The revolution will continue on the Dakar.
After having been relocated from South America to Saudi Arabia, the biggest rally-raid on the planet will definitely go green, like the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Several tracks will be launched as announced this Tuesday by the organizers during the bivouac of the 9th stage, in Neom.
David Castera, 50, the director of the event, who has himself participated in this rally-raid on numerous occasions, outlines the main lines of this project which will see all the competitors go green in 2030.
What face will the Dakar have in the years to come?
DAVID CASTERA.
We have a very ambitious project, which is to have a “green” Dakar in the years to come, with a 100% electric platform for cars and trucks in 2030. This will be done in several stages.
What are they ?
This will first be done gradually, with hybrid and hydrogen.
From next year, there will be a specific “alternative energies” category.
In 2026, only cars and trucks that meet the new very low emissions standard will be driven in the Elite categories.
We will then be able to transfer technology to amateurs, who will be able, for example, to rent machines.
Was it the right moment to present this project?
We felt it anyway.
When we do mechanical sports, we are always taken for unconscious!
You can only do things when the time is right.
It's good to say it, but it still has to work!
In rally-raid, we are the worst in terms of constraints.
Concretely, where are you?
We are already in the process of writing the technical outline and characteristics of the vehicle that will be driven on the tracks.
The challenge now is to know where we are going to find the energy for the engines.
It will also be a basis on which manufacturers will adapt.
They will bring their own mechanical elements to it.
Are you being listened to?
Yes.
The Germans at Audi have just told us that they will be there next year with a hybrid car, which will then evolve.
This is great news.
Cyril Despres and Mike Horn are taking data from the start for a hybrid within two years.
Gaussin, a French truck manufacturer, will hire several vehicles very quickly.
GCK Motorsport, the Guerlain Chicherit team, is also working on a car.
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Had this revolution become inevitable?
Yes quite.
I've been thinking about it for a while, before I took the lead almost two years ago.
Hydrogen technology is advancing quickly, it is a real opportunity.
To work today on a car of this type in the Dakar, it is to open the doors of the future for the future car of Monsieur-le-monde.
The Dakar has always had this image of a polluter ...
Like all mechanical races!
Until proven otherwise, our rally is no more polluting than a Formula 1 Grand Prix and many others.
Often people talk without knowing.
This is why we must react and show that we too are capable of adapting to the world of tomorrow.