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Dakar Rally 2027 Will Return to Portugal and Morocco
The 49th edition of the Dakar Rally will take place from January 9 to 23, 2027, spanning from the Portuguese Algarve to Marrakech. This exceptional change of venue follows the decision not to hold the event in Saudi Arabia due to conflicts involving the Houthis; however, the organizers have confirmed that the Arab nation will return as a host in 2028.
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The total route will cover 7,824 kilometers, 4,341 of which will consist of special stages. The competition will begin in Loulé-Faro, in Portugal’s Algarve region, where the prologue will be held on January 9, followed by the first timed stage the next day.
This will mark the third time that Portugal has served as the starting point for the event. From there, the rally caravan will travel through southern Spain toward Morocco—without any competitive stages taking place on Spanish soil—before crossing into Africa via a sea transit to Nador.
Morocco will host eleven stages, with a rest day scheduled in Agadir. The itinerary will traverse the country from north to the far south, passing through Bouarfa, the Atlas Mountains, Smara, and areas near Dakhla, before heading back north. Participants will venture into the deserts of the country’s deep south, ultimately concluding the event in Marrakech on January 23, following twelve stages and six bivouacs.
This change of venue marks the return of the Dakar Rally to the African continent for the first time in 20 years. Morocco served as a transit point for the race for fourteen editions, up until 2007.
The event, created by Thierry Sabine, held its first edition between Paris and Dakar, starting in 1978 and concluding in January 1979. Currently organized by the Amaury Sport Organisation, it is one of the toughest and most demanding rally-raid competitions in the world, combining speed, endurance, navigation, and the ability to overcome mechanical breakdowns over the course of several days.
The 49th edition will kick off the 2027 season of the World Rally-Raid Championships, sanctioned by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM).
The Dakar features six major speed categories: Motorcycles—with a maximum engine displacement of 450cc, divided into the RallyGP, Rally2, and Original by Motul classes; Ultimate, which includes prototypes built specifically for rally-raid; Stock, consisting of off-road vehicles derived from production models; Challenger, for lightweight prototypes; SSV, for lightweight side-by-side vehicles; and Trucks, which have their own classification and set of regulations.
Additionally, the competition is accompanied by the Dakar Classic—a regularity rally for historic vehicles—and the “Dakar Future Mission 1000,” a program designed to develop and evaluate alternative propulsion technologies. The name “Paris-Dakar” originates from the original route between the French capital and the capital of Senegal, although the starting city has changed over the years.
