“You would hardly have to visit the middle of the jungle otherwise”

This year’s Dakar Rally will take place in such landscapes. PDO

A total of 778 competitors are impatiently waiting for the prologue of the Dakar Rally, which starts on Friday. A 28-kilometer spin around the historic city of Al-‘Ula is just a foretaste of what’s to come.

The race, run entirely in the Saudi Arabian desert, consists of an unimaginable 7,891 kilometers to Yanbu, located on the other side of the peninsula.

There is just under 5,000 special test kilometers in between.

– I could imagine that when you’re only in the desert, it’s a different hustle and bustle than in a rally. A lot depends on how the route is made and where you get to ride, Mikko Hirvonen start.

He drove the Dakar three times himself. At that time, the race originally planned for crossing the Sahara was organized in South America, but now Saudi Arabia is the host for the fifth time.

– It’s a damn tough race, but in a way that’s exactly the beauty of it. I enjoy that challenge. You already knew in advance that it would be cold, the places would be sore, and you wouldn’t be able to sleep.

– Even though it’s desert driving without exact notes, you have to go really hard there. You don’t really have to go around rocks and ditches there, but let’s go with the gas at the bottom all the time. That speed surprised me.

“Pretty sweet”

Several rally champions will line up at the starting line this time as well. of the BRX stable Sébastien Loeb is now trying to turn second place from the previous two years into a first win, but of course also the Spanish veteran of Audi Carlos Sainz harbors hopes for first place.

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The 61-year-old Sainz has conquered the Dakar four times. Of course, the special men of the Dakar rally should also be taken into account in the winning bets Nasser Al-Attiyah (five-time winner) and Stéphane Peterhansel (14 wins in total).

The Finns have won the race Ari Vatanen (fourth) and Juha Kankkunen (once). At his best, Hirvonen was fourth in his Mini (2016).

– That year, when we were in Peru and Bolivia, we went to a height of five kilometers. It was pretty sweet. And by the way – you should hardly visit the middle of the jungle otherwise.

Car navigation

From the drivers’ perspective, Dakar is quite similar to a traditional rally. Instead, the karttur’s role changes completely.

– Of course, that rally background helps in handling the car in surprising situations. But so much depends on navigation and “smart” driving that you can avoid troubles.

– Navigation has changed even since my years. That’s the main role there.

Hirvonen says that even at the end of the last decade, carters were able to familiarize themselves with the road book and adopt the route from it.

– Now it has been made impossible. The road book is only loaded into the car’s navigation system just before the start. The driver and the map reader now have to drive towards a specific tick all the time.

– In Dakar, you basically drive with a compass. In a way, it’s orientation, Hirvonen compares to the notation of a traditional rally.

“Its own kind”

Even though it’s the King of the Desert Rally, it hasn’t been made easy to follow. The Eurosport channel has summary broadcasts, and Red Bull TV at least focuses on the achievements of its own drivers.

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However, Hirvonen believes that although the Dakar has moved far from its original route, it still has a place in the motorsport calendar.

– It’s its own genre. And for some car manufacturers, it’s a tough deal. Most importantly: the rules are such that anyone can build such a car. In addition, there are a lot of different categories.

– It will certainly remain on the calendar for a long time. However, people want to have an experience.