The W2RC emerged from a sustained effort by the ASO, FIA, and FIM to rationalise the landscape of international rally-raid competition. For years the automobile and motorcycle sides of the sport had operated under separate world cups governed independently by the two bodies, with parallel structures that shared events but produced distinct champions. Following a vote by the World Motorsport Council that formally designated rally raid as the seventh FIA world championship in 2021, the three organisations agreed to combine their series. The ASO — promoter of the Dakar Rally, the sport's flagship event — was selected as the sole promoter of the combined series for an initial period of five years.
The first World Rally-Raid Championship officially began with the 2022 Dakar Rally and concluded in Morocco. The season was affected early on by the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, which forced the cancellation of Rally Kazakhstan, and by environmental concerns that required the rescheduling of the Andalucia Rally. Despite these disruptions the championship concluded with clear champions: Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel took the FIA title with Toyota Gazoo Racing claiming the manufacturer award, while Sam Sunderland won the FIM motorcycle championship with Monster Energy Honda.
The W2RC calendar consists primarily of two types of events. Cross-Country Rally events span between four and six timed stages with a total competitive distance of at least 1,200 kilometres. Cross-Country Marathon events are more extensive, requiring more than six timed stages and a minimum total distance of 2,500 kilometres. The Dakar Rally, the most demanding event on the calendar, sits firmly in the marathon category. Baja-format events — shorter, more compressed single-day or weekend races — are not part of the W2RC; they continue to be contested in the parallel FIA World Baja Cup and FIM Bajas World Cup.
On the FIA automobile side, the championship covers five technical groups. T1 Ultimate is the premier class for prototype cross-country cars, and the drivers, navigators, and manufacturers in this group contest the full FIA World Rally-Raid Championship title. T2 Stock covers series production cross-country cars, T3 Challenger is for lightweight prototype vehicles, and T4 SSV covers modified side-by-side production vehicles. T5 trucks may participate in events but do not earn championship points. Additional group-specific championships are awarded in T2, T3, and T4, while a FIA Rally-Raid Championship for Master Drivers recognises competitors aged 50 and over.
On the FIM motorcycle side, the primary category is RallyGP, whose riders compete for the FIM World Championship. Below it, Rally2 and Rally3 classes contest World Cup titles, with the Rally2 category also carrying Junior, Women, and Veteran trophies. A Quad World Cup rounds out the motorcycle structure.
The creation of the W2RC represented the most significant structural change in rally-raid since the Dakar Rally relocated from Africa to South America in 2009. By unifying FIA and FIM governance under ASO promotion, the championship gave the sport a coherent identity capable of attracting sustained manufacturer investment and broader media coverage. The presence of Toyota, Prodrive, Audi, and other major manufacturers in the early seasons of the W2RC demonstrated the commercial ambition behind the reorganisation. For competitors, the championship provides a clear pathway from regional and baja events through to the sport's highest tier.