Dakar Rally Set for Portugal and Morocco with Revised Dates

Pulse Sports Team 09:16 - 27 October 2026

Following the official announcement that the 2027 Dakar Rally will not be held in Saudi Arabia, sources at DirtFish have confirmed the new route for the iconic endurance event. The rally is set to start in Portugal and continue through Morocco, getting underway in the second week of January.

Organizers Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) announced on Sunday that stepping away from Saudi Arabia is a one-off measure. Both A.S.O. and the FIA clarified that the relocation was necessary due to "recent developments in the region."

A source close to the organizers shed light on the challenges of putting together the cross-country marathon:

"The situation was exceptionally complex. It was very difficult for A.S.O. to maintain the plan for a Saudi Arabian route knowing that the possibilities were narrowing in light of news from the region. Discussions were held with teams and all stakeholders to gauge their perspectives. For the organizers, canceling the event was unthinkable—it serves as the world championship of cross-country rallying, even if the concerns were of a different nature."

"During the World Rally-Raid Championship round in Morocco, the team worked tirelessly on a viable route for the event. Now it is set: starting in Portugal and heading into Africa. It echoes the classic route, but is strictly confined to Morocco. What A.S.O. has pulled off is incredible—they essentially managed to map out two parallel routes in a very short timeframe."

According to DirtFish, the revised schedule will see the rally take place between January 9 and 22, giving organizers an extra week to complete final preparations.

A.S.O. confirmed that full details of the new route will be revealed in the coming days. Plans remain on track for the Dakar Rally to return to Saudi Arabia for its milestone 50th edition in 2028.

Selecting Portugal as the starting location brings the rally full circle in Europe. In 2008, the event was canceled just a day before the Lisbon start due to security concerns in Mauritania. The following year, the rally relocated to South America, where it remained until 2019, before Saudi Arabia took over hosting duties in 2020.