Dakar 2025 is just around the cornerto. In just four days, on January 3 and with 10 Argentines in competitionthe ultimate motorsport adventure will be launched in the desert of Saudi Arabia. It will be the sixth incursion that this dangerous and emblematic competition makes in the Middle Eaststarting in the town of Bisha, in the south of the Arab country, and after two exhausting weeks, will end on January 17 in Shubaytah, near the Persian Gulf.
The competitors will accelerate on a final route that will exceed the 8,000 kilometers. The in-depth knowledge of the country has allowed the organization to draw up a major challenge from start to finish that includes some moments of respite for the drivers and their teams to catch their breath.
The very tough format of the ’48h chrono’ appears this year at the beginning of the race, followed almost immediately by a ‘marathon’ stage whose outcome will possibly seem decisive.
During the second week, the focus will be on Shubaytah, the great milestone to reach after leaving behind the sea of dunes of the Empty Quarter, as the most inhospitable desert in Saudi Arabia is known and the richest in terms of natural resources, such as oil and gas.
Among the highlights at the sporting level, the Ultimate category, the strongest in cars or trucks, has significant new features. The official Ford team appears, led by the Spanish drivers Carlos Sainz y Nani Romawhile the Dacia brand will have the Qatari Nasser Al Attiyah and the french Sebastien Loeb. There will be only one Argentine Juan Cruz Yacopini.
This time, the organization will unfold the special routes (in more than 45% of the total mileage), a formula intended both to improve the comfort and safety of the drivers and to complicate navigation for the cars. The race will also be decided in the bivouacs themselves, which will be the setting for both the starting and finishing points, and the final podium on January 17 in Shubaytah.
And there is no doubt that the same will happen in Bisha, a town in 200,000 inhabitants located in the southwestern quarter of Saudi Arabia, where the vast majority of competitors will disembark after recovering their vehicles at the port of Jeddah. The reunions will continue with the arrival of the New Year, which will begin with the end of technical and administrative verifications, as well as the final preparations. All this in a land that constitutes a rich oasis.
As is also usual, the Dakar is the inaugural date of the W2RC world championship, which this year will continue with the Abu Dhabi competitions, from February 21 to 27; South Africa, from May 18 to 24; Portugal, from September 22 to 28, and the Morocco Rally, from October 10 to 17.
The vehicles have already arrived at the port of Jeddah, from where they are heading to Bisha for verifications, the Prologue and the first stages of a Dakar that promises to be as demanding or more demanding than anything known in this mythical adventure through the desert.