Series: Dakar News
As of: 7 October 2026
Saudi Arabia has confirmed strikes on two airports. This gives the security debate around the Dakar 2027 a concrete trigger outside the rally bivouac. A move to Morocco, however, is still not an officially announced decision. Confirmed attacks and reported contingency planning have to be considered separately.
What is confirmed in Jazan and Najran
According to a report by the news agency Associated Press dated 6 October, the Saudi aviation authority GACA stated that the airports of Jazan, also spelt Jizan, and Najran were hit on Monday, 5 October. Both facilities were damaged and three people were slightly injured. These are therefore not attacks reported for the first time on 7 October.
The official statement as relayed by AP did not name anyone responsible. Houthi rebels had previously claimed missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. AP could not confirm an additionally alleged strike on Abha airport in this report. This distinction remains essential: a claim of an attack alone does not prove a successful impact. AP report of 6 October · Readable AP version at KSAT.
The public Dakar planning still says Saudi Arabia
When accessed on 7 October, the official Dakar website still gives the dates as 1 to 15 January 2027. The route presented on 5 May starts and ends in King Abdullah Economic City. A publicly accessible ASO statement confirming a move to Morocco or a cancellation could not be found for this article. The original announcement is therefore the publicly documented position, but not a new security guarantee. Official route presentation.
What lies behind Plan B
Mundo Deportivo reported on 5 October on two options: a northern route in Saudi Arabia, or eight stages in Morocco under the possible name “Rally Merzouga by Dakar”. The route details come mainly from unnamed participants and team representatives.
Pep Vila of Pro Dunes, the organiser of the Rallye du Maroc, confirms contact with ASO to the newspaper and signals support. That proves talks, but not a decided replacement event. Mundo Deportivo investigation.
The report appeared before the attacks on Monday evening. The contingency considerations therefore cannot be presented as an already agreed response to these very airport strikes.
KTM wants to race, but under safe conditions
KTM rally team manager Andreas Hölzl says in the same Mundo Deportivo report that his team wants to take part. He hopes for a safe solution, if necessary with a Plan B. He points to the responsibility for riders and staff. This is not a binding KTM commitment to start in Morocco.
Opinion in the paddock is by no means uniform. AS reported on 1 October that Ford team boss Matt Wilson was sceptical about a Moroccan alternative. Carlos Sainz expressed concern about developments, while Nasser Al-Attiyah was at that time firmly expecting the event to go ahead in Saudi Arabia. FIM president Jorge Viegas pointed to the need for security guarantees and to the decisions of the factory teams. These statements were made before the now confirmed airport strikes and are not reactions to them. AS, 1 October 2026.
For the Dakar, it is not enough to create distance from the conflict region on a map. From an editorial point of view, travel, equipment transport and movements between bivouacs must also fit into a robust plan. The decisive factor is therefore the next concrete announcement from ASO: which route is to be run, under what security conditions and with what binding consequences for participants? Until then, Morocco remains a reported alternative.
Sources and image credits
- Associated Press, 6 October 2026: authority statements on Jazan and Najran; also checked against the AP publication at KSAT.
- ASO/Dakar, 5 May 2026: original planning for 2027. Official website, checked on 7 October 2026.
- Mundo Deportivo, Oriol Muñoz and Fabio Marchi, 5 October 2026: alternative event models and statements by Pep Vila and Andreas Hölzl. Statements paraphrased from the Spanish.
- AS, Carmen Ruiz, 1 October 2026: earlier statements by Wilson, Sainz, Al-Attiyah and Viegas. Paraphrased from the Spanish.
- Photo 1: Tosha Schareina, Dakar stage 8, 12 January 2026. © A.S.O./F. Gooden/DPPI. Original Dakar gallery.
- Photo 2: Edgar Canet, Rallye du Maroc, 2 October 2026; published in the KTM press release of 3 October. © Matteo Gebbia / Edophoto. KTM original source; photographer and date taken according to image metadata.
- Title and social banners: AI-designed editorial collages based on the two original photos named above. Not images of the attacks. Dakar logo: ASO/Dakar.
