Dakar announces Portugal and Morocco as 2027 host destinations
by Rachit Thukral · AutosportNew dates and venues for Dakar announced just over two months before the start of the event
The 2027 Dakar Rally has been relocated to Portugal and Morocco, with the war in West Asia preventing Saudi Arabia from hosting the event as originally planned.
Having been originally scheduled to begin on New Year’s Day, the 49th edition of Dakar will now run from 7-23 January and traverse two continents, bringing the marathon back to its roots in Europe and Africa.
As per the new route, the rally will kick off in Portugal, with the Algarve Stadium serving as the venue for the Prologue. Portugal will also host the first full stage of the event, before the rally moves to Morocco for the remaining nine stages.
Competitors will initially head to the south of Morocco, before heading back north and running alongside the Atlantic Ocean. After covering nearly 8000km over two weeks, the rally will conclude in capital Marrakesh.
"The relocated 49th edition of the Dakar will meet the sporting standards that have always made it the most demanding rally-raid event,” said Dakar director David Castera.
“Despite the short timeframe we have had to work with, we have designed a true Dakar. The ACP (Automóvel Club de Portugal) is supporting us in Portugal, having established its round of the FIA-FIM World Rally-Raid Championship as a cornerstone of the season since 2024. And in Morocco, our expertise across the entire territory, combined with the operational capabilities of our internal teams, allows us to go far beyond the formats previously offered in the country: competitors will discover the Kingdom from one end to the other.
“We will explore all its distinctive features through a route of unprecedented scale. Here too, the country's expertise in hosting major international events, as well as the quality of its infrastructure, will be invaluable in enabling us to offer everyone a truly first-class Dakar.”
There has been plenty of speculation about Dakar 2027, with questions over whether the rally-raid can proceed as planned in Saudi Arabia amid the on-going conflict in the Middle East. Iran-aligned Houthis recently attacked several key sites in the country, including the international airport in Riyadh, plunging the future of the event in serious doubt.
But ASO had been considering back up options for several weeks, with Morocco eventually emerging as the most obvious destination due to its landscape and history in rally-raid. The country already plays host to Rally de Moroc, which is included on the World Rally-Raid Championship calendar and is often seen as a dress rehearsal for Dakar itself.
ASO had also been mulling pairing Morocco with a European country, with both Spain and Portugal seen as the most likely destination to start the event before the latter was ultimately selected.
This means that Dakar will take place outside of Asia for the first time since 2020, when the rally first moved to Saudi Arabia as part of a multi-year deal.
The event traces its roots back to the 1970s, when it was known as the Paris-Dakar Rally and traditionally started and finished in the capitals of France and Senegal, respectively.
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