Start: Alula, Finish: Yanbu
Innovation: 48h stage
Yesterday evening, the A.S.O., organiser of the Dakar Rally, presented the route for the 2024 edition. The route will again lead the participants through Saudi Arabia. The start and finish will be on the Red Sea. On January 5th, 2024, the Dakar 2024 will begin with a prologue in the City Alula. The finish will be celebrated on January 19th in Yanbu.
In just under six months’ time, the fifth edition of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia will send the participants off on their great adventure on January 5th 2024. They have 5,000 kilometres of special stages ahead of them, which will be completed in 14 days with a prologue and 12 stages. 60% of the routes are new territory for the drivers.
This year, the Dakar organisers have come up with an innovation: the 48h-stage in the « Empty Quarter ». It resembles a marathon stage and the participants have to do without the help of their team in the evening. But 2024 will be even more difficult: it ends at 4 pm! The pilots have to interrupt the special stage at this time and head for the nearest bivouac. There they have no contact with the outside world and therefore do not know which positions they or their competitors hold. It is not until 7 a.m. the next morning that they can continue and complete the rest of the stage. In addition, the motorbikes and quads are on different tracks than the cars and trucks.
Of course, the X-raid team will also be at the start of the Dakar 2024. The line-up will be announced in due time. Currently, X-raid is concentrating on the rallies of the FIA World Rally Raid Championship and the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas. In the Rally Raid World Cup, Sebastian Halpern is currently fourth overall in the MINI JCW Rally Plus. In the Baja World Cup, Krzysztof Holowczyc in the MINI JCW Rally Plus holds fifth place.