Rally director David Castera has revealed the specifics of the 47th edition of the Dakar, which will take the pro and amateur rally raiders through the deserts of Saudi Arabia for the sixth time. A prologue and 12 stages will be held from Jan. 3-17, including the 48-hour “chrono” stage — spread out over two days in which the participants have to shut down their engines as soon as the sun goes down and spend the night in the desert.
The latter half of the rally contains most of the specials held on separate courses for the motorcycle and car categories, both of which stand to gain a lot from it. Fewer overtakes will make for an even safer race. On the sporting side, having parallel itineraries will force co-drivers to navigate without the aid of the tracks left by the bikes while providing enough time for the cars to start as soon as the sun rises. This reduces the likelihood of having to drive around the dunes after nightfall. Even so, the field will face tons of sand over the last few days of racing in Saudi’s Empty Quarter,
The route starts in Bisha and stretches for about 4,780 miles, including more than 3,100 miles of specials. For the first time, five stages will take place on separate courses for the FIM and FIA vehicles, amounting to 45% of the timed distance. W2RC champions Ross Branch and Nasser Al Attiyah enjoy top billing on the FIM and FIA start lists, which contain 340 entries in total.
