Sports

Dakar Rally 2027 to move out of Saudi Arabia, with return set for 2028

Amaury Sport Organisation, the Saudi Motorsport Company and the FIA announced on Sunday that the 2027 Dakar Rally will not take place in Saudi Arabia. The organisers said the race will return to the kingdom in 2028. According to RT Arabic, another country will host the 2027 edition, and its name has not yet been disclosed.

سكاي نيوز عربيةSunday, October 25, 2026, 19:12Covered by 2 sources

Illustrative photo: Aerial view of two off-road vehicles driving across steep desert dunes at sunset. Photo by Nejc Soklič on Unsplash

Why it matters

Saudi Arabia has hosted the rally since 2020, so a one-year absence changes the route that motorsport fans in the region have grown used to. The identity of the replacement host remains the open question pending an official announcement.

Background

The Dakar Rally is one of the best-known desert rally raids and is run by the French company Amaury Sport Organisation. It features several vehicle categories, with competitors covering rough terrain over multiple days. The Saudi Motorsport Company is a partner in organizing the race inside the kingdom.

How outlets covered it

Sky News Arabia and RT Arabic agree on the core fact: the 2027 Dakar Rally will not be held in Saudi Arabia. Sky News Arabia highlighted the race's return to the kingdom in 2028 and named the FIA among the announcing bodies. RT Arabic framed the story as a relocation of the edition to another, undisclosed country, and named only Amaury Sport Organisation and the Saudi Motorsport Company. The RT text provided does not mention 2028, and the Sky News Arabia text does not address the replacement host.