Fernando Alonso Dakar Ambition And Rally Future

Most motorsport seasons are winding down with the 2026 calendar fast running out of days. However, the dirt devils of the Dakar Rally are in full preparation mode as the flag is set to fall for the start of the legendary event on 1 January 2027. But, there may be a last minute change to the opening round of the W2RC season.

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Another Casualty

Saudi Arabia has hosted Dakar since 2020. The event abandoned its traditional home in Africa after security concerns forced a relocation to South America in 2009. The kingdom lured the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) away from the Atacama and has since kept the rally entirely within the borders of the Arabian Peninsula for many years.

However, the ASO has now been placed in the unenviable position of making a last minute change to the 2027 event due to ongoing geopolitical instability in the Middle East. Should a change be required it signals the possible return of the rally to its roots in Africa.

If the last minute change were to happen, it would be yet another motorsport series that has been affected after Formula One, MotoGP and the Creventic Winter Championship. The latter has moved its 24-hour race to South Africa, as we reported here. Morocco has emerged as the leading candidate for a substitute venue for the 2027 Dakar Rally. Should that happen, the ASO will, in all likelihood, scale down the event to host fewer stages, as opposed to the planned 13.

Alonso’s Unfinished Business

Event relocation isn’t the only last-minute surprise for the 2027 Dakar Rally as Fernando Alonso is, it seems, heading back to the grueling event. The Spaniard made his Dakar debut in 2020 where he finished thirteenth; not bad for a rookie. That result arrived at a peculiar moment in his career. He had already collected Le Mans victories in 2018 and 2019, and was deep into his pursuit of motorsport’s unofficial Triple Crown with appearances at the Indy 500.

Dakar represented an interesting side quest: not a missing piece, but a frontier still unconquered. And now it seems the double F1 world champion may be returning to the desert. He has been hinting to the press at recent F1 races about some ‘surprises’ coming. Spanish media have leaked that Alonso will be competing in the 2027 Dakar in an ‘Aston Martin’ off-roader entered by Prodrive.

British engineering house Prodrive had shaped Aston Martin’s sportscar racing efforts and is currently in charge of Dacia’s Sandrider Dakar effort. Dacia, having won the event in 2026 with Nasser Al-Attiyah, is leaving the sport at the end of this season (as we reported here). That means there is a race-winning car and team without a significant name attached.

According to reports there is a plan on the cards to re-badge and rebody the Sandrider as the Dreadnought, based on the virtual Aston Martin concept vehicle from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The virtual concept’s rugged body seems easy enough to translate into a reality that can be mounted on the existing Sandrider platform.

The Aston Martin/Prodrive effort could feature three cars. That leaves two remaining cars. These could be reserved for six-time Dakar Rally winner, and defending champion, Nasser Al-Attiyah and nine-time WRC champ Sebastien Loeb… talk about a team of superstars. Although our sources in the Dakar ‘paddock’ tell us that Al-Attiyah has already made a swap to Toyota for the next event.