Dakar Classic Regulations 2027
What Private Drivers Need to Know
The 2027 rulebook has one big change most people get wrong
ASO published the 2027 Dakar Classic Technical and Sporting Regulations on 2 June 2026. We read every line of both documents — and we run the event ourselves. Here's what actually matters for your entry: which vehicles qualify, the new H1–H4 average-speed groups, the mandatory safety equipment, and the scrutineering process.
What Is the Dakar Classic?
A national regularity rally for historical vehicles, organised by ASO with the Saudi Motorsport Federation (SAMF).
The Dakar Classic 2027 runs from 30 December 2026 to 15 January 2027 — the same route, bivouacs and podium as the main Dakar Rally, but for period-correct machines and scored on regularity, not outright speed. The route is divided into 13 stages. It's governed by the FIA International Sporting Code; where the French and English texts differ, the English version prevails.
The Dakar Classic 2027 regulations in 30 seconds
The Dakar Classic 2027 is a regularity rally for historical vehicles, run by ASO alongside the Dakar Rally from 30 December 2026 to 15 January 2027 over 13 stages, starting and finishing at King Abdullah Economic City. It is scored on precision, not speed: the crew with the fewest penalty points wins.
Eligibility: your model must have competed in the Dakar up to and including the 2005 edition. Vehicles fall into Period A (1978 to 1994) or Period B (1995 to 2005).
The big change: H1 to H4 are average speed groups, not eras. Your period decides which groups you may enter.
Crew: two people in a car, each at least 18, with a driving licence and a start permit from their national motorsport federation.
Scrutineering: two stages, first in Barcelona before shipping, then at the start camp in Saudi Arabia.
Deadline: entries close 20 October 2026.
What Changed for 2027 — The Big One
If you've read older guides, forget the "H1 = pre-1980, H2 = 1980s…" idea. That's not how 2027 works.
Old myth: H1 = pre-1980, H2 = 1980–89, H3 = 1990–99, H4 = 2000–05
2027 reality: H1–H4 define the target average speed you race to — from Low Average (H1) to High Average (H4). Your vehicle's age is handled separately, through two "Periods" (A and B), which then determine which speed groups you're allowed to enter.
In short: Period = how old your car is. Group = how fast you're expected to average.
The two together decide where you compete.
Vehicle Eligibility — Which Cars and Trucks Qualify
Article 3.2 sets the base rule; the two periods and the eligible-vehicle list do the rest.
Eligible vehicles are 4-to-8-wheeled machines with bodywork, road-legal, of which a similar model took part in the Dakar up to the 2005 edition inclusive — or in any other rally raid of that period. ASO may also admit historically relevant models that never competed.
The Two Periods
Period A — Pre-95
1978 – 1994
Model's first Dakar participation before 31/12/1994.
Period B — Post-95
1995 – 2005
Model's first participation 01/01/1995 up to and including Dakar 2005.
The "Low Performance" List
Within Periods A and B, ASO maintains a separate "Low Performance" vehicle list.
Only vehicles on that list may register in the slowest group, H1. Everything else starts at H2 or above.
The Technical Dossier
Every vehicle requires a technical dossier, submitted through the ASO registration platform. This is where eligibility is won or lost — we build these dossiers for our clients, and they typically run 60–80 pages. The full eligible-vehicle list is in Appendix 1 of the regulations and online at competitors.dakar.com.
The Average Speed Groups Explained
Cars run in four groups (H1–H4); trucks in two (H1t/H2t).
Your group sets the target average relative to the organiser's "Base".
Cars
H1
Low Average
Base −10%
Low Performance list only
H2
Moderate Average
Base
Low Performance + Period A
H3
Intermediate
Base +5%
Period A + Period B
H4
High Average
Base +10%
Period A + Period B
Trucks
H1t
Low Average
Base −10%
Period A
H2t
Moderate Average
Base
Period A + Period B
Two things to know: for safety, on certain sectors (very rough track, passing near a camp) the speed difference between groups can be reduced to 0%. And a truck that entered specifically to assist an H1 car may not compete in the H2t category.
