Martin Camp hoped to race the Dakar Rally in 2026, but a difficult qualifying effort in the Road to Dakar encouraged him to push that plan back a year to 2027. That doesn’t mean he’ll be on the couch next January, as he plans to compete in the Africa Eco Race with his Kove 450 Rally EX.

A South Africa native, Camp was naturally on hand when the World Rally-Raid Championship came to his home country in May. However, his South African Safari Rally was cut short when he swerved to avoid a car and crashed, dislocating his shoulder. Afterward, he decided to defer his Dakar plans to 2027.

In October, he ran the Rallye du Maroc. Unfortunately, a myriad of mechanical issues plagued his bike until his time expired to result in another DNF.

“No longer doing Saudi Dakar as we know it, but I equally I’ve been doing something else as exciting and probably much more adventurous,” Camp explained on Thursday. “I’m going to do something else.

“We all know that the Dakar that’s going on now is only in Saudi Arabia and it does a big loop, but I’ve decided to do the African Eco Rally, which is the old original Dakar as we used to know it.

“Super excited about it. A real adventure. It is 6,000 kilometers, I’ve got a support team I’ve just lined up from Europe.”

Camp previously competed in the UAE Desert Challenge and won Class 40 (now Pro Moto 40) at the 2013 Baja 1000. He’s also done events like the Roof of Africa, Cape Epic mountain bike race, and Comrades Marathon.

Featured image credit: Matteo Gebbia / Edophoto