Dakar 2025 is taking shape: The sixth edition in Saudi Arabia will take place from January 3 to 17, 2025 between Bisha and Shubaytah.
David Casteradirector of the Dakar Rally, has revealed the main lines of 47th edition of one of the most iconic events in the world of sports before 700 guests gathered at the Les Comes offroad circuit, near Barcelona.
After this first episode, the Dakar Tour will visit rally fans in South Africa, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands in the coming weeks.
The high level of difficulty is maintained in this new edition of the Dakar, especially in the new “48h chrono” challenge, a traditional marathon stage and a three-day stay in the Empty Quarter, where the rally ends.
The Dakar teams have also tried to design special routes that separate the categories by at least five days and to offer several loop stages.
BISHA: SPORTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VILLAGE
The great concentration that preceded the start of the rally turned into an event. Carry out the final adjustments and tests before the start of the competition, follow the technical and administrative verifications… this is the usual program of final preparations. But, for the third year in a row, the fact that everyone is meeting in the same place, away from the cities, is what gives the reunion a special flavor. Bisha’s “start camp” was specifically designed to bring the sport to the heart of the town. This is an extended stay that includes the first days of the race and the arrival of the prologue in the heart of the bivouac, a stop at the foot of the podium and a real first!
48H CHRONO: CHANGING SCENARIO
The idea of a long stage held over two days, with a mandatory stop at one of the minimalist bivouacs scattered throughout the desert, attracted both competitors and spectators, while bringing real twists to script the contenders for the title. This initiative will be repeated in the 2025 edition, with a greater distance of 950 kilometers (compared to 540 km in 2024) and this time on a more varied terrain, alternating technical and fast sections. The challenge will come in the first week, with opportunities to open up gaps, but not just on the dunes.
SEPARATE ROUTES: ALL TO THEMSELVES
To reduce the number of overtaking between cars and motorcycles, for example, different routes will be prepared in at least five stages of Dakar 2025. Beyond safety concerns, these independent routes will allowing the car teams to be put in a position to compete the ability to take advantage of the tracks left by the motorcycles. By timing the start of stages with the first rays of sunlight, FIA participants will also benefit from sunny race days, limiting the number of late arrivals at the bivouac. Finally, the trucks will also have their own dedicated course on a stage designed in the Empty Quarter.
MARATHON STAGE: CARE OF MACHINES
In both cases, the pilots and crew had to deal with the fact that their support teams were far away. In addition to the “48h chrono”, a more traditional marathon stage is scheduled, with a dedicated bivouac where the usual mechanics will not be included. Managing mechanics over 800 kilometers will be important for those fighting for the first places and for fans who want to complete the test with “finisher” status.
EMPTY QUARTER: THE LIGHTHOUSE OF SHUBYTAH
Dakar pilots discovered Shubaytah in 2020. Since then, this gateway to the immense Empty Quarter desert has been visited in the last two editions, as a reference point for a deeper exploration of this ocean of sands. This time, Shubaytah will mark the end of the adventure, as a lighthouse where the pilots must head to find the exit, after three days of navigation between chotts and dunes, including a special over 400 kilometers. In the final stage, the almost endless expanse of sand will share the spotlight with cars and motorcycles, which will start in a line. The show is guaranteed!
DAKAR CLASSIC: “2000” ENTERS THE SCENE.
First-order evidence: as the years pass, young people become younger. So, four years after the creation of the Dakar Classic, it is logical that new cars enter the regularity race of the “historical”. The test will be open to the generation of cars and trucks registered between 2000 and 2005. The new perimeter defined for 2025 will allow, for example, the return to the bivouac of the Mitsubishi Pajero Evo that led Stéphane Peterhansel to his first success in cars in 2004, or the Bowler with which Guerlain Chicherit and Mathieu Baumel debuted in 2005. Collectors, in the workshop!
MISSION 1000: TASK II
The creation of Mission 1000 allowed a dozen vehicles to test their innovative alternative technologies on the Dakar terrain, traveling each day on routes with distances adapted to their current potential. In the same spirit of the laboratory in the middle of the desert, the challenge will continue in 2025, with more projects capable of shaping the future of the rally raid.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
