2027 Dakar Rally on the brink of cancellation: the complex consequences of the war in Iran

Formula 1 had already moved the Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for early October, to Sepang in Malaysia back in July. Officially, the Grand Prix races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi at the end of November and beginning of December are still on the calendar, but hardly anyone expects them to take place there. This is because there is no end in sight to the war between Iran, the US and Israel.

This also affects MotoGP; the Qatar Grand Prix has been moved from the start of the season to November. If it proves impossible to hold the event then, as things stand there will be no alternative venue.

In the four-wheel World Rally Championship, the event in Saudi Arabia is scheduled for mid-November, whilst the motorbikes are due to race in the Abu Dhabi desert a week later. Insiders expect these events to be cancelled at any moment.

The same applies to the Dakar Rally in January, which has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2020. Information from promoter A.S.O. is expected in the coming days, as manufacturers and teams require several months’ lead time for this major event.

No insurance for travel to crisis zones

“Personally, I expect it to be cancelled, but there’s nothing official on that yet,” KTM adviser Heinz Kinigadner told SPEEDWEEK.com. “Back when the rally in Africa was cancelled, the riders would all have signed to say they were accepting the risk. However, the organiser faces the problem that all insurance companies pull out when there are travel warnings. This would leave all staff without insurance whilst travelling in such crisis zones. The organiser cannot take responsibility for that, given the entire TV production team and the rest of the crew – that’s a few hundred people. Or these people simply won’t go of their own accord; that’s what one of the top co-drivers told me. Some mechanics have already said they won’t be going to Saudi Arabia – so that’s going to be tricky.”