Skip to content
Trail Roamer

Dakar 2027 Set to Leave Saudi Arabia for Europe and Morocco, Teams Told

Reuters' sources and team reports say the 2027 Dakar will start with a European prologue and race mostly in Morocco in January, its first time in Africa since 2007. A.S.O. hasn't confirmed it, and the official route is expected around October 26-27.

Trail Roamer Editorial TeamOct 21, 2026 · Updated Oct 21, 2026 · 7 min read
Tosha Schareina and his Monster Energy Honda HRC CRF450 Rally on the Red Sea coast during the 2026 Dakar in Saudi Arabia, the country the race is reportedly leaving. - Credit: Photo: Honda

If you grew up on grainy footage of bikes streaming across the Sahara, this one lands hard. The Dakar Rally is reportedly set to leave Saudi Arabia for its 2027 edition, start with a prologue in Europe and spend most of its racing in Morocco. That would put the rally back in Africa for the first time since 2007. Reuters reported it on October 21, citing three people involved in the World Rally-Raid Championship: two drivers and a team manager.

Here's the catch, and it matters: none of it is official yet. Teams say they've been briefed, but the organizer hasn't published a new route, and some of the details coming out of the paddock don't line up. Here's what's being reported, who's saying it, and what's still missing.

What teams say they've been told

According to Reuters, the race will start with a prologue in either Spain or Portugal, then head to Morocco for the rest of the event, with around 12 stages between January 9 and 22, 2027. Reuters says it asked the organizer, Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), along with the FIA and FIM for comment, and none of them immediately responded.

The earliest detailed account came from TimeOut Racing, a Swiss team that supports Dakar competitors. TimeOut says A.S.O. told it by phone on the morning of October 19 that the 2027 Dakar and Dakar Classic would move from Saudi Arabia to Europe and Africa because of the security situation. As TimeOut tells it, the plan is:

  • A prologue in Europe on January 9, 2027
  • A ferry crossing to Africa, with stage 1 on January 10
  • 12 stages and more than 4,000 km of special stages
  • A finish on January 22
  • The entry deadline staying at November 16, 2026, with extra time for payments and paperwork

TimeOut adds that the exact countries, start and finish are "still awaiting confirmation from the governments concerned." It says scrutineering won't happen in Santa Susanna and Barcelona as planned, with logistics to follow in a second A.S.O. newsletter.

Enduro21 says A.S.O. has been in touch with teams and describes 12 stages, a rest day, a marathon stage and roughly 4,900 km of total route. It says the Moroccan route "is understood to have been finalised," but admits it hasn't had final confirmation from A.S.O. In France, franceinfo reports a European prologue followed by 11 stages in Morocco over about 4,000 km, a rest day on January 16, a marathon stage and the "Dakar" name kept. It notes teams posted the news before anything was official.

Road2Rally has collected the reports from Spanish and Dutch outlets. Spanish outlets point to the dunes around Merzouga, and the start cities being mentioned range from Lisbon to Barcelona and Madrid. Bart van der Velden of the Dutch support team BAS Dakar told Omroep Brabant, in Road2Rally's translation: "Nothing has been announced officially yet, but we have been informed."

Where the reports don't agree

The outline matches across reports. The fine print doesn't:

  • Start date: January 9 for the prologue (Reuters, TimeOut, Enduro21) versus January 8 (franceinfo)
  • Stage count: 12 stages (TimeOut, Enduro21, around 12 per Reuters) versus 11 in Morocco after the prologue (franceinfo)
  • Distance: more than 4,000 km of special stages (TimeOut), about 4,000 km (franceinfo), 4,300 km of special stages (BAS Dakar via Road2Rally) and roughly 4,900 km of total route (Enduro21)
  • Start city: not settled anywhere, with Spain or Portugal the most-cited candidates

Treat every number above as provisional.

What's official right now

As of this writing, the official race site still lists the original plan. Dakar.com's 2027 route announcement, unveiled May 5 at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, describes a 49th edition from January 1 to 15, the eighth in Saudi Arabia, starting and finishing in King Abdullah Economic City with 5,320 km of timed stages, the most of the Saudi era. A.S.O. hasn't published a correction, and Reuters says neither A.S.O., the FIA nor the FIM had commented.

Reuters ties the reported switch to the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement, including a strike on Riyadh's international airport on October 10 that it says killed at least 12 people. TimeOut and Enduro21 both expect the new route to be announced around October 26 or 27, though Enduro21 says the exact timing is still subject to confirmation.

Why Africa still means everything to this race

The Dakar was born in Africa. According to A.S.O.'s own history guide, the first Paris-Dakar left the Place du Trocadero in Paris on December 26, 1978, with 170 competitors facing 10,000 km through Algeria, Niger, Mali, Upper Volta and Senegal. Founder Thierry Sabine dreamed it up after getting lost on his motorcycle in the Libyan desert, and the first bike winner was Cyril Neveu on a Yamaha.

