Dakar Rally 2025: The somewhat different sandbox love affair

The level of difficulty has been significantly increased for the sixth edition of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. From January 3 to 17, 2025, the participants will have to dig their way through almost 80,000 kilometers of sand and rubble - more than 5,000 kilometers of which are special timed stages. The extremely demanding 48-hour chrono stage is also scheduled for January 5 and will separate the wheat from the chaff for the first time.

Even though Renault subsidiary Dacia is taking part in the world's toughest cross-country rally for the first time with its Sandrider, it has a good chance of finishing right at the front - or even winning the Dakar title. The newly founded motorsport team with five-time Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah and rally legend Sébastien Loeb put in a strong performance at the dress rehearsal for the legendary Dakar Rally in Morocco and even secured a one-two victory. The third Dacia Sandrider with Cristina Gutiérrez also put in a strong performance despite initial setbacks. "I'm very proud of the team because it was a huge effort by so many people," said team boss Tiphanie Isnard. "The Rallye du Maroc was our premiere, a test event for the Dakar. That's why we could hardly have expected this result. We learned a lot from this rally and there are a few things we need to improve, because the Dakar is a very tough race."

Of course, last year's winner Carlos Sainz will also be there in Saudi Arabia. The father of the Formula 1 star of the same name will be competing this year in a Ford Raptor T1+ developed by Ford Performance together with the specialists from its long-standing rally partner M-Sport. A 5.0-liter Coyote V8 engine from the Ford Mustang will provide the necessary power and tractive force for tough off-road use. With other experienced drivers such as Nani Roma, Mathias Ekström and Mitch Guthrie, "El Matador" and the Ford crew are likely to be among the Dacia Sandrider's toughest rivals.

However, the Toyota teams with the latest version of the race-proven GR DKR Hilux Evo should never be ignored in the hot desert sand. The merger of the European and South African crews of Toyota Gazoo Racing means that not only the young and wild Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero will be competing, but also veterans such as Giniel de Villiers. This makes Toyota one of the most versatile and balanced teams for the 2025 Dakar Rally with six vehicles.

Alexandre Pesci from Lausanne will once again be taking part in the legendary desert rally, together with navigator Stephan Kuhni. He actually only wanted to do one Dakar, but is now competing for the sixth time. "When I was 50, I only wanted to do one Dakar," laughs the now 57-year-old Alexandre Pesci. "As long as I can hold out physically, I'll keep going. The first goal at this Dakar is, as always, to finish. The second is to do better than in 2024!" Back then, he finished in 62nd place. It remains to be seen whether he can get closer to his best result of 2020 this time with his Taurus Rebellion & Spierings T3, where he finished in 43rd place.

Three Swiss riders will start in Bisha on a bike. For Dakar rookie Alexandre Vaudan on his KTM, this is a dream come true: "I used to watch the Dakar on TV with my grandmother and have dreamed of taking part all my life. For budget reasons, however, I initially rode a lot of enduro bikes. The experience of the crashes I've suffered in my career now keeps me calm." And the 30-year-old from Châble in the Valais adds: "I'm coming with the same ambition as for the other rallies; that is, to ride at my level and see where that takes me."

Yann Di Mauro, head of the Triumph agency in the canton of Vaud and an enthusiastic off-road rally driver, will also be competing in the Dakar for the first time: "I love facing extreme challenges on my own, it's part of my character," says the French-speaking Swiss, adding with a laugh: "And I'm following in the footsteps of my father, who took part in the Dakar in 1989." Dennis Mildenberger will be the third Swiss rider at the start on a KTM. The 47-year-old has been working towards this moment for five years and reveals: "My goal is to ride every kilometer of the race to the end. I want to enjoy these two weeks as much as possible and of course not injure myself."

Jérôme de Sadeleer, who put in an extremely strong performance in the SVV category last year, finishing on the podium and securing second place, is likely to have completely different ambitions, although... "I'm just opening a garage and will get the keys in January, so the timing was bad," says the Gstaad native. "But my wife pushed me to take part and she will organize everything until I return. I'm really grateful to her! I'd love to be on the podium again, it would confirm that I wasn't just lucky in 2024, but also had a good run."

In the Classic category, Mathieu Kurzen and his navigator Alexandre Fatio in a Nissan Terrano and Cédric Zolliker with navigator Clemens Lansinger (D) in a Toyota HDJ 80 will be joining other Swiss drivers on the great cross-country rally adventure in the Saudi desert. It will be interesting to see how they cope with the hardships on the way from Bisha in the southwest to Shubaytah in the southeast on January 17, 2025.

These Swiss are competing in the world's toughest desert rally in 2025
Alexandre Vaudan on a KTM
https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/64

Yann Di Mauro on a Honda
https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/137

Dennis Mildenberger on a KTM
https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/140

Alexandre Pesci with navigator Stephan Kuhni on a Taurus Rebellion & Spierings T3
https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/351

Jerome de Sadeleer with navigator Diego Ortega Gil (E) on a BRP CAN-AM Maverick XRS Turbo RR
https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/403

Mathieu Kurzen with navigator Alexandre Fatio with a Nissan Terrano
https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/716

Cédric Zolliker with navigator Clemens Lansinger (D) with a Toyota HDJ 80
https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/771