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Issue #19:June 6, 2023
On June 3, 2023 (local time), the organizer of the Dakar Rally, Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), announced the outline for the 2024 Dakar Rally.
According to the announcement, the rally will once again be held in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, from January 5 through to January 19. One prologue stage plus 12 stages will bring the total distance of the race to around 5,000km. About 60% of the rally is to be newly prepared.
Although detailed route information remains unannounced at this point, the organizer did announce the start and finish points for the rally, which are AlUla and Yanbu, respectively. According to the announcement, the clockwise course is set to take participants from the west coast of Saudi Arabia and through a loop stage, where the stage starts and finishes at the same camp. Then, after taking them through central Saudi Arabia, the course will take crews across the great sand dunes in the Empty Quarter, spreading out to the east. Finally, the teams will make their way back to the west coast.
Furthermore, the marathon stage that we have seen in previous years, where teams must drive for two days and clear the stage without receiving assistance from mechanics, has been eliminated, and a new 48H Chrono Stage has been created.
In the new 48H Chrono Stage, competitors must complete a 600km stretch in the Empty Quarter in no longer than 48 hours, stopping 4:00 p.m. to spend the night at one of eight bivouacs located throughout the stage. Teams will not gather at one bivouac, then each car will be assigned to a different bivouac according to the distance traveled. Instead, each car will be assigned to a different bivouac according to the distance travelled. This means there is a chance that teams will be unable to provide support to each other if they end up in different bivouacs. In such cases, a car’s crew will need to resolve any problems on their own, which could make this rally even tougher than in previous years with marathon stages.
The Dakar Rally tends to become more and more challenging each year, and the 2024 rally is no exception. It is expected to be a tough one, but TLC is up to the task and doing everything possible to prepare for what lies ahead. As always, your continued support is very much appreciated by the team.