Dacia Sandriders set for Dakar Rally
The sand of Saudi Arabia awaits
Eleven months after announcing its intention to compete in the Dakar Rally, the wait is now over for Dacia and its sustainable-fuelled Sandriders following months of testing, with the big event's prologue stage beginning in Saudi Arabia on January 3rd.
The Romanian brand goes into the opening round of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) in good form, having secured a 1-2 finish at the Dakar Rally’s dress rehearsal event, the Rallye du Maroc. Saudi Arabia is preparing to host the event for the sixth time.
What will the competitors face?
The main event takes place from 3-17 January and contains some of the toughest terrains in motorsport, with competitors needing equal amounts of speed, navigation skills and endurance to negotiate the dunes and rocky passes from the west to the east of the Kingdom. Organisers of the race claim the difficulty has been ramped up another notch compared to previous years.
Teams will tackle 5,145 timed kilometres and 7,726km overall across 12 days of competition, starting in Bisha in the west of Saudi Arabia and ending in the eastern region of Shubaytah with a rest day and overnight stop in Hail and Riyadh, respectively. A gruelling 48 hour Chrono Stage covering 971km is one of the highlights of the course.
Last year’s Dakar Rally saw a maiden win for Audi and its purpose built RS Q e-tron with Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz behind the wheel for the 46th edition of the race.
credit: dakar.com
The Dacia Sandriders line-up
#200: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Édouard Boulanger (FRA)
#212: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) / Pablo Moreno (ESP)
#219: Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Fabian Lurquin (BEL)
Dacia’s three car squad will be led by Team Principal Tiphanie Isnard, who draws on over 20 years of experience in rallying with the likes of Citroën and Peugeot. Since securing the 1-2 in Morocco, Dacia has been doing final testing at Sweet Lamb in Wales with the assistance of Alpine Racing.
How to watch the 2025 Dakar Rally
Live coverage of the 2025 Dakar Rally is unavailable in the UK. A daily highlights package will be available at 8pm on Eurosport 1. Highlights are also available on Red Bull TV and Motorsport TV. Go to Dakar.com for real time updates on the race.
words: Mike Booth
pictures: Dacia