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The 42nd edition of the Dakar Rally is launched on Saturday in Jeddah. Until next January 17, 12 stages throughout Arabia, with only one rest day. 65% of the route will be completed on desert terrain.

7,855 kilometers

The tour that the caravan will take through the Arabian peninsula is equivalent to crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It will have in total almost the same distance that exists in a straight line between Madrid and Cancun (Mexico). Of all that route, more than 5,000 kilometers will be timed.

571 participants

Of the more than half a thousand contestants, only 12 will be women, a 2.10% female quota. Only one vehicle will be integrated only by women. This is the UTV (light buggy) piloted by the Italian Camelia Liparoti, with the German Annett Fischer as co-pilot.

342 vehicles

By the podium of exit of Jeddah, the second largest city of Saudi Arabia and main exit door to the Red Sea, paraded 144 motorcycles, 83 cars, 46 trucks, 46 UTV (light buggys) and 23 quads.

An F1 champion

A quarter of the payroll will be debutants, but among them there is one that draws attention above the rest: Fernando Alonso, the first Formula 1 world champion who competes in the Dakar.

3,000 nomads

In addition to the 571 participants, there are another 2,500 people including mechanics, technicians, journalists, doctors and service personnel who live throughout the rally at the Dakar mobile camp and every day they travel by military aircraft or by road from the point of departure upon arrival

60 nationalities

Almost a third of the countries in the globe are represented in the caravan among pilots, co-pilots and mechanics. The largest group are the French, followed by the Spaniards and the Dutch, but there are also runners from exotic countries such as Botswana and Zimbabwe.

15 million dollars

It is the price that the Government of Saudi Arabia has paid to the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), a French company that organizes the Dakar, to reach its desert for the first time, after 11 consecutive years in South America and another 30 years in Africa.

50 cargo trucks

Each day, a convoy of fifty large cargo vehicles has the mission of moving all the materials and equipment from the camp to the point of arrival.

Seven planes, 10 helicopters

In total there will be 17 aircraft that will control the race from the air to have all participants located by GPS, capture the impressive aerial images that will then be transmitted to 190 countries and help the pilots after an accident.

91,000 food rations

An average of 7,000 portions of food are given each day at the camp, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. The kitchen is open practically 24 hours a day and the amounts of food for the 13 days of competition are huge, including about two tons of pasta.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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