Forced to leave the Saudi desert, the Dakar 2027 car and motorcycle rally-raid will "exceptionally" take place in Portugal and Morocco in January, a new impact of the wars in the Middle East on international sporting events in the Gulf.

"In light of recent events in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the intensification of attacks by Houthi fighters from Yemen, supported by Iran, against Riyadh, "the race will exceptionally relocate to Europe and Africa in 2027, before returning to Saudi soil in 2028 to celebrate its 50th edition," Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) announced in a statement on Friday.

"The 49th edition will kick off the 2027 season of the FIA (International Automobile Federation) and FIM (International Motorcycling Federation) World Rally-Raid Championships. This first round will consist of a prologue followed by 12 stages, from January 9 to 23 between Loulé-Faro in Portugal and Marrakech in Morocco," specifies ASO.

- Strong criticism -

This is the first time since 2007 that this rally-raid has returned to Africa.

This motorsport race is considered by its supporters to be "the toughest in the world" but is strongly criticized by environmental and human rights groups.

Cancelled in 2008 due to fears of attacks and jihadist threats, the Dakar Rally left Africa for South America from 2009 to 2019, before seven editions in Saudi Arabia from 2020 to last January.

The Paris-Dakar was conceived and organized for the first time in 1978 by Thierry Sabine, a French press attaché passionate about adventures and motorcycles, who died in 1986 in a helicopter crash along with, among others, the singer Daniel Balavoine.

The Algarve, in Portugal, "will be the scene of the prologue and the first special stage", while Morocco, with a view to a total exploration from the north to the extreme south of its territory, will host 11 stages and a rest day in Agadir," according to the organizer.

"The race will stop at six different bivouacs along the 7,824 km route, including 4,341 km of special stages," the statement adds.

- A "real Dakar" -

For the race director David Castera, this 2027 Dakar will be contested "without concessions", while Dacia, a subsidiary of Renault which won last January, has withdrawn from the rally-raid.

"The relocated edition will adhere to the sporting standards that have always made it the most demanding rally-raid event. Despite the short timeframe (...) we have designed a true Dakar," boasted Mr. Castera.

The resumption of hostilities - a war that began in 2015 - between the Houthis of Yemen, supported by Tehran, and Riyadh, including strikes against the airport of the Saudi capital on October 10 (13 dead), forced ASO to urgently seek another route, considering a departure from Spain or Portugal and crossing Morocco.

The war between Iran on one side and the United States and Israel on the other since the end of February, and its impact on all the Gulf countries, has disrupted the sporting calendars of this region which is opening up to sport and tourism.

Notably with the cancellation in April of Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and Bahrain, as well as the last round in November of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in the Saudi desert.

The last two F1 GPs in Qatar (November 27-29) and Abu Dhabi (December 4-6) are currently officially still scheduled to take place, as is the MotoGP race in Qatar (November 6-8), but are the subject of intense internal tensions.

In tennis, the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament that was to bring together several of the best players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, in Saudi Arabia, has been postponed.