The Regularity Format — Points, Not Speed
You don't win by being fastest. You win by being the most precise.
Penalties are handed down as points, and the winner is the crew with the fewest points at the end of the rally. Each stage is built from regularity tests (RT) plus navigation (NT) and other timed (DT) sections. At each Bivouac Start time control you receive a timecard listing the target times for every sector; you hand it back at the finish control.
Speed is monitored across the entire route by the Tripy device. If the timecard and the Tripy disagree, the Tripy prevails. On road (liaison) sections the maximum speed is 130 km/h, and lower where signposted.
Navigation — Roadbook, Tripy & Iritrak
Navigation on the Dakar Classic runs on the roadbook. You follow the route notes, not a screen that steers you to the finish. The navigator reads, the driver trusts, and the desert does not forgive a missed instruction.
Two devices are mandatory, and both must be wired directly and permanently to the battery. The Tripy is supplied by ASO and does three jobs at once: it carries the digital roadbook, it validates the waypoints on navigation tests, and it records your speed across the whole route as the official timing reference. If your timecard and the Tripy disagree, the Tripy prevails. The Iritrak is the safety tracker that tells race control where you are.
So yes, there is a GPS in your cockpit. It is not there to navigate for you. It is there to confirm that you followed the roadbook, held the speed limits and passed every waypoint.
Screens and controls must be visible and reachable by the crew when seated. They must not be mounted on the upper part of the safety cage. A tidy solution from an earlier build can fail scrutineering on exactly that detail
Mandatory Safety Equipment
From the 2027 Technical and Sporting Regulations. This is the non-negotiable list — scrutineering checks every item.
Safety cage
Built to Art. 8 or ASN homologated. No wiring or extinguisher hoses between cage and body.
6-point FIA harness
FIA 8853/98 or 8853-2016, plus two belt cutters accessible when belted in.
HANS (FHR)
FIA 8858-2010 or 8858-2002. All groups including trucks. Harness strap above the FHR.
Helmet
One of six FIA standards: 8859-2015, 8859-2024, 8860-2010, 8860-2018-ABP/ADP, 8858-2010.
Protective clothing
FIA 8856-2000 or 8856-2018: overalls, underwear, shoes, balaclava, socks. Gloves: driver only.
Windscreen, goggles & nets
Laminated glass, motocross goggles onboard, nets on front doors with glass or opening windows.
Extinguishers
Manual 2×2kg H1/H2/trucks, 1×2kg H3/H4; mounted system (8865-2015) for H3/H4.
Fuel tank
H1/H2/H3: original tank + 4mm alu plate. H4: FIA tank (FT3/FT3.5/FT5-1999), max 5 years.
Also required: a general circuit breaker operable from inside and outside, an audible warning device, compliant lighting, mud flaps, minimum 2 spare wheels onboard (never on the roof), and a medical + survival kit (FIA Technical List 83). Trucks carry two extra DIN EN 3 extinguishers of at least 6 kg at the rear of the freight compartment.
One requirement is not equipment: the car must cover at least 350 km on one filling, plus a 10% margin, so plan for 385 km (Sporting Regulation Art. 4.5).
Crew Requirements
Article 4.1: who is allowed in the vehicle, and what paperwork each person needs.
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Cars: exactly 2 people, a driver and a navigator. Trucks: 2 or 3, a driver, a navigator and optionally a mechanic.
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Each member must be at least 18 years old.
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Each must hold a valid driving licence for the vehicle category (for trucks, at least two members need a valid licence; the mechanic does not need an HGV licence).
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Each needs a racing licence from their national motorsport federation, valid for a national regularity event with authorised foreign participation.
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Each also needs that federation's authorisation to race abroad. The licence and the foreign start permit are two separate documents.
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The full crew must stay together on board for the whole rally; dropping or adding a member (except to transport an injured person) can mean exclusion.
