The 49th edition runs from Loule-Faro to Marrakech over 7,824 km, with the 50th set for Saudi Arabia.
The 49th Dakar Rally will be held in Portugal and Morocco instead of Saudi Arabia, organiser A.S.O. has announced. The 2027 edition runs from 9 to 23 January, subject to FIA approval, from Loule-Faro to Marrakech over 7,824 km, with 4,341 km of special stages. Saudi Arabia returns in 2028 for the 50th edition.
The 2027 Dakar Rally will not be run in Saudi Arabia. Organiser A.S.O. has moved the 49th edition to Portugal and Morocco, putting the change down to "recent events" in Saudi Arabia without elaborating, and says the rally returns to Saudi soil in 2028 for its 50th running.
The relocation is described as exceptional: for one year the rally moves to Europe and Africa. The move extends to the Dakar Classic, the Dakar Future Mission 1000 and the Dakar Saudi Next Gen programme, all of which go with it.
A prologue and twelve stages
The Dakar opens the 2027 season of the FIA and FIM World Rally-Raid Championships. A prologue and twelve stages are scheduled from 9 to 23 January, running between Loule-Faro in Portugal and Marrakech in Morocco. The dates are subject to approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.
Competitors face 7,824 km in all, of which 4,341 km is timed special stage, with six different bivouacs along the way. Most daily special stages will run between 350 and 500 kilometres, which the organiser calls a substantial average given the terrain.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 to 23 January |
| Total route | 7,824 km |
| Special stage distance | 4,341 km |
| Format | Prologue and twelve stages |
| Bivouacs | Six |
| Rest day | Agadir |
From the Algarve to the Atlantic
Portugal gets the start. The service park opens in Loule-Faro on 5 January, with administrative and technical scrutineering from 6 to 8 January. The Algarve hosts the prologue on 9 January and the first special stage the next day, before a transfer to the port of embarkation for Nador and an overnight Mediterranean crossing.
Competitors reach Africa on 11 January and transfer to the first Moroccan bivouac in Bouarfa. Morocco then carries eleven stages and a rest day in Agadir, with the aim, the organiser says, of exploring the country from the north to the far south.
From Bouarfa the race heads south along the Atlas Mountains via Zagora, then Agadir, where the caravan takes a 24-hour break. The second week turns away from the Atlas and into the little-explored deserts of the far south: Smara, then almost to Dakhla, mark the furthest points. The route then returns north through Smara again and follows the Atlantic coast to Marrakech.
Entries and backing
Race Director David Castera promises an "uncompromising" Dakar. The organiser says 350 competitors have already registered, and that the event will again be broadcast in more than 190 countries.
In Portugal the Automovel Club de Portugal is supporting the organiser. The club has run a round of the world championship since 2024, and the 30,000-seat Algarve Stadium in Loule-Faro will stage the start. In Morocco the organiser points to the country's experience of hosting major international events and its infrastructure, and says it has designed the route in a matter of weeks from earlier reconnaissance missions.
