The 2027 Dakar Rally will no longer take place in Saudi Arabia as originally planned, with organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) confirming that the event will be relocated to a different region.
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, ASO and SMC said that the prevailing geopolitical situation in the Middle East makes it impossible to stage the event in Saudi Arabia, where the rally has been held every year since 2020.
However, the 49th edition of Dakar will still go ahead as planned from 1-15 January, with a new venue set to be announced in the coming days. It is widely expected that the event will be moved to Morocco, returning Dakar to its spiritual home in Africa, while organisers are also understood to be considering staging the Prologue in either Portugal or Spain before travelling across the Alboran Sea.
“Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) and Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) have jointly decided that Dakar Saudi Arabia 2027, scheduled from 1 to 15 January 2027, will not be held in the Kingdom, following recent developments in the region,” the statement read.
“This decision is exceptional and one-off and was taken in close coordination with the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), and with the support of the FIA and the FIM. Dakar 2027 will go ahead.
“The 2027 edition will take place in a different territory and will be organized by ASO. The location will be announced separately in the coming days.
“ASO is in direct contact with competitors, teams and partners to support them through this transition.”
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The organisers stressed that the decision to relocate next year’s race remains a one-off, with Dakar set to return to Saudi Arabia in 2028 to celebrate the event’s 50th edition.
The first-ever Dakar Rally took place in 1978, running from Paris to Senegal’s capital Dakar. Africa remained the home of Dakar for several decades, before the event was moved to South America in 2009.
It was only in 2020 that the organisers moved the events to Saudi Arabia’s vast deserts, although the original plan also envisaged expanding into other countries in the region from 2021.
“Saudi Arabia will host Dakar 2028, a landmark edition celebrating the 50th running of the rally,” the statement read. “Both organisations are already working together to make this milestone an exceptional moment for the Dakar and for the Kingdom, with a shared commitment to once again deliver an iconic and world-class event to the highest of standards.”
Several motorsport events in the Middle East have been postponed or cancelled altogether since a war broke out in the region at the end of February.
While Formula 1 and MotoGP are pressing ahead with their races in the region, with Qatar hosting both championships and Abu Dhabi set to serve as F1’s season finale, Saudi Arabia’s situation has become more precarious after Iran-backed Houthis attacked several key areas in the country, including the Riyadh Airport this month.
Formula E’s Gen4 era is also due to kick off in Saudi Arabia, with the Jeddah Street Circuit hosting the opening round of the 2026-27 season on 18-19 December.