Dakar Rally: Full throttle through the desert 🎥
START ON 2 JANUARY 2020 has barely ended when the new racing season begins. Traditionally, the Dakar Rally, which once again takes place in Saudi Arabia, marks the spectacular start. All the stars are at the start. This video explains everything you need to know about the 2021 Dakar Rally. The rally kicks off on January 2 with a short prologue in which the [...]
This video explains everything you need to know about the 2021 Dakar Rally.
The race will kick off on January 2 with a short prologue to determine the starting order. The route, starting on January 3 and finishing on January 15 in Jeddah, is completely new.
The world's toughest marathon rally first passes through the Empty Quarter, the world's largest sandy desert with an area of 650,000 square kilometers. Sand is a constant theme for the participants - but so are rock and scree fields, fast sections through wide open spaces and mountain trails.
Challenging for drivers and navigators
The planned route length is 7652 kilometers, of which 4676 kilometers will be driven in twelve stages on best time. Due to the many dry riverbeds and numerous crossroads, the 2021 Dakar Rally is not only a challenge in terms of driving, but also in terms of navigation - also in view of the new rules. An electronic road book will be used for the first time at the Dakar Rally.
The organizer A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation) marks danger zones. The device - a tablet computer - is permanently installed in the vehicle and displays GPS information alongside the road book section in the lower half of the upright screen in the upper part. But only once the stage has started.
However, the navigation remains identical to last year. The only difference is that co-drivers cannot prepare their Roadboock the evening before and therefore start the respective special stages "into the blue".
Large circle of favorites
In sporting terms, the desert race should leave nothing to be desired, as all the winners and stars of the last few years will be at the start. These include record winner Stéphane Peterhansel (Mini JCW Buggy) and record world champion Sébastien Loeb (Prodrive Hunter) as well as last year's winner Carlos Sainz (Mini JCW Buggy) and desert fox Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Hilux). Only Loeb (2017) has never won in the sand.
The short teaser introduces the favorites for victory.
Also with Swiss people
Several Swiss drivers are also embarking on the adventure. The most promising candidate for a top spot is Mike Horn as navigator for Frenchman and multiple motorcycle winner Cyril Desprès in a Peugeot 3008 DKR.
Rebellion boss Alexandre Pesci and his co-driver Stephan Kühni will try to slightly improve on their 2020 performance (43rd) and break into the top 40. Pesci and the Swiss driver of choice Romain Dumas will start with Rebellion RD's own cars.
The Geneva entrepreneur Vincenz Gonzalez will be competing in the SSV (lightweight) category with a Frenchman as co-driver in a BRP Can Am.
Daily summaries on free television
From January 1, the TV channel Eurosport 1 will broadcast a current report every evening from around 10.35 p.m. to 11 p.m. or later. Fascinating and spectacular action scenes, which also capture some dramas, are guaranteed.
