Safari Rally Is Back On The World Stage

The 2027 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship keeps its five-round schedule. The series welcomes one name back where local fans want it: the South African Safari Rally. For South African motorsport followers may want to clear some space in June 2027.

The local return

The Safari Rally slots in as round three, staged from 14 to 19 June. It is only the second edition of the Safari event in W2RC trim, so it is still building its own identity on the world stage. By all accounts, the inaugural event in 2025 was a favourite of all those who competed here.

South Africa has the terrain, the logistics, the off-road culture and the spectator appetite to host a serious rally raid round. A local championship stop gives fans a chance to see the world’s best crews in the metal, on familiar ground, without waiting for highlight clips from elsewhere. It also gives local competitors a proper measuring stick. There is no substitute for lining up against the best in the world on home soil.

The event also keeps the rotation with Argentina going, which will return every alternate year. It is part of a planned shuffle between those two regions, with the South African round taking Argentina’s place in 2025.

A five-race calendar

The championship has kept its five-round format and given competitors more time for logistics. Rally raid has never been a cheap or simple game, and the old habit of stacking major events too closely together can leave teams racing the calendar as hard as the dunes.

The season opens with the 49th Dakar Rally, run from 1 to 15 January in Saudi Arabia. Since 2022, Dakar has been the curtain-raiser. It is the eighth Saudi edition, which tells you how firmly the event has settled into its current home.

From there the championship moves to the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which returns to its place as round two from 21 to 26 March. That is the event’s 36th edition. Keeping the opening two rounds close together may help alleviate costs.

Then comes the Safari Rally in June, followed by the Rally-Raid Portugal from 21 to 26 September. The SA round and Portugal are far apart to allow plenty of travel time and for crews to regroup. The season ends with Rallye du Maroc from 24 to 29 October. Morocco is once again the finale.

What the return says

The return of the South African Safari Rally is more than a local feel-good story. It puts the country back into the championship conversation. Fans get a home round. Teams get another properly different challenge. The series gets a stronger African footprint.