Rendezvous with history

The fifth edition of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia is set to kick off this Friday with a 5,000-kilometre map, a new 48-hour challenge and a host of competitors raring to tame the Saudi sands.

The organisers of the 46th edition of the popular rally raid have promised to create a course that pushes man and machine harder than any of the previous ones.

“Few things left the field of the Dakar as awestruck as AlUla and its region when the race first landed in Saudi Arabia in January 2020,” the organisers said, in a statement.

“The kaleidoscopic landscapes of the great outdoors blend with the weight of history and an element of mystery in a humbling experience and an invitation to contemplation.

“The Dakar has returned time and again to AlUla following its first encounter with archaeological sites from the dawn of time and the Nabataean temples sprinkled around the old town.”

Dakar 2024 will run until January 19, and adds flourishes to last year’s map.

After the first week, in which the competitors will feel the heat from the start in AlUla, the field will tackle an Empty Quarter triptych introducing a brand-new concept - a 48-hour chrono stage held over two days in which the competitors, scattered among eight bivouacs, will be basically left to their own devices.

“This is a new stage format, contested over two days with the constraints of a marathon stage, although competitors are permitted to help each other during the evening,” organisers explained.

“But this time, there will be no choice of canteen or repair companions, as the drivers and crews will be spread out over eight different bivouacs.

“When the clocks strike 4pm, all vehicles will be required to stop at the next bivouac they come across. With no connection and therefore no visibility of their rivals’ performances, the competitors will camp and set off again at 7am the following day to complete the remaining section of the route.

“The tally will be counted after around 600 kilometres of special stage.”

The immense desert of the Empty Quarter will be the venue for the all-new stage, with two separate courses, one for motorbikes and quads and the other for cars and trucks. Therefore, the top teams will not benefit from the tracks left by the two-wheelers and will have to navigate based on their talent.

The rest day in Riyadh will only provide a brief respite, as the varied terrain between that point and the finish in Yanbu is riddled with navigational challenges that could shift the balance of power at any time.

The route, which will cover an equivalent distance of 5,000km, of special stages continues the exploration of Saudi territory, with 60 per cent being all new sections.

A total of nine bivouacs will be set up on a large swathe running west-east, crisscrossing the route in both directions to a final finish in Yanbu, on the shores of the Red Sea.

“This time around, drivers will have the opportunity to immerse themselves even further in the atmosphere of the thousand-year-old archaeological sites. The principle of the start camp, which was a tremendous success among the competitors in its coastal version, has now been extended to the desert, with the bivouac located in the vicinity of the majestic temples built by the Nabataeans,” a spokesperson for the rally added, in a statement.

“Drawing inspiration from buildings that have stood the test of time, this is the perfect way to get into adventure and discovery mode before tackling the thousands of kilometres of the route.”