Gonçalo Amaral is already a two-time Rally3 race winner in the World Rally-Raid Championship, so he’s naturally set his sights on the biggest race of the calendar. Speaking with Forbes Portugal, he and his older brother Salvador explained their next big goal is to compete in the 2027 Dakar Rally for the first time.

To get there, they’ll be banking on their experience back home as well as their planned debuts at the Rallye du Maroc in September.

The younger Amaral won the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal’s Rally3 category in 2024 and 2026, both in dominant fashion. At the former, he and Salvador won all five stages and the Prologue as they finished 1–2 by a wide margin. Salvador was taken out of March’s race by an electrical failure while Gonçalo was the only rider in the six-person class to not experience any mechanical issue. Gonçalo claimed all but one stage to win by over two hours and 42 minutes.

Both brothers rarely leave their native Portugal for rallies. Besides doing the national championship, they often show up when the FIM Bajas World Cup comes to their home country for races like the Baja TT Escuderia Castelo Branco.

Dakar, on the other hand, is a desert rally which neither are particularly well-versed in by comparison. With this in mind, they’re keen on heading to Morocco for roadbook training before tackling the Rallye du Maroc. The ASO will also begin accepting Dakar bike applicants in July, so if either of them get rejected, they can use Morocco to change the organizers’ minds.

“I think it takes at least a year. We’ve been working on the logistics and support we need to be on the starting line for the Dakar Rally in January 2027 since January of this year,” Gonçalo told Forbes. “However, I think the hardest part is securing the backing to make it to the start.

“On the other hand, the Dakar is the most biggest off-road race ever with millions of viewers. We think that, with the right partners, we can create a mutually beneficial outcome for both sides.”

Getting to Dakar is always a tough challenge even outside of qualifying, especially since most Rally2 riders (Dakar doesn’t invite Rally3) are privateers without factory support. Salvador even noted to Forbes that this means the toughest part in prepping for Dakar is outside of racing like logistics and finances.

“This type of project is expensive and requires a ton of organization,” he explained. “Securing sponsors, guaranteeing the necessary resources, and structuring the entire operation just to be able to participate ends up being by far the hardest and most exhausting part.”

Featured image credit: Irina Petrichei / Edophoto / DPPI / ASO