The 2024 Dakar Rally begins Friday, January 5, 2024, and ends on Friday, Jan 19th. Separated in 12 stages, the route will cover approximately 5,000 kilometers.
For rally fans worldwide, the 2024 Dakar Rally has new events, participants and routes. This is the the fifth edition of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia and it’s one of the biggest yet. This year will see 778 competitors driving 434 vehicles in total. A total of 72 nationalities will be represented, and France has the highest win rate (drivers/riders/navigators).
Those vehicle categories include motorcycle, car, truck, quads, SSV/Challenger, stock and the Classics. There are several categories, including the Open class. This includes vehicles meeting technical standards for electric vehicles (EV, BEV, PHEV) and alternative-powered vehicles.
The routes eventually bisect the host country, with alternative stages set up for the Dakar Classics. Many restrictions are now in place, especially for the Classics. This year promises to be more challenging across the board.
Introduced in 2019, the Dakar Classics brings in vehicles that are 20-or-more years old. These vehicles have to have either competed in the past, or have been qualified to compete in the past. Many are fully rebuilt racers, and some are nearly stock – with some upgraded hardware.
One big change is the stage format. Per the organizers’ official release:
“This is a new stage format, contested over two days with the constraints of a marathon stage, although competitors are permitted to help each other during the evening. But this time, there will be no choice of canteen or repair companions, as the drivers and crews will be spread out over eight different bivouacs. When the clocks strike 4 pm, all vehicles will be required to stop at the next bivouac they come across. With no connection and therefore no visibility of their rivals’ performances, the competitors will camp and set off again at 7 am the following day to complete the remaining section of the route. The tally will be counted after around 600 kilometers of special stage.”
Dakar.com
The 2024 Dakar Rally has a lot of territory to cover, and we will be posting more about it in the near future. Stay tuned! The TFL Studios crew is particularly excited about the 2024 Dakar Rally’s Classics. Many of the vehicles used are mighty close to being stock, yet they are remarkably capable off-road. In addition: we’re old. The nostalgia for these vehicles is strong with us.
