​An American Finished Second at the Dakar Rally on His First TryOngoing hostilities in the Middle East have reportedly forced the organizers’ hands. A handful of reports have come to light stating that the organizers of the Dakar Rally, the most famous off-road rally in the world, have made the decision to forego this year’s event in Saudi Arabia, instead choosing to go to both Europe and back to Africa.The supposed decision, which hasn’t yet been made public by the organizers, is due to the ongoing war between the United States and Iran and its proxies in the region, which has found U.S.-backed interests and allies being the subject of targets by the Iranians and their own allies. Ahead of this supposed decision, the safety of the event had been called into question, similar to both MotoGP and Formula 1 rounds in the region, and whether or not the event could go on due to threats of missile attacks, as well as actual missile attacks.Now, apparently, it’s settled, as Dakar seems to be heading to Europe and Africa for this year’s event.Racing Is RacingCFMoto Makes MotoGP Intentions Official With New Italian Racing DepartmentMotoGP’s Pedro Acosta Takes On F1’s Oscar Piastri Off Road. Proves There’s Nothing Acosta Won’t StoppieRideApart reached out to the Dakar organizers, but haven’t heard back by the time of publication. We also reached out to a select few racers we know are set to compete in the series, but also haven’t received any confirmation whether or not the event will continue as originally stated or whether it’ll indeed head to Europe and Africa.We also scoured the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) social and press pages, the organizers for the Dakar, and didn’t find a single press release or statement about the event changing locales. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t made the decision yet or that the reporting isn’t correct. Things leak all the time, especially in organizations as large as the Dakar.However, according to the reporting, the event will no longer start on January 1st, instead moving to the 9th, and consisting of a prologue, 12+ rally special stages, and more, with the event beginning in Europe and ending in Africa. It’s worth noting that the Dakar began with a rally from Paris to Dakar—Hence the name. It left for a while for South America until the Saudis took it over a number of years ago.It must be noted, however, that we’re still quite a few months away from the start of the Dakar, which would, theoretically, give the organizers time for the conflict to be settled. However, a number of teams have already begun sending machines, parts, and supplies to the region, which could become targets in the ongoing war that’s engulfed the region. Drone, missile, and other attacks have become common, with the Gulf states aligned with the United States being easy targets for Iran and its Houthi allies.Moreover, international events like this, MotoGP, and Formula 1 make great leverage for Iran and its allies, as it gives them more ammunit