortiums.
Following an extensive period of negotiation between the governing body and the current promoter, the decision was taken on Thursday to commence the formal tender process.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “The FIA World Rally Championship is at an exciting moment in its history. Millions of fans around the world are following the action, and new, younger audiences are driving its global growth. This Championship has enormous potential, and it is our responsibility as governing body to ensure it continues to grow and reaches new heights.
“This process is an important step and will shape the long-term vision for the WRC, and I am confident that, together with the right partner, we can take the championship to the next level, preserve its proud heritage, and grow its global reach for generations of fans to come.”
Deputy president for sport Malcolm Wilson added: “The FIA World Rally Championship, is the longest-running motorsport series of its kind, one of the most thrilling competitions in the world, with a unique heritage and an exciting growth trajectory ahead. The tender process for the commercial rights holder is a big opportunity for a new enterprise to take the Championship into its next chapter with renewed energy and investment. We will work with Red Bull and KW25 to find the best fit for this important role.”
WRC Promoter has remained tight-lipped on the subject of a sale across the past 12 months, but issued the following statement on Thursday: “We can confirm that Red Bull and KW25, together with the FIA, are launching the tender process to identify a new owner of the World Rally Championship. We see this step as a very positive signal for the future of the sport: the WRC has experienced strong growth in recent years and holds enormous potential to reach even more fans worldwide. Together with the FIA, we will ensure that the series builds on this foundation and enters a successful new phase.”
Red Bull and KW25, through WRC Promoter GmbH, has been at the commercial helm of WRC since 2013
In its own statement, the FIA emphasized the need to progress a sport which enjoys a 1.3-billion cumulative television audience with four million on-site fans across 13 rounds last year.
The statement read: “The FIA’s priority is to ensure that the WRC is best placed to maximise on this potential and deliver value to all its stakeholders, including drivers, teams, manufacturers, organisers and fans, while also preserving its strong heritage.”
DirtFish understands the current WRC Promoter agreement with the FIA has seven years remaning.
Tags: FIA, WRC Promoter
Publish Date August 21, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/08/c0keL2M5-Girardo_Co._Archive_216139-780x520.jpg August 21, 2025
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