Dakar Rally Leaves Saudi Arabia in 2027

The 2027 Dakar Rally will not be held in Saudi Arabia. According to the joint statement published on October 25 by race organizer ASO and the Saudi Ministry of Sport, the 49th edition of the rally will be run for the first time outside the Kingdom, across Europe and Africa; The organization will reach its 50th plans to return to Saudi Arabia for the 50th edition in 2028. The race's new calendar is reported as January 9-22, 2027, with the final route announcement expected on October 26-27.

Why Is Dakar 2027 Being Held Outside Saudi Arabia?

The official statement's rationale is clear: security developments in the Middle East and, in particular, in Saudi Arabia. Throughout the autumn, a series of alleged attacks on energy facilities in the Kingdom dominated the agenda; at the end of August, the Houthis were claimed to have carried out missile or drone attacks on a Saudi oil tanker, on the Aramco facilities in Yanbu on September 24, and on the Aramco facilities in Riyadh on October 3. Yanbu, the Red Sea port that was the first stage finish of the original route, was removed from the route during this process.

It should also be noted that the real issue was not just the security map. The insurers' willingness to cover the risk and the manufacturers' resolve regarding sending their personnel to the region were the factors that effectively determined which way the decision would swing. For someone who has been through the dust of this business, it is not surprising; rally-raid's commercial side is as ruthless as its sporting side, and a Dakar without an insurance policy does not start, no matter how beautiful it looks on paper.

Simultaneous withdrawals in the motorsport world

Dakar did not make this decision in isolation. In mid-September, the FIA removed Rally Saudi Arabia from the World Rally Championship calendar after Toyota and Hyundai personnel were not permitted to travel to Saudi Arabia. Formula 1 also moved the Bahrain race to Malaysia on similar grounds. In short, every major organization scheduled for the region was facing the same picture, and ASO's eventual arrival at the same conclusion seemed less like a prolonged hesitation than an inevitable clarification.

The Decision Process from September to Today

How things got to this point is an instructive example of how this sport is run in rallying. On September 15, ASO had clearly stated that the cancellation rumors were unfounded, confirming that the 2027 Dakar would proceed as planned. Five days later, on October 5, during the Rallye du Maroc, crews were told of two scenarios: Plan A, a route without Yanbu and shortened within northern Saudi Arabia; Plan B was a short 8-stage race to be held in Morocco under the name "Rally Merzouga by Dakar". Sources report that there are indications of the existence of a contract implying that the ASO may not be able to organize a rally under the name "Dakar" outside the country without Saudi permission; This explains why Plan B's name gives a derivative event impression.

On October 14, the ASO sent an informational email to participants stating that the route had been left open. Between October 19-21, multiple sources, including Reuters, confirmed that the rally had been removed from Saudi Arabia and moved to a Europe-Africa route. The official announcement came on October 25, with a message that was the exact opposite of the vote-of-confidence statement a full month earlier. While the "breaking" posts circulating on social media days in advance were unverified, the official announcement finalized the decision; reading the news flow based on official announcements in such matters is no longer just an old habit.

New Route: Morocco, Portugal or Spain for the Prologue

The main line of the new route is clear: the rally will start with a Prologue in Europe on January 9, run its first stage in Africa on January 10, and reach the finish on January 22. A ferry crossing from Europe to Africa is planned. The answer to where the Prologue will start is still pending; Spain and Portugal stand out as candidates, and the final decision has not been announced. Consensus seems to have been reached on Morocco for the main route, and it is understood that the route is ready. The exact countries and start and finish points are awaiting government approvals; the official announcement is expected on October 26-27.

Morocco is not a foreign country for this role. The country, which has hosted the Rallye du Maroc for years, has its organizational infrastructure ready, and the organizer Pro Dunes - a team whose investors include Pep Vila and Marc Coma - has no objection. It is reported that Vila finds the contingency plan convincing and feasible. In the past, separating the Dakar from Africa would have meant the end of the organization; now the same continent is sitting at the table as the most reliable option to fill the Kingdom's place. Times are changing, and the organization is changing with them.

