The Gulf nation secured a five-year deal to host the cross-country rally from 2020, marking a shift away from South America for the event after 10 years.

The first edition, held earlier this month, was held exclusively in Saudi Arabia as per the contract, but the ASO is free to add more countries to the marathon from 2021 onwards.

Dakar Rally director David Castera first mooted the possibility of a multi-country event in the Middle East/Africa last year, and says work in this field has intensified following the success of the 2020 event.

Dakar has traditionally been held in multiple countries since its inception in 1978, with the 2019 event in Peru the first ever to be hosted only by a single nation.

"I think we're going to try to add one more country,” Castera told Motorsport.com. “We haven't worked much on the next [edition] yet, because this had to be done correctly first.

“Now that it's done, we're going to work quickly. Saudi Arabia sure, of course. And there will be another one [country].”

Although nor ASO nor Castera specified any countries, Jordan and Egypt - both of which share a border with Saudi Arabia - are believed to be the most likely candidates for an expanded Dakar route.

Castera had previously revealed that ASO had been contacted by representatives from both Egypt and Jordan.

Should Egypt be added to the calendar, the rally would have to cross the Gulf of Aqaba or the Red Sea as the land route would require passing through Israel.

Egypt also has previous experience of hosting the Dakar, with Cairo and Sharm el Sheikh having served as the finishing point for the 2000 and the '03 event respectively.