The Dakar remains in Saudi Arabia but its departure is moving.
After three consecutive editions which started from Jeddah, the race will set up camp in a specially equipped bivouac, further north, still on the edge of the Red Sea.
The 450 expected competitors will leave
Sea Camp
on December 31, and will cross the country from West to East to finish the course in Dammam on January 15, 2023.
This novelty at the start, in addition to the “friendliness” it brings according to David Castera, the race director, also aims to reinforce safety around the Dakar Rally.
The previous edition had been marked by a mysterious explosion which had seriously injured the French pilot Philippe Boutron and whose origin is still uncertain.
We therefore want to avoid such a situation repeating itself, and moving away from the big cities makes it easier to maintain security around the race.
👇 The official route of Dakar 2023!
🚩 Sea Camp - Dammam 🏁
📏 8,549 km (4,706 km of SS)
➡️ #Dakar2023 pic.twitter.com/5NdiwUiYPq
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) December 1, 2022
The route is longer than in previous years: two additional stages and more than 8,500 kilometers including 4,704 of specials.
And above all, an increased difficulty compared to 2022, at the request of the pilots.
"The competitors wanted a more difficult, longer course, with more dunes," said David Castera during the presentation.
An objective which seems to have been fulfilled, culminating in a marathon stage on January 12, which will cross the Empty Quarter, the great sand desert of the Arabian Peninsula.
The two reigning winners, Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah in cars and Briton Sam Sunderland in motorcycles will be present at the start.
At the wheel of his BRX Hunter, Sébastien Loeb will try to win his first Dakar Rally, after his second place last year.
