Paris (AFP)
The second edition of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia, from January 3 to 15, 2021, will offer a loop around Jeddah, inland then along the coast, according to the route unveiled Thursday by its organizer ASO.
The rally-raid will lead its competitors first to the East and then to the North, with a day of rest in Ha'il (center) on January 9, before descending along the Red Sea.
The traditional twelve-day marathon stage (without external mechanical assistance in the evening) and two loop stages will feature on the program for the twelve days of racing designed as a "desert tour".
"We have used all of Saudi Arabia," said David Castera, director of the Dakar, to AFP. "The country is so big that we managed to cover only 50-100 km from last year's route."
"During each stage, we find a little of all the ingredients. We tried to keep the dunes, the technical parts and the fast parts a little everyday", continues the former biker and co-driver.
After the deaths this year of two bikers, the Portuguese Paulo Gonçalves and the Dutchman Edwin Straver, the safety of motorcycles and quads will also be one of the leitmotifs of this 43rd edition.
Wearing an airbag vest will be compulsory in the most vulnerable categories, audible alerts will warn pilots that they are approaching a danger and their speed may be limited to 90 km / h in certain risk areas.
The other new features concern navigation. After an experiment in 2020, the roadbook indicating the route to the participants will be systematically distributed in the morning of the specials rather than the previous evening.
Until then on paper, it begins its moult towards an electronic version on tablet.
Finally, a test for nostalgics is born: Dakar Classic will judge the regularity rather than the speed of the replicas of cars and trucks designed before 2000 and having participated in the race.
© 2020 AFP