Organisers unveiled the route for Dakar 2027 at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris on 4 May 2026, confirming the rally's eighth consecutive edition in Saudi Arabia will run from 1 to 15 January 2027. Dakar director David Castera presented a route built around a giant loop starting and finishing in King Abdullah Economic City, featuring three entirely new stages focused on the Red Sea coastline.
The 2027 edition will carry 5,320 kilometres of timed special stages, the highest total since the rally relocated to Saudi Arabia in 2020, surpassing the previous high of 4,903 kilometres set in the 2025 edition. Organisers say the route includes a greater proportion of sand terrain than the January 2026 edition, alongside a traditional marathon stage that tests both competitors and machinery without full team assistance.
Entries for the main Dakar event and the Dakar Classic historic category opened on the same day as the route reveal, with Dakar Classic marking its seventh edition under adjusted fairness regulations for historic vehicles. The Saudi Motorsport Federation also confirmed a third intake for its Saudi Next Gen academy, aimed at developing young rally talent, alongside a revised format for the Dakar Future Mission 1000 programme for innovative, low-emission vehicle projects.
While the Dakar Rally no longer runs through West Africa as it did until 2007, its North African heritage and ongoing Future Mission category continue to interest African motorsport followers and manufacturers exploring alternative-fuel rally technology. The 2026 edition was won by Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Source: Dakar.com (Amaury Sport Organisation).
Original source: Dakar.com — https://www.dakar.com/en/news/2027/2027-route-the-art-of-illusion/208293
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