Dakar 2027: teams withdraw, ASO keeps the rally on

The 2027 Dakar Rally is still officially scheduled for Saudi Arabia, from 1 to 15 January, but the security situation in the Middle East is already pushing several crews to withdraw. Organiser ASO has dismissed rumours of a cancellation, while other competitors remain entered.

ASO's position

According to Visordown, ASO says the cancellation rumours are unfounded, that organisation of the rally is progressing as planned, that it remains in contact with its Saudi partners and that it is monitoring the situation closely. No cancellation or postponement has been announced. General registration closes on 20 October.

The route starts and finishes at King Abdullah Economic City on the Red Sea, passing through areas including Al-Ula, Ha'il, Bisha and Al Bahah. It does not enter Riyadh or run directly along the Yemeni border, where some recent attacks have been concentrated, but several southern stages lie in the same general region.

A tense backdrop for the Dakar

Since February, the wider conflict involving Iran has hit targets in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Visordown reports that the Houthi movement has claimed attacks on Aramco facilities and on Riyadh, and that the FIA has cancelled the WRC round planned in Jeddah in November. The Saudi Arabian and Bahrain Formula 1 Grands Prix were also called off this year, and MotoGP's Qatar round was postponed from April to November.

Shipping vehicles adds another problem: equipment leaves Europe via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, and insurers have raised premiums for ships in high-risk areas. In the Netherlands, the travel advice for Saudi Arabia is orange, red for the border area with Yemen.

Who is out, who is in

• Ronald van Loon will not start in the cars category: the safety of his team was decisive, and he could not get his equipment insured on the ship.
• William de Groot is holding off for now.
• K Motorsport, run by Mathieu Kurzen, is dropping the Dakar Classic, which it has contested every year since 2023, for the Africa Eco Race Historic in January, from Tangier to Lac Rose in Dakar.
• Truck driver Marnix Leeuw, along with Janus van Kasteren and Michiel Becx, are entered. Co-driver Arjan van Tiel is going too, but wonders what the insurers will do.

What to watch

Visordown points out that the WRC's cancellation in Jeddah does not automatically mean the Dakar will follow: the organisers, routes and operational requirements differ. Insurers' decisions, the registration deadline and any ASO announcements will be decisive in the coming weeks.