The Dakar Rally is temporarily relocating from Saudi Arabia to Portugal and Morocco for 2027 due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The annual rally raid will begin in Portugal in Loulé-Faro, at the 30,000-seat Algarve Stadium. This arena will provide the setting for the launch of the 49th edition, which will head towards Morocco, a historic ally of the event.

Experienced in hosting international events, Morocco will be able to support the Dakar in meeting a new organizational challenge within the limited time frame available, Dakar Rally organizers said.

Following the opening of the service park on January 5 in Loulé-Faro, administrative and technical scrutineering will take place there from January 6-8. The sporting action will begin in Portugal on January 9 with the prologue, before the first special stage the following day. The stage will continue with a transfer to the port of embarkation for Nador, Morocco. The Mediterranean crossing will take place overnight.

Upon their arrival in Africa on January 11, competitors will make their way by transfer to the first Moroccan bivouac in Bouarfa. From the Oriental region, in north-eastern Morocco, the race will initially head south along the Atlas Mountains via Zagora, then Agadir, where the caravan will take a 24-hour break.

Smara, then almost to Dakhla, will mark the furthest points on the map of the second week. From there, the caravan will begin its journey back north, once again via Smara, before following the Atlantic Ocean and reaching Marrakech, its final destination.

The route, designed over recent weeks based on the knowledge accumulated by the organizing teams and a series of reconnaissance missions, meets the usual standards of the season's biggest rally-raid event, with 2,697 miles (4,341 km) of special stages, a figure close to the format of recent editions. On a daily basis, most special stages will range between 180 and 310 miles (350 and 500 km).

For more information, visit dakar.com.

Images courtesy of Dakar Rally