The ASO stated last Tuesday that the 2027 Dakar Rally has not been canceled and is still scheduled to proceed in Saudi Arabia as usual. However, as races in the region continue to be moved or canceled, anxiety among Dakar-bound competitors remains.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing is no exception. The reigning Dakar bike winners want a final decision soon since the team’s equipment will be heading from KTM’s base in Mattighofen to Genoa for transport to Saudi Arabia by November 15. While the race itself won’t start until January 1, everybody’s vehicles and gear is brought there by ship in the month and a half prior.

“That’s why we don’t have until mid-December to decide whether we’ll race in Saudi Arabia in January,” KTM racing director Pit Beirer told SPEEDWEEK.com. “We need to know soon whether to prepare the equipment and send it on its way.”

Some like Ronald van Loon and William de Groot have already opted out of racing. While others plan to take part, the deteriorating situation naturally has everyone on edge.

The World Rally Championship has already canceled its finale in Saudi Arabia, though Rally Saudi Arabia will still be held as part of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. The Dubai 24 Hour was moved to South Africa, while Formula One is already gearing up for the Bahrain Grand Prix’s temporary home in Malaysia.

On the other hand, the W2RC’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge remains on the calendar at the moment as are the Qatar and Dubai International Bajas. F1’s Qatar and Abu Dhabi GPs are also still on its schedule for now.

To this end, Beirer explained the team will still prepare for Dakar as long as it remains scheduled. Still, he does understand that “there are people on our team who aren’t keen on flying out in that direction. We’re watching the news closely and hoping for the relieving words that the Strait of Hormuz is open, that an agreement has been reached, and everything will calm down. If the bigger picture was to calm down, then everything else will also calm down soon and we’d be happy to travel there.

“As things stand, though, it’s not looking good. Time is working against us. We’re heading to the Rallye du Maroc soon, and then the equipment for Dakar needs to be prepared.”

Heinz Kinigadner knows the feeling everyone has all too well. Currently an advisor to KTM and the uncle of current rally raider Tobias Ebster, Kinigadner was a veteran of the Dakar Rally’s African era in the 1990s who saw that period end in 2008 with cancellation because of terrorist attacks in Mauritania.

He told SPEEDWEEK that he expects the same to happen this year, though it isn’t official yet.

“When the rally in Africa was canceled back then, the riders would’ve signed a waiver accepting the risk,” Kinigadner said. “However, the organizer (here) faces a problem as insurance companies refuse to provide coverage when travel warnings are issued. This would leave all employees uninsured if they were traveling in such crisis zones. The organizer, with the entire TV production and the rest of the crew—that’s several hundred people—can’t be responsible for all of that.

“Alternatively, these people could simply not go. One of the top car drivers told me as such. Some mechanics have already said they won’t go to Saudi Arabia too, so it’s going to be difficult.”

Featured image credit: Florent Gooden / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool