The 49th Dakar Rally IS NOT Being Held In Saudi Arabia

10 hours ago

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After weeks of speculation, the organising body of the legendary Dakar Rally has confirmed that the 49th edition of the infamous race will not take place in Saudi Arabia as planned.

Red motocross rider carves down a sand dune at sunset, kicking up a cloud of sand; number 4 on the bike.

Well, that was somewhat to be expected - due to regional conflicts stemming from Irael and the USA's attacks on Iran earlier this year the 2027 edition of the Dakar Rally is being forced to race elsewhere.

In an official statement, Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) and Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) have jointly decided that Dakar Saudi Arabia 2027, scheduled from 1 to 15 January 2027, will not be held in the Kingdom, following recent developments in the region.

Unlike the 2008 edition of the Dakar which was outright cancelled due to security concerns, the 2027 race is still expected to go ahead with a replacement location to be announced in the coming days.

𝗗𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗔.𝗦.𝗢. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀. 𝗔.𝗦.𝗢. 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟴, 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟱𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆.

While the 2027 Dakar will not take place in Saudi Arabia, the ASO and SMC expect the race to return to the Saudi sands for its 50th edition in 2028.

Since 2020, Saudi Arabia has hosted seven consecutive editions of Dakar, with competitors from around the world taking on routes that showcased the Kingdom’s remarkable geographical diversity.

Stand by for updates on where the 2027 Dakar will run.