Dakar Rally organizers announced on Friday, October 30 that the 2027 event will be held in Portugal and Morocco instead of Saudi Arabia due to security concerns.
According to the new schedule, the qualifying stage and the first stage of the tournament will be held in Portugal, and Morocco will host the remaining 11 stages.
The time of these competitions has also been changed to 9 to 23 January 2027 (9 January to 23 January 2027, 1405). The competition route will be 7,824 kilometers in total.
With this change, the Dakar Rally returns to the African continent for the first time since 2008.
The organizers emphasized that the transfer of the competition from Saudi Arabia is temporary and the Dakar Rally will be held in this country again in 2028.