Slug: dakar-rally-2027-returns-africa-morocco
Category: Sports
Focus keyphrase: Dakar Rally 2027
SEO title: Dakar Rally 2027 to Leave Saudi Arabia for Africa: Report
Meta description: Dakar Rally 2027 will return to Africa over Saudi security fears, sources told Reuters. Prologue in Spain or Portugal, then 12 stages in Morocco.
Tags: Dakar Rally, Dakar Rally 2027, rally raid, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, ASO, Houthi, Middle East
Original element: our own data point + explainer context — links our own coverage of the Saudi security escalation (drone interceptions over Madinah, GCC Riyadh meeting) that is driving the move; plus Dakar history explainer (1978 origins, South America years).
Dakar Rally to Return to Africa in 2027 Amid Saudi Security Fears, Sources Say
The Dakar Rally will return to Africa for its 49th edition because of the security situation in the Middle East, three people involved in the World Rally-Raid Championship have told Reuters.
The race has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2020. But escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi movement, which has stepped up attacks on Saudi cities, airports and energy infrastructure, have forced organisers to rethink the plan, the sources said.
According to two drivers and a team manager, the Dakar Rally 2027 will start in Europe with a prologue in either Spain or Portugal before heading to Morocco for the rest of the event, which is expected to feature around 12 stages. The rally is scheduled to run from January 9 to 22.
Race organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the International Automobile Federation and the International Motorcycling Federation did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Why the Dakar Rally 2027 is leaving Saudi Arabia
ASO unveiled the original route in May, with the start and finish in King Abdullah Economic City. A record 5,320 kilometres of timed stages were planned for what would have been the race’s eighth edition in the kingdom.
But organisers had already been working on an alternative route in the north of the country, two drivers and a team member told Reuters earlier this month. The situation has since worsened. A strike on Riyadh’s international airport on October 10 killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300, underlining the risks of staging a major international event in the kingdom.
The Houthis have intensified drone and missile attacks in recent weeks. Feature Pakistan reported this week that a Saudi-led coalition intercepted five drones over Madinah and the Eastern Province, and that Gulf states held an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh to strengthen military coordination. Falling debris from one intercepted drone over the Shaybah Aramco facility killed two people.
Against that backdrop, moving the rally out of the region is a matter of safety for hundreds of competitors, crew and media.
A homecoming nearly two decades in the making
The move would bring the Dakar back to the continent where it began. The event started in 1978 as a gruelling race from Paris across the Sahara to Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and built its legend as the world’s toughest motorsport challenge.
Security threats forced it out of Africa after the 2007 edition was cancelled. The rally moved to South America from 2009 to 2019, then to Saudi Arabia in 2020. A return to Morocco would restore the African desert stages that defined the event’s classic era, even if the finish line is not the Senegalese capital this time.
Morocco already hosts rounds of the World Rally-Raid Championship and has the desert terrain, logistics and experience to stage the event. A European prologue in Spain or Portugal would give the rally a ceremonial send-off before the field ships to North Africa.
For the teams, the switch means new route books, new logistics and a different kind of desert. The Saudi dunes of the Empty Quarter will be replaced by Moroccan regs, erg and Atlas Mountain crossings. For fans, it is a return to the rally’s roots.
ASO has yet to confirm the change officially. But with three insiders speaking to Reuters and the security picture in the Gulf darkening, the Dakar’s Saudi chapter looks set to close after seven editions.
Read more: Saudi-led coalition intercepts five drones over Madinah | Gulf states hold extraordinary meeting in Riyadh | Iran rules out US talks as oil jumps | Tyson Fury rates Daniel Dubois among best heavyweights
Sources: Reuters, Channel News Asia
Why is the Dakar Rally leaving Saudi Arabia?
Sources told Reuters the 2027 edition will move to Africa because of escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, including attacks on Saudi cities, airports and energy sites.
Where will Dakar Rally 2027 be held?
The plan is a prologue in Spain or Portugal, then around 12 stages in Morocco. The rally is scheduled for January 9 to 22. Organisers have not officially confirmed the move.
When did the Dakar leave Africa before?
The rally left Africa after the 2007 edition was cancelled over security threats. It ran in South America from 2009 to 2019, then moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020.
