One of the world’s most gruelling motorsport events starts tomorrow: the 2020 Dakar Rally. For the first time in the iconic event’s history it will be hosted in the Middle East. This year the race takes place entirely in Saudia Arabia. The 2020 Dakar Rally starts in Jeddah and finishes in Qiddiya.

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New challenges

After 11 editions in South America, the race switches to Saudi Arabia with 12 stages covering 7 500 km. Among these are three super-tough stages that are longer than 750 km, and 75 percent of the rally taking place on sand.

342 vehicles have been cleared to start the 2020 Dakar rally: 114 motorbikes, 23 quads, 83 cars, 45 SSVs and 46 trucks. French competitors make up the largest national contingent with 109 riders, drivers and co-drivers, followed by Spain (75) and the Netherlands (50). Among them, 13 women will put on their helmets for the inaugural stage to Al Wajh. A total of 68 nationalities are represented, including support crews.

SA interest

While there are many competitors from South Africa contesting this year’s event, all eyes will be on our very own Dakar Man, Giniel de Villiers. The Capetonian will be aiming to beat his team-mate, defending champion, Nasser Al-Attiyah. The seasoned pair will have a famous rookie in their ranks as double Formula One champion Fernando Alonso tries his hand at rally raiding. Of course, all the cars in the Toyota Gazoo Racing outfit were built in Johannesburg.

Click here for a bespoke gallery of images that recounts Giniel de Villiers’ Dakar Rally career.

Ahead of the event Al-Attiyah said: “We are here to defend our title. We’ve won three times, but I know it will be hard with this new Dakar in the Middle East. The landscapes are really beautiful here, I know some regions well. I did two races here, in 2008 and 2011, and I won both. But it won’t be easy for anyone, we need to understand this race, which is completely new for everybody. It’s a mix of terrains that reminds me of Africa, Morocco and South America. I never really thought the Dakar would one day come to our region when I started the career, and now I’m just a thirty-minute flight from home! It would be a dream to win here.”

If you are rookie to this event then the video below is a must-watch.