Aleš Loprais has raced the Dakar Rally 20 times. Whether he’ll do #21 in 2027 is currently hard to say as it depends on if he can get the sponsorship.

Loprais finished runner-up in Truck at the latest edition in January, his third straight podium after a second in 2024 and third in 2025. Despite his family’s legacy with Tatra and his own extended stint with Praga, he moved to IVECO with Team de Rooy in 2025 and has been with them since.

Despite being a Truck stalwart since 2006, he knows money talks in the end. Just as importantly, he’s unsure if the race will even take place in Saudi Arabia due to the ongoing war in the region.

He spoke with Deník about his 2027 plans on March 18 at the Pánov military day event in Hodonín, where he also brought his old Praga V4S and Loprais Team’s Tatra 815 Puma, HAS, and Babča. While Loprais’ own plans aren’t set in stone yet, the Tatras will compete in next year’s Dakar Classic as part of a four-truck effort (the team will also field a replica of Karel Loprais’ 1988 Dakar-winning 815 VD).

“I don’t know yet, it’s too early to tell,” he told Deník. “It’s a matter of finances, partners and sponsors. However, we’re going to assume the Dakar will take place. The question then is, in what location? There’s still relatively enough time. We know in the past that when there was a terrorist threat, the organizers moved the Dakar to South America.”

Loprais is, of course, referring to when the 2008 race was called off just days before kickoff after French tourists were killed in a terrorist attack in Mauritania. After a makeshift Central Europe Rally took place in 2008, where Loprais finished third, the Dakar came back a year later in South America.

The war between the Israeli-American tag team and Iran has spilled over into neighboring countries. Races in the Middle East have since been postponed, including rallies like the Rally Jameel in Saudi Arabia and the inaugural Oman International Baja.

While he’s not fully sure if he can take part, Loprais stressed that he’s still prepping as if everything is going to plan.

“It’s still early, but we have to train and prepare as if nothing had happened,” he explained.

Loprais won five stages at the 2026 Dakar, but a crash with defending winner Martin Macík Jr. hampered his chances. He finished second to teammate Vaidotas Žala by 20 minutes.

Featured image credit: Julien Delfosse / DPPI / ASO