Dakar Rally 2027 heads to Africa after Riyadh strikes

The 2027 Dakar Rally is leaving Saudi Arabia. Organizers made the announcement on Sunday, pointing to recent regional developments that made the original plan impossible. The race, scheduled for January, will move to a different territory. The new location will be revealed in the coming days.

The decision follows a series of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Those strikes killed 18 people and injured hundreds more. Organizers had hoped to keep the 2027 event in the kingdom by designing a new route in the north. The latest violence made that option unworkable.

Amaury Sport Organisation and the Saudi Motorsport Company confirmed a planned return to Saudi Arabia in 2028. They intend for that edition to mark the rally's 50th running. Specialist race media report that Morocco and Spain are under consideration for the 2027 race. A move to Morocco would bring the event back to Africa for the first time since 2007.

The Dakar is not the first major sporting event to leave Saudi Arabia this year. The Formula One grand prix in Jeddah was cancelled. The Bahrain race was called off and later rescheduled as the Malaysian race. The final round of the World Rally Championship in Saudi Arabia next month has also been scrapped.

Other events have faced changes as well. An exhibition tennis event featuring Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev was postponed until late December. The WTA Finals, originally planned for Riyadh, will now be played at Indian Wells, California.

The final two Formula One races of the season remain on the calendar. They are scheduled in Qatar on November 29 and in Abu Dhabi on December 6. Next month's Qatar MotoGP also remains scheduled. Reporters say all three events are the subject of intense internal debate.

Fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters has intensified in Yemen in recent weeks. The war escalated last month when the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia leads a coalition backing the Yemeni government. The Houthi attacks have disrupted businesses, airlines, and daily life in the kingdom.