The 2027 edition of the Dakar Rally will no longer be held in Saudi Arabia, organisers announced on Thursday. Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) said that, because of recent military activity in the Middle East, the rally scheduled for 1‑15 January 2027 will be relocated to another country. The new host nation will be announced in the coming days. The decision follows a resurgence of fighting between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Saudi forces, which has led to daily air attacks on the kingdom. The conflict has raised safety concerns for the event, prompting the joint organisers to move the rally. The Dakar Rally, first run in 1978 after Thierry Sabine’s desert adventure, has a long history of changing routes and hosts. Originally a Paris‑to‑Dakar race across the Atlantic, the event has moved several times for political and logistical reasons. In 1994 the start was moved from Paris’s Champs‑Élysées to Euro Disney after complaints from the French capital. Subsequent editions began in the Iberian Peninsula, then in South America in 2009, and in 2020 the rally was held in Saudi Arabia for the first time. The organisers confirmed that the 2027 rally will still be run by ASO, but the exact location has not yet been disclosed. The announcement was made in a press release that also noted the rally’s new dates and the decision was taken jointly by ASO and SMC.
Article source: Adev&acaron;rul | Image credit: Adev&acaron;rul