The regulations call your national motorsport federation the ASN, short for Autorité Sportive Nationale. In Switzerland that is Auto Sport Schweiz, in Germany the DMSB, in Austria the AMF, in Poland the PZM. Sort both the licence and the foreign start permit early, because processing takes several weeks at most federations.
Registration, Scrutineering & Key 2027 Dates
Entry fees are covered on our costs page. Here's the timeline that governs your build schedule.
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05 May 2026, Entries open
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20 Oct 2026, Entries close — the hard deadline for your dossier
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27 Oct 2026, Entry list published
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27–28 Nov 2026, Pre-administrative checks & scrutineering (by appointment)
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28 Dec 2026, Bivouac opens; rookie briefing 29 Dec (mandatory for rookies)
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30–31 Dec 2026, Admin checks, safety-equipment distribution, scrutineering
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01 Jan 2027, Prologue — start of the rally
Official information — classifications, briefings, penalties, start orders — is published through the SPORTITY app. The 2027 route runs from KAEC (King Abdullah Economic City) through Yanbu, Al Ula, Hail, Al Duwadimi and Bisha, with a rest day and a marathon stage.
How TimeOut Racing Gets You Compliant
We ran the event with five vehicles in 2026. Compliance is where most first-timers stumble — here's where we step in.
Eligibility Opinion
We check your vehicle against Period A/B and the eligible list before you buy or build.
Technical Dossier
We compile the 60–80-page dossier ASO requires — photos, drawings, documentation.
Safety & Scrutineering
Cage, harness, HANS, extinguishers, tank — sourced and fitted to pass on day one.
Group Strategy
We help you pick the right average-speed group for your car and your goals.
The Technical Regulation and the Sporting Regulation
The Dakar Classic 2027 is governed by two separate documents published by ASO, and it helps to know which one answers which question.
The Technical Regulation is about the vehicle. It defines everything your car or truck must be and must carry: vehicle eligibility and period classification, engine and drivetrain rules, suspension and wheels, the safety cage, fire extinguishing systems, belts and harnesses, helmets and protective clothing, the fuel tank, lighting, and the mandatory navigation instruments. In short, it tells you what your machine must look like and how it must be built before it passes technical scrutineering. That scrutineering happens in two stages: a first technical check in Barcelona before the vehicles are shipped, and a final check at the start camp in Saudi Arabia that releases you to start.
The Sporting Regulation is about the event. It defines how the rally is run: the programme and key dates, who may enter and in which average speed group, the regularity scoring, crew requirements, timecards and time controls, penalties, and the registration process. In short, it tells you how the competition works once your machine has been accepted.
Most questions a private driver has fall cleanly into one document or the other. If your question is "will my car be allowed and how must it be built," you want the Technical Regulation. If your question is "how do I enter, how am I scored, and what are the rules of the event," you want the Sporting Regulation.
Download the Official Dakar Classic 2027 Regulations
Both documents are published by ASO and are the definitive source. This page is our plain-English guide to them. Always check for the latest version before committing to a build, as ASO issues updates during the season.
Official source: competitors.dakar.com/en/regulations
Documents reflect ASO version V1 (02.06.2026) and may be updated during the season.
Get the 2027 Changes Explained for Your Vehicle
Reading eighty pages of regulation in two languages is one thing. Knowing what it means for your specific car, your period, your safety gear and your build plan is another. We prepare a short breakdown document that translates the 2027 Technical and Sporting Regulations into a clear checklist for a given vehicle and crew: what applies to you, what you need to change, and what it will take to pass scrutineering.
Our clients receive this breakdown automatically, worked through with them directly. If you are not yet a client but want it before you buy or build, request your copy and we will put one together for your project.
Not sure your vehicle qualifies?
Send us the details before you buy or build.
An early eligibility opinion is the cheapest insurance against failing scrutineering in Jeddah.
📞 +41 79 578 24 55 ✉️ contact@timeout-racing.com