Sand raid!

The fascination and attraction of the Dakar are stronger than ever. This year, the rush of candidates for adventure to enrol forced us to close the registration lists mid-July, some six months before the event. Confirming the event’s international success, it was the eagerness of foreign competitors which was largely responsible for the early closing of the booking office. Submerged by requests, we heeded reason and decided to limit the caravan to a format close to that of 2005. The result is that there will be 240 motorcycles, 188 cars, 80 trucks and 240 assistance vehicles at the start in Lisbon, a new record! Over and beyond pure arithmetic, the testimonies of fellow-feeling and the degree of involvement, from new competitors and stalwarts alike, prove the extent to which men and women are attached to the Dakar. It is this irreplaceable bond which strikes, delights and drives us throughout the year to prepare the rally.

We have looked into what adjustments could be made to enhance the race. To make it more genuine, fairer. In the term rally raid, there is the word raid. Competitors, particularly amateur ones, have for a long time exhorted a reform which would place more emphasis on the navigational aspect. The development of Iritrack technology, which enables visual monitoring of all crews and thereby ensures the safety of the whole of the caravan, means that progress can be made along these lines. GPS will be reduced to its simplest form: a directional indicator. Consequently, co-drivers will now have only a single source of information to rely on – the road book. Which means real navigation.

The 2006 Dakar will also herald the beginning of a promising relation with Portugal, which rally competitors have never visited before. As a welcome gift, they will have the pleasure of spending a short time in its capital, Lisbon, where administrative checks and scrutineering will be taking place, and competing in two specials which will be the first of their kind on the rally’s European section.