Dakar Rally 2027 moved out of Saudi Arabia over security concerns
The 2027 Dakar Rally will not be held in Saudi Arabia, organisers Amaury Sport Organisation said on Sunday, moving the event out of the kingdom over security concerns; the race will go ahead in a different territory, with the location to be announced in the coming days.
The 2027 Dakar Rally will not be held in Saudi Arabia, organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) said on Sunday, moving the event out of the kingdom over security concerns (Reuters).
ASO and Saudi Motorsport Company 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,” ASO said in a statement. The decision is “exceptional and one-off,” ASO said.
The race will still go ahead in a different territory, with the location to be announced in the coming days, ASO said. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the rally would take place in Africa, citing sources involved in the World Rally-Raid Championship. ASO said the Dakar would return to Saudi Arabia for its landmark 50th edition in 2028.
The rally has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2020. It is the latest sports event in the kingdom to be disrupted amid attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis: golf’s Asian Tour postponed the Saudi International indefinitely and cycling’s Urban World Championships was cancelled earlier this month, while the tennis tournament Six Kings Slam was postponed to December and the World Rally Championship dropped Saudi Arabia from its calendar.
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is the defending champion, having won his sixth Dakar crown in Saudi Arabia in January 2026 (Deccan Herald).
Sources
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