Dakar Rally moves to Saudi Arabia from 2020
- Published
Some 334 competitors started the 2019 Dakar rally on five different categories of vehicle - 180 completed the 10 stages
The Dakar Rally will be held in Saudi Arabia from 2020, with organisers promising an "unknown landscape and uncharted terrain".
The race - formerly known as the Paris-Dakar - has been held across South America since 2009.
The gruelling multi-stage rally was previously held in Africa but was relocated because of safety concerns in Mauritania in 2008., external
Saudi Arabia can offer 1.4 million square miles of desert for the route.
Reports suggest the rally, external will be held in Saudi Arabia for at least five years.
"After 30 years of discovering the beauty of Africa and a decade of adventure exploring the spectacular landscape of South America, a new chapter in the history of Dakar will be written," the organisers said in a statement.
This year's event - held in Peru - was the 41st, with 180 riders, drivers and crews completing the 10 stages in various vehicles.
Motorcyclist Sam Sunderland was the first Briton to win the rally in 2017.