Tosha Schareina wins the prologue in the motorcycle category, Sébastien Loeb and Stéphane Peterhansel will start… Follow the race

451 cars, 179 motorcycles and 51 trucks set off from Alula, in Saudi Arabia, on January 5 and 6 to reach Yanbu at the end of 14 days of racing and 12 stages. With nearly 5,000 km of special through archaeological ruins, desert landscapes and shores of the Red Sea, the fifth Saudi edition is announced as the “hottest of the current series” and will include 60% new portions. The race, which begins Friday January 5 with a 28 km prologue around Alula, will be notably marked by three days in the desert of the “Empty Quarter” with a new marathon event of “48 hours flat“, in quasi-autonomy and improvised bivouac, on two separate routes for motorcycles and 4 wheels.

This year, the Dakar constitutes the first round of the world rally raid championship. The nine-time world rally champion, Sébastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme), twice 2nd in the race, still dreams of a first victory in what he sees as “the ultimate race in this championship“. Will he take the title back from his teammate, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Nasser Racing), defending champion and five-time winner in the desert? Stéphane Peterhansel (Audi), 14-time winner of the event (in motorcycle and car) will he add a new title a year after his retirement during the 7th stage? Will Kevin Benavides (KTM), winner of two of the last three motorcycle editions, resist his brother Luciano Benavides ( Husqvarna), world rally-raid champion?

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