The Director of Dakar David Castera stated that the fifth edition of the Saudi Arabia Dakar will be the “toughest one” in its history.
Once again, everything is set in the Middle East ahead of another incredibly exciting and thrilling edition of one of the most arduous and longest races on the planet, the Dakar Rally. If it were not like that, the saying “a great Dakar is a tough Dakar” would not even make sense, right?
This year’s Dakar will “skirt the bases of volcanoes, snake around canyons, and blast down stony and rocky tracks. Dunes are the one essential ingredient that you can never have too much of.” What will make it even harder, as Castera said in a statement received by Action Sports Network, will be that the riders and drivers “will plunge into this ocean of sand in a way that is unprecedented.”
Not only that, but the participants will also face a brand-new challenge this year, a 48-hour chrono. The latter will require the entrants to “scatter in the desert at nightfall, cut off from the world”, something which only the most fearless can perform.
This year’s edition will also look toward the future with the Mission 1000 challenge, creating another challenge in such a historic race.
Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al-Faisal also welcomed all the participants and stated that the fifth edition of the Saudi Arabia Dakar “is one to celebrate, as they [riders and drivers] take on the most prestigious and challenging endurance rally-raid on the planet”.