Cancellation of the 2027 Dakar Rally: Time is running out for manufacturers and riders

Much has changed in the world due to the war between Iran, the US and Israel, which has been raging since February 2026. Fuel prices are at record highs, and major sporting events in the Arab world are having to be rescheduled or cancelled due to security concerns and for insurance reasons.

Formula 1 has moved the Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for early October, to Sepang in Malaysia, whilst the Grand Prix races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi at the end of November and beginning of December are, in all likelihood, not going to take place there.

The MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix in November is on the verge of being cancelled, whilst the World Rally Championship has already cancelled its mid-November event in Saudi Arabia. The 24-hour race in Dubai was originally scheduled for the second weekend in January 2027; the sports car event has been moved to Kyalami in South Africa.

Everyone is waiting for the all-clear

Hopes that the Dakar Rally can take place in Saudi Arabia in January have now dwindled to a minimum. “We’re in limbo,” said KTM racing director Pit Beirer in an exclusive interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “As long as the race remains on the calendar, we have to be prepared. But of course there are people in our team too who aren’t keen on flying off in that direction. We’re keeping a close eye on the news and hoping for the reassuring news that the Strait of Hormuz is open, that they’ve reached an agreement and that everything is calming down. If the bigger picture were to stabilise, then everything else would settle down very quickly too. Then we’d be very keen to travel there. But as things stand at the moment, the outlook is bleak. And time is working against us. We’re off to the Morocco Rally now, and then we’ll have to get the equipment ready for the Dakar.’

For us, the race begins as early as 15 November.

KTM racing director Pit Beirer

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The first stage of the toughest and most prestigious rally would start on 2 January 2027, but the convoy would set off from Mattighofen for the Italian port city of Genoa as early as 15 November. “That’s where the race begins, because that’s where the technical scrutineering takes place,” Beirer noted. “That’s where you hand over your equipment to the organisers; for us, that marks the start of the race. Then we have a one-and-a-half-month break and fly there, but the equipment is already there because it’s being transported by ship. That’s why we don’t have until mid-December to decide whether we’re racing in Saudi Arabia in January. We need to know now whether to prepare the equipment and send it on its way.”

Contracts are in place, costs are running

As a factory team, KTM has a fully-fledged rally squad that is under contract for the whole year. In addition, however, there would be 14 people working for the ‘Oranges’ solely for the Dakar, such as a race doctor, a physiotherapist and the lorry drivers. “The train left the station a long time ago – these people are all under contract,” explained Beirer. “This is a very unpleasant situation for us because the costs are already running.”

KTM-Rennchef Pit Beirer

Foto: gerhard schiel

Between 2001 and 2026, KTM won the Dakar Rally 21 times out of 25 editions – it was cancelled in 2008. If it doesn’t take place, according to Beirer, “a highlight of the year” will be missing. The Baden-based executive continued: “We traditionally start the year with the Dakar; it feels absolutely brilliant when we kick off the year with a Dakar victory. Then the legend lives on with KTM in the desert. With the Desert Adventure, we’re the best partner: the professionals compete for victory, whilst customers buy a motorbike from us so they can take part in the Dakar. We have a service truck for our racers and all the amateur riders – that’s the spirit we’ve been living and nurturing for years. It would be very sad if the most important race of the year in the rally department didn’t take place. Because the truth is: the World Rally Championship, which follows afterwards, isn’t worth as much overall as the Dakar Rally. It’s like the Tour de France in cycling – it’s the supreme challenge.”