Dakar Rally 2027 Moves Out of Saudi Arabia

The 2027 Dakar Rally will be relocated from Saudi Arabia, organizers announced on Sunday. The decision follows recent regional conflicts that disrupted the hosting of major sporting events in the Gulf.

The Amaury Sport Organisation and the Saudi Motorsport Company stated the event will take place in a different territory. They said the specific new location will be revealed in the coming days. The two groups also confirmed the rally will return to Saudi Arabia in 2028.

Saudi Arabia has hosted the race since 2020. Specialist media reports indicate Morocco and Spain are currently under consideration as replacement hosts. A move to Morocco would return the event to the African continent for the first time since 2007.

Organizers originally planned a new route in northern Saudi Arabia for the 2027 edition. They said recent strikes made that plan unworkable. These attacks include incidents this month at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Those strikes killed 18 people and injured hundreds of others.

The Dakar Rally is the latest major sporting event to leave Saudi Arabia this year. The Formula One grand prix in Jeddah was cancelled, and the Bahrain race was moved to Malaysia. The final round of the World Rally Championship scheduled for next month has also been scrapped.

Other events are being delayed or shifted. An exhibition tennis match featuring Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev has been postponed until late December. The WTA Finals, originally planned for Riyadh, will now be held in Indian Wells, California.

The final two Formula One races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi remain on the calendar for November 29 and December 6. The Qatar MotoGP race next month is also still scheduled. Organizers of these events are reportedly debating the logistics intensely.

The shift occurs as fighting in Yemen intensifies between government forces and Houthi fighters. Saudi Arabia leads the coalition supporting the Yemeni government. Houthi attacks have disrupted the kingdom's oil exports and damaged its international image.