Rallying-2027 Dakar Rally to be held in Morocco and Portugal, organisers say

The 2027 Dakar Rally will be held in Morocco following a prologue and first stage in Portugal, organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) said on ‌Friday, five days after announcing that the event would not take place in Saudi Arabia due to security concerns.

"The Algarve will host the prologue and the first special stage. Morocco, with the aim of exploring its territory in its entirety, from north ‌to far south, will host 11 stages and a rest day in Agadir," ASO said in a statement. The 49th Dakar ‌Rally, initially scheduled to run from January 1 to January 15, will take place from January 9 to January 23, subject to approval by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council.

"The relocated 49th edition of the Dakar will meet the sporting standards that have always made it the most demanding rally-raid ⁠event," Dakar ​director David Castera said. "Despite the ⁠short timeframe we have had to work with, we have designed a true Dakar."

RACE DISTANCE 7,824 KM Dakar 2027 will cover a distance of 7,824 km, ⁠including 4,341 km of special stages, from Loule-Faro to Marrakech.

"We all worked to make sure this Dakar could take place. The fact that ​we’re doing it in two months doesn’t mean it will be a watered-down Dakar," Castera told reporters on ⁠Friday. The Dakar Rally will return to Saudi Arabia, which has hosted the event since 2020, in 2028.

It will be held in Africa for the first time ⁠since ​2007. The 2008 edition was cancelled the day before the start due to security concerns. "I thought it was good for the Dakar to return a bit to its roots, that is, to start from Europe and head towards the African ⁠continent. We wanted a more international dimension, which is why we’re starting in Portugal," Castera added.

The event started in 1978 ⁠as a race from Paris ⁠across the Sahara to the Senegalese capital Dakar in West Africa, and has long been regarded as the world's toughest motorsport challenge. It was staged in South America between 2009 and 2019 ‌after being moved ‌from Africa due to security reasons.