Dakar 2024: Program details in the Saudi dunes

Since 2020, the Dakar has settled in Saudi Arabia. In four editions, the Saudi edition of the world’s biggest rally-raid has seen three different winners: Carlos Sainz in the first year, Stéphane Peterhansel in the following year, and Nasser Al-Attiyah in the last two editions.

For 2024, David Castera, the race director, and his teams have prepared a rich menu for these three legends of motorsport and all the competitors. « We have taken it as a challenge to design the fifth edition in Saudi Arabia to be the most challenging of this ongoing series », declared the French leader and former motorcyclist.

Out of a total distance of 7891 kilometers, including 4727 kilometers of special stages, from Alula to Yanbu on the shores of the Red Sea, the route of the Dakar 2024 will present challenges right from the first stages.

After a prologue of just under 30 kilometers around the starting city, the competitors will head east with three special stages totaling over 400 kilometers, leading to Al Henakiyah, Al Duwadimi, and then Al Salamiya. « The Saudi exploration will detour at the foot of volcanoes, zigzag between canyons, and traverse rough and rocky tracks » warns Castera.

A marathon stage between Al Salamiya and Al-Hofuf will then conclude this first part of the rally before the big novelty of this edition. After a special stage of about a hundred kilometers to Shubaytah, the competitors will discover the format of « 48-hour chronos ». It will be a large loop of over 818 kilometers (584 of which are special stages) in the Empty Quarter, contested over two days, January 11th and 12th.

At the end of the first day, the competitors will be notified of the end of the special stage and will have to stop their efforts to only resume the next day at sunrise after a night under the stars. Six rest areas will be spread along the special stage. The crews will be provided with a tent, a sleeping bag, and a food ration. They will not be allowed to receive any external assistance or communicate with their teams. The organization wanted to recreate the adventurous spirit of the early Dakar races here.

Then, return to Shubaytah for a plane transfer to Riyadh and a well-deserved rest day for all the competitors. The second week will take place in the western part of the country with a return to Alula via Ha’il, and then a descent towards Yanbu, where the finish line of this 46th edition of the Dakar will be located, with the final stages focusing on navigation.

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👇 The official route of Dakar 2024!
🚩 AlUla – Yanbu 🏁
📏 7,891 km (4,727 km of SS)

➡️ #Dakar2024 #DakarInSaudi pic.twitter.com/HKXnFp6Dt2

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) November 20, 2023