Two intense days of verifications and the tuning of the vehicles intensify the stress
The dream is about to come true and now the nerves of the verifications and the final preparations accompany the participants upon their arrival at the camp.
The stress has only just begun in Saudi Arabia, where little by little the participants of the next edition are arriving of the Dakar. The nerves of the days leading up to Christmas are on the rise and everyone wants the race to get going.
The prologue of day 31, a special of 13 kilometers in a loop to the camp of the Sea Camp, It will serve so that everyone begins to get rid of the pressure and get acquainted with an event that, as always, will bring strong emotions. The first step, mandatory, is the verifications. It is probably the most hated moment by all.
The fact of having held three days in France before boarding the vehicles helps to make everything more agile, but it is evident that the fear of a problem with the visa, an untimely positive, any mistake in the paperwork – they all have to be original – or in the modifications made in the machines It can cause a heart attack if the commissioner on duty ensures that it is not in accordance with the current regulations.
In Le Castellet the majority of verifications were carried out at the end of November to some vehicles that were shipped in Marseille and this suggests that there shouldn’t be any big surprises, but everyone who is registered for the Dakar, from drivers to team personnel, including journalists, is called to present themselves to a specific time at the headquarters to expedite the procedures once the vehicles have disembarked in the port of Yanbu.
REUNION
It is also the moment of the reunion, since many participants have not seen each other in a year, but For debutants these are very special days, since for them everything is new and try to find a reference to help them acclimatize to the immensity of the camp. The bivouac is so large that, despite the fact that you come across different signs, it is easy to get lost.
The obsession with details at this time is total. Both in the preparations prior to the trip to Saudi Arabia and there, already on the ground, in a camp where there are more motorhomes than ever. It is noted that in this edition the hotels will be scarce and only on the day of restscheduled for the 9th in Riyadh, there will be facilities for it.
Once the verifications have been passed, to which all the teams have previously received a document with the date and time, there is the possibility of testing the vehicles for their tuning and everything is in order after the long journey. Yesterday and today they can access a stretch enabled for this, which is 36 km from the camp and whose distance varies depending on the category.
Of course, it is absolutely forbidden to test the car at any other point. Finally tomorrow will be able to recognize on foot the 13 kilometers of the prologuewhose result will define the starting order of the first stage.