France To Host First-Ever Moto Rally Raid in September 2026, and Newbies Are Welcome

If you've never heard of a rally raid that starts and finishes on French soil, that's because there aren't any. Of course, the most famous rally raid of all time, formerly known as the Paris-Dakar, had its ceremonial start in Paris, but the real racing took place beyond the French borders.  Now, the rally raid riders in France finally have a home event to look forward to.

An off-road rally. will take place from September 11th to 13th in the French Basque Country near Saint-Palais. The three-day event is open to enduro, trail, and rally motorcycles and is entirely road-book guided. There'll also be a non-competitive category for those who want to dip their toe in the water of rally raids. 

Long-time promoter of the French Enduro Championship, Jeal-Luc Miroir, is partnering with the MotoClub des 2 Gaves to launch the event. The competition is a full-fat rally raid and, as such, will include liaison sections and timed special stages. All of the raid will run without road markings, meaning riders will need to rely on the road book provided by the competition organizers. Much like most modern rally raids, the road book is now digital, so the riders will be equipped with tablets.

The competition is open to 450cc rally bikes, along with 2-stroke and 4-stroke enduro motorcycles. It'll also be open to entries to trail bikes from 125cc to more than 700cc. There will be several categories, which should help to ensure competitive and fair racing. For those looking to experience the rally raid without competing, there'll also be a Trail Experience category open to any rider with a trail bike. These riders can use the GPX track, but won't be included in the rankings.

It's expected that the route will cover 200 km (120 miles) per day and will include two timed special stages and a shorter prologue on Friday afternoon to determine the starting grid for Saturday and Sunday. World Hard Enduro events, and enduro events in general, to a degree, took a hit along with KTM's financial issues in recent years, so to see a new off-road event pop up is hugely encouraging for the sport.