2024 Dakar Rally Dates Announced
T
he 2024 Dakar Rally's fifth
edition in Saudi Arabia will be
held from January 5 to 19, start-
ing in the thousand-year-old city
of AlUla, crossing the country in
the direction of the Empty Quar-
ter and finishing in Yanbu on the
shores of the Red Sea.
The route will cover more than
3000 miles, with 60 percent of all-
new sections over the course of
14 days of racing and 12 stages.
A new 48-hour marathon
stage has also been created
for the 2024 Dakar. Called the
"48H Chrono Stage," the new
feature will be contested over
two days with the constraints
of a marathon stage. When the
clock strikes 4:00 PM, all ve-
hicles will be required to stop
at the next bivouac they come
across. With no connection and
therefore no visibility of their
rivals' performances, the com-
petitors will camp and set off
again at 7:00 AM the following
day to complete the remaining
section of the route. There will
be no choice of canteen or repair
companions, as the drivers and
crews will be spread out over
eight different bivouacs. Com-
petitors are permitted to help
each other during the evening.
The tally will be counted after
around 370 miles of special
stage.
The Dakar Future program
continues to evolve, with the
Mission 1000 parallel challenge
offering OEMs an opportunity
to test vehicles with innovative
technologies, such as hydrogen,
electric or hybrid engines. No
winners, no losers will be named
in the challenge, although partic-
ipants will eventually be entered
into a real competition, accord-
ing to Dakar organizers.
CN
WIND
IN THE
P28
Dakar Rally dates for 2024
were announced along with a new
48-hour marathon stage.
