Saudi Dakar Rally 2024 kicks off, 585 drivers to compete from AlUla to Yanbu

The 2024 Dakar Rally kicked off on Friday in the Saudi oasis valley of AlUla.

This is the fifth time that the rally is being held in Saudi Arabia after the event was moved from South America 11 years ago.

The 46th edition of the rally will run until January 19, featuring six categories of vehicles, and cover more than 7,800 kilometers.

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The preliminary stage kicked off in AlUla with 585 competitors and navigators on board 418 vehicles, covering 157 km around Mabeet Camp. The 27km race was won by Audi’s Mattias Ekstrom to determine Saturday’s starting order.

The first stage kicked off on Saturday, from AlUla to Al-Hanakiyah, covering 541 kilometers.

The race comprises 12 stages spread from the north to Yanbu on the Red Sea.

Shipping trouble

Brazilian Rodrigo Varela is set to race in a borrowed car after the ship carrying his original vehicle had to take a diversion to steer clear of any likely Houthi attack in the Red Sea. This delayed the arrival of the ship by more than 20 days.

Varela, who was informed about the change on Christmas Day, was forced to find a replacement for his Can-Am UTV car, with the help of his father – former rally driver and Dakar champion Reinaldo Varela.

“We found a Can-Am in Portugal, owned by a driver who came to Brazil to race with us, but we had to make modifications and adaptations in a hurry. Fortunately, it worked and passed Dakar inspection,” said Rodrigo in an interview with Brazilian media outlet UOL.

Shipping firms from around the world are turning away from the Red Sea after Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis stepped up attacks on ships in the Gulf region to show their support for the Palestinian group Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza.

Third in a row

Nasser al-Attiyah hopes to be shooting for a medal at his seventh Olympics later in the year, but the Qatari’s immediate sights are set on winning the Dakar Rally for the sixth time and third in a row.

The 53-year-old rally driver, a skeet (clay pigeon) bronze medalist at the 2012 Games, has yet to qualify for Paris, but set out on Friday as a favorite at the wheel in the Saudi desert.

Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel have switched from Toyota to Prodrive in the top-car category and can emerge the first to win the Dakar with four different constructors.

With Reuters

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