Old plan and new format side by side

Looking at the table, the difference is clear: the Morocco scenario is significantly cheaper and shorter than the Dakar's Saudi plan. For those who love comparisons, this can be considered a handicap; but emergency editions are not made to chase absolute records anyway - they are made because they can be done. It was also announced that registration will be delivered on November 16, 2026, with additional time granted for payment and administrative procedures.

Teams, Manufacturers and Insurance: Who Pushed for the Decision?

At the forefront of the decision's drivers are the manufacturers. Teams like Toyota and KTM applied pressure in the search for alternatives by clearly stating they would not send personnel to the conflict zone. KTM team principal Andreas Hölzl is reported to have expressed hope for a safe Plan B and said he did not want to get involved in a military conflict. In mid-September, KTM had already stated they could not wait for the decision to be announced; the organization keeping the teams' logistics plans on hold for months is not a luxury tolerated in this sport.

The insurance front was just as decisive as the manufacturers. Spanish insurers reportedly did not cover any risks in Saudi Arabia, while equipment sea freight insurance for smaller teams offered low compensation per kilo. Assistance companies that derive a large share of their annual revenue from the Dakar are the most vulnerable group in this picture; while some one-time participants may withdraw, some are expected to prefer Morocco due to the lower price.

The Dutch scene summarizes the emotional side of the process: While Ronald van Loon and William de Groot have withdrawn from the Saudi Dakar, van Tiel, Leeuw, van Kasteren, Becx and Koolen were continuing their preparations as of September. The same team had to go back and forth between two different race plans on two different continents within a month - proof that endurance is not only measured in the desert.

ASO's Compensation Commitment and Its Implications for Participants

Dakar director David Castera's commitment is noteworthy: Entry, flight and hotel payments made through the organization will be fully refunded if the rally is not held in Saudi Arabia. Participants in the Morocco race will have the difference refunded; in addition, the option of transferring the paid amount as credit toward the 2028 Dakar is also offered. An organizer being willing to bear the cost of changing the venue of its own event is an indication of how serious the process is.

A conflict also arises on the calendar: The 18th edition, planned to start in Tangier on January 24, 2027 and finish at Lac Rose on February 6. The Africa Eco Race will bring two major rally-raids back to back in January, together with the emergency edition in Morocco. Some teams have already chosen AER. Two organizations that raced on separate calendars for many years competing in the same region in the same month is a concrete snapshot of rally-raid's shrinking stage.

Return to Saudi Arabia in 2028: Plan for the 50th Edition

The most striking line in the official statement concerns the future: In 2028, the Dakar will return to Saudi Arabia for its 50th edition. So this is not the end of the relationship between the Kingdom and the organization; a forced hiatus. The 14-stage route unveiled in Paris in May 2026, totaling 8,390 km with a record 5,320 km of special stages, hasn't been thrown in the bin either - it seems part of the plan is to re-establish a similar layout in the Kingdom once geopolitical tensions ease.

Yet a contradiction needs to be noted: Castera had rejected the idea of a return to Africa in January 2025, saying that Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal were unsafe, while Morocco alone was too small. A year and a half later, it was precisely this emergency solution that came into play. The distance between what the organizers say and what circumstances dictate is a variable that must always be measured in this sport. The decision depended largely on factors outside ASO's control - Saudi approval, the manufacturers' preferences, the insurers' appetite - and in the end they all pointed in the same direction.

What Does This Mean for the Rally Calendar and the Field?

The practical picture is as follows: Dakar 2027 is not cancelled, it has been repositioned. The dates have shifted, the format has shrunk, the geography has changed, but the race is happening. Entry submission is on 16 November; the new route announcement is expected on 26-27 October, and until that point, the outlines of the Spain-Portugal Prologue and the Moroccan route are not official. The critical question for the teams is which squads the shorter and cheaper format will keep in the field; for the organization, it is whether Morocco can build the infrastructure to carry an international rally-raid in mid-January in time.

In the long term, the key thing to watch is 2028. The 50th edition is planned to return to the Kingdom, and this should be read as the Dakar's Middle East adventure taking a pause. As someone who has spent many years in this business, let me say: This is exactly how the Dakar's history has been written - routes change, continents change, the race remains.

Sources

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