The Dakar Rally will not return to Saudi Arabia in 2027, organisers have confirmed.
The world's toughest rally has been held in the Middle Eastern country every January since 2020, but recent unrest following attacks by the Houthis has forced a change of plan, with the event not being held in Saudi Arabia but will return in 2028.
The 2027 route will be officially confirmed in the coming days, with RacingNews365 understanding a course through Morocco and the rest of Africa is being lined up.
Check out the full statement below.
Statement in full
Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) 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.ย
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.ย
๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ด๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐.๐ฆ.๐ข. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐. ๐.๐ฆ.๐ข. ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ด, ๐ฎ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐๐ต ๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐.ย
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.ย
Since 2020, Saudi Arabia has hosted seven consecutive editions of Dakar, welcoming competitors from around the world on routes that showcased the Kingdomโs remarkable geographical diversity.ย
These editions have made Saudi Arabia an integral part of the Dakar community and established a strong, long-term strategic partnership between A.S.O., SMC and SAMF.ย
All three organisations reaffirm their commitment to continuing their cooperation, developing motorsport in the Kingdom and delivering outstanding experiences for competitors, teams and fans.
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