The African era ended abruptly. The last edition on the continent, in 2007, started in Lisbon. Then, as A.S.O.'s guide puts it, the 2008 rally "was cancelled" after the murder of four French citizens and three Mauritanian soldiers in the days before the start, and after the French Foreign Ministry strongly advised against going to Mauritania. The guide says the terrorist threats French authorities identified "were directly pointed at the rally."

The Dakar landed in South America in 2009, and A.S.O. says nearly four million spectators lined the roads in Argentina and Chile that year. It stayed on the continent through 2019, finishing that year in Lima, Peru. In 2020 it moved to Saudi Arabia, starting in Jeddah and finishing in Qiddiya, with Ricky Brabec winning the bike class and handing Honda its first Dakar bike win in 31 years. The dakar.com history pages cover the full timeline. The most recent Saudi edition ended on a thriller: Honda's final-stage report says Brabec lost the 2026 bike title by two seconds.

What it could mean for bike privateers

Factory teams can absorb a schedule change. Privateers in Rally2 and the no-assistance Original by Motul class, often running one bike on one budget, feel it most. This is our read of the reported plan, not anything official.

  • Logistics get rebuilt. A European start plus a ferry to Africa is a completely different shipping and travel plan from flying into a Saudi port. TimeOut says A.S.O. will cover scrutineering and vehicle transport in a second newsletter, so privateers can't lock in freight or flights until it lands.
  • The entry deadline hasn't moved. TimeOut reports November 16 is still the entry deadline. That means committing money before the countries and the route are officially confirmed.
  • Later dates change the calendar. A January 22 finish instead of January 15 means an extra week off work for anyone who'd planned around the original dates, and more time for travel.

If you're weighing a 2027 entry, talk to your support team now and hold off on non-refundable bookings until A.S.O. publishes the route. Shopping for the bike itself? Start with our looks at the 2027 KTM 450 Rally Replica and the KTM 690 Rally.

What we still don't know

  • Which countries are confirmed, and whether the race goes anywhere beyond Morocco
  • Where in Spain or Portugal the prologue starts, and where the rally finishes
  • The final stage count, timed distance and dates
  • Where and when scrutineering happens, and how vehicles get across
  • Whether the host governments have signed off; TimeOut says that confirmation was still pending

What to watch next week

The date to circle is October 26-27, when TimeOut and Enduro21 expect A.S.O. to present the new route. If the reports hold, the world's toughest rally is going back to the desert where it started, and for a lot of riders that's the Dakar they fell in love with. We'll update this story as soon as there's something official.

Sources

FAQ

Is the Dakar Rally moving to Africa in 2027?
Reuters, citing three people involved in the World Rally-Raid Championship, says the 2027 race will start with a European prologue in Spain or Portugal and run mostly in Morocco. TimeOut Racing, citing an A.S.O. phone briefing on October 19, says it will move to Europe and Africa, with countries still awaiting government confirmation.
What are the reported dates for Dakar 2027?
Most reports say January 9-22, 2027, with the prologue on January 9. franceinfo reports January 8-22. The original Saudi dates on dakar.com are January 1-15.
When will the new Dakar 2027 route be announced?
TimeOut Racing and Enduro21 expect A.S.O. to present it around October 26 or 27, 2026, though that timing isn't confirmed.
When was the Dakar last held in Africa?
2007, when it started in Lisbon. A.S.O. cancelled the 2008 edition over terrorist threats, moved the race to South America from 2009 to 2019, and has held it in Saudi Arabia since 2020.
Has the Dakar 2027 entry deadline changed?
TimeOut Racing reports the entry deadline is still November 16, 2026, with extra time for payments and paperwork.

Related guides & stories

White, orange and blue 2027 KTM 690 Rally parked on white rocks with mountains behind

NewsFirst Look

2027 KTM 690 Rally: First Ride Confirms $14,199 U.S. MSRP

RevZilla’s September 29 Greece first ride puts a hard U.S. sticker on KTM’s factory rally LC4 - $14,199 MSRP ($14,848 as tested with options) - while dealers take crates from the October window.

Red GASGAS off-road motorcycle, right side, a model covered by CPSC recall 26-710

NewsRecall

Stop Riding: Husqvarna & GASGAS Braktec Rear Caliper Recall (CPSC + NHTSA)

CPSC recall 26-710 covers ~21,040 U.S. 2021-2024 GASGAS and 2022-2024 Husqvarna off-road bikes whose Braktec rear caliper can crack or break, and CPSC says stop riding them. Related NHTSA 26V443 covers ~6,257 plated FE S / ES dual-sports: check your VIN and book the free dealer repair.

Newsletter

Trail Roamer daily brief

One email with the trail news, race results, recalls and gear stories worth your time.

By subscribing you agree to receive email from Trail Roamer. Unsubscribe anytime. See our Privacy Policy.