After 30 years in Africa and a stint in South America, the mighty Dakar is moving to Saudi Arabia.

In what organizers are billing as ‘Chapter III’ of Dakar, calendar year 2020 will see the event pack away its South American maps and head for the dunes of Saudi Arabia. In a new environment, the rally will be an opportunity for drivers to test themselves in an unknown landscape and unfamiliar terrain. Driving skills, navigational prowess, and mechanical endurance will all be put to the test.

David Castera, Director of the Dakar, said that the team is already looking forward to being able to “design a course in such a monumental geography, made for the most audacious itineraries.” There’s no shortage of that in Saudi Arabia, given the vast landscape.

It isn’t the first time Dakar has made major changes to its fundamental foundations. Only last year, it was rumoured the event was in danger of cancellation, following a series of challenges. Most of the Dakar Rally events from its inception in 1978 were held on a route taking competitors from Paris, France to Dakar, Senegal. The race was cancelled ten years ago thanks to security threats in the area, and events since 2009 have taken place in South America.

Upheaval takes nothing away from the brutal nature of the off-road endurance event, one of the toughest in the world. In the past, competitors have faced stages ranging up to 500 miles per day. With Saudi Arabia as its new playground, that will surely continue.

Your author’s favorite participants in the Dakar are the absolutely gonzo Group T4 in which trucks weighing in excess of 7700lbs compete. The sight of an enormous Iveco, MAN, or Kamaz truck bounding over off-road obstacles never gets old.

Organizers are promising more details on April 25th. Until then, be sure to check out footage of the trucks from this year’s event.