The Dakar will continue in Saudi Arabia in 2027 despite the conflict in the Middle East

The Dakar Rally will be held for the eighth consecutive year in Saudi Arabia in 2027, which will be the 49th edition of the race, from January 1 to 15, 2027, amid doubts about whether this would be its location due to the current conflict in the Middle East.

“The Dakar 2027 simply presents the highest mileage of specials of the Saudi era. And by far, since the competitors will be timed over 5,320 km, a figure that had not even been touched until now (4,903 km in 2025),” the Dakar reported on its website.

The Dakar 2027 route, which will be held from January 1 to 15, was presented this Monday at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris by David Castera, race director, accompanied by drivers and former drivers.

In its 49th edition, the eighth in Saudi Arabia, the ‘rally-raid’ is committed to “a varied route” with three unprecedented stages, oriented towards the Red Sea, starting and finishing in King Abdullah Economic City and the highest mileage of specials of the Saudi era (5,320 km and 8,390 in total), which began in 2020.

In this loop between the start and finish in King Abdullah Economic City, with 14 stages (13 plus the prologue), the Dakar will require “this constant ability to adapt” to remain “the definitive test of endurance.” There will be a night in a bivouac and a “more traditional” marathon stage, so the race direction intends for management to be key.

The route will have a ‘marathon-refuge’ on January 7 and a marathon on the 13th, both without mechanical assistance. The longest special will be the tenth, with 515 timed kilometers, while the 12th stage will be the longest of the edition with a total of 905 kilometers.

In addition, they revealed that there will be a “significantly greater” amount of sand on the course than in this year’s edition, in which the pilots found the role of stones, which in 2027 will be less.

Castera stated that “last year’s Dakar was quite exceptional”, with “incredible suspense”, so he wanted to “reproduce a little of the same thing”. “That’s why we added length and difficulty. The second stage is almost 500 kilometers, an incredible stage. I think the last 3 or 4 days are going to give us that intensity that will allow us to maintain the suspense until the end,” he commented.

“When we go to the ‘Empty Quarter’ we do an all-dunes special. Not here, we have managed to stay in Bisha, where there is a large part of dunes, and then we go to more normal tracks. I think there are almost 5 specials, where we are half dunes and half normal tracks. So we have mixed all the terrains within one stage,” celebrated a Castera who sees a Dakar in 2027 with “all the ingredients.”

After the presentation in Paris, the Spanish team EBRO Audax Motorsport confirmed that it will compete in this 49th edition of the Dakar Rally, after the ‘top 20’ achieved this year in its debut, with Laia Sanz as driver.

“We face a new edition in Saudi Arabia with complete confidence that, if this location has been chosen, it is because both the organization and the country itself can ensure the necessary security conditions for everyone,” said Sanz.

The Catalan believes that it will be an “interesting and unpredictable” edition. “It will, without a doubt, be a very tough Dakar, with very long days and many stages over 400 kilometers. For our part, we really want to continue working on the EBRO s800 XRR with the aim of arriving at the start of the next Dakar with our homework well done and better prepared than ever,” he added.