Dakar returns to Africa in 2027: Portugal and Morocco to host the rally

After seven years in Saudi Arabia, the Dakar Rally is returning to Africa. The 49th edition will follow an entirely new route through Portugal and Morocco, starting on 9 January and finishing on 23 January 2027. Riders can expect more than 4,300 kilometres of special stages across some of North Africa’s most demanding desert terrain.

The Dakar Rally will make a historic return to Africa next year for the first time since 2007. The announcement follows a decision by organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), together with Saudi Motorsport Company, to move the 2027 event away from Saudi Arabia in light of recent developments in the region.

Instead, the rally will begin in southern Portugal before continuing through Morocco, where the majority of the competition will take place.

Starting in Portugal and heading towards the Atlas Mountains

The rally will begin on 9 January with a prologue in Loulé-Faro in the Algarve. The first special stage will take place the following day, before competitors board a ferry across the Mediterranean to Nador in northern Morocco.

From there, the rally will head south via Bouarfa and Zagora, following the Atlas Mountains, before reaching Agadir for a rest day on 17 January.

The second week of competition will take the riders even further south, through vast desert landscapes towards Smara and Dakhla. The route will then turn north along the Atlantic coast, finishing in Marrakech on 23 January.

The rally will cover a total distance of 7,824 kilometres, including 4,341 kilometres of timed special stages. Most of these stages will be between 350 and 500 kilometres long.

For the motorcycle riders, this means long days of navigation and riding across varied terrain. Morocco’s desert landscapes offer everything from rocky plateaus and technical tracks to sand dunes, putting both riders and machines to the test.

A return to the rally’s roots

The Dakar Rally has its roots in Africa. The first edition started in Paris in December 1978 and finished in Dakar, Senegal, in January 1979. For almost three decades, the African desert stages were a central part of the rally’s identity.

After the 2008 edition was cancelled for security reasons, the rally moved to South America, where it was held from 2009 to 2019. Saudi Arabia has hosted the event since 2020.

However, the return to Africa in 2027 will be temporary. According to the organiser’s current plans, the Dakar Rally will return to Saudi Arabia in 2028 for its 50th edition.

A new challenge with limited preparation time

Relocating an event of Dakar’s scale with only a few months’ notice presents significant logistical challenges. The organiser has therefore been working intensively to develop a new route, drawing on previous experience of rally-raid events in Portugal and Morocco.

Race director David Castera emphasises that the short preparation period should not affect the sporting standard of the competition. The ambition is to deliver a full Dakar Rally, maintaining the same demanding standards of endurance, navigation and technical skill as in previous editions.

The 49th edition will also serve as the opening round of the 2027 World Rally-Raid Championship, held under the auspices of the FIA and FIM.

The stage is therefore set for a season opener that, in many ways, evokes the rally’s origins, but with modern racing technology and a whole new generation of riders.

Read more about the individual stages here.