D-1: The calm before the storm

December 30 ^th 2022 - 17:28 [GMT + 3]

As the clock ticks down to the prologue that will inaugurate the 45th edition of the Dakar, the Sea Camp on the shores of the Red Sea is flush with excitement at the arduous challenge ahead: 15 days of racing in Saudi Arabia, with a back-breaking first week packing eight real stages and close to 70% of the special mileage of the rally, followed by the monster dunes of the Empty Quarter in the second week.

Scrutineering continued with most of the favourites in the motorbike category, which promises an epic duel between the KTM–GasGas–Husqvarna constellation and the Honda clan.

The parade of contenders for the car title saw BRX's Sébastien Loeb, "Orly" Terranova and Guerlain Chicherit head to the stands before throwing down the gauntlet to Audi and Toyota.

OFFICIAL FIGURES OF THE STARTERS
On completion of the administrative checks and technical scrutineering, the official list of starters is made up of 603 competitors with 355 racing vehicles, including 121 bikes (of which 27 will race in the Original by Motul category), 18 quads, 67 T1 cars, 2 T2s as well as 47 T3 lightweight prototypes, 45 T4 SSVs, 55 trucks (T5). Behind their handlebars and wheels, 130 “rookies”, whilst 102 riders, drivers and co-pilots with “Legend” status will be taking part for the 10th time or more. The contingent of ladies has also increased, totaling 31, including 3 100% female crews. With regard to the nationalities represented, France is predominant with 143 participants, ahead of Spain (83) and the Netherlands (75), same podium as last year.
Each evening at the bivouac, they will be joined by the 88 vehicles participating in the 3rd edition of the Dakar Classic, comprising a caravan of 187 competitors.
The second season of the W2RC starts tomorrow with 86 vehicles entered (36 FIM, 52 FIA).

BAHRAIN RAID XTREME, ACT 3

BRX continue to gain ground at such a rapid pace that no-one should be surprised if one of their cars ends up on the top step of the podium. For its rally raid debut in 2021, Prodrive fielded the original version of its Hunter, which finished in fifth place with "Nani" Roma behind the wheel. Last year, two T1+ Hunters cracked the top 5, with Sébastien Loeb as the runner-up to Nasser Al Attiyah and "Orly" Terranova just outside the podium in fourth place. The nine-time world rally champion is the squad's trump card in the battle for the title he has been trying to add to his list of victories since 2016: "I'm going to focus on my race and try and do my best. My goal is to find the right pace to make good progress without smashing up the car or getting lost". With Loeb, the right pace is never too far from the winning pace. Yet Guerlain Chicherit, a newcomer to the team who returned to action with a sensational triumph in the Rallye du Maroc, could also steal the show. The 2009 Cross Country Rally World Cup winner, fifth in the following Dakar, sets no limits on his ambitions: "I don't think people will take a 'wait-and-see' approach at the beginning, rather the opposite, I reckon everyone will go flat out from day one. My ambitions are clear, so I'm going to go fast —but not too fast, of course, as the Dakar is a long race".

KTM CONSTELLATION OVERFLOWING WITH TALENT

It is perhaps because of the depth of their rosters that the three sister teams that make up the KTM constellation have no designated leaders, but Toby Price, Matthias Walkner and Kevin Benavides will settle for nothing less than the top step of the podium. However, the king of the 2022 season was Sam Sunderland, who went on to be crowned world champion after clinching his second Dakar title and is clearly in top shape ahead of this new challenge: "I'll build on my past successes. I feel strong, we've worked hard, now I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes". The defending champion is right to be guarded about his prospects. Meanwhile, Daniel Sanders, his Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing teammate who shone in his first Dakar start (fourth) and in the previous edition before sustaining injuries, faces two weeks riddled with uncertainty. "It's been a long year off the bike. I went under the knife six times —five for my elbow and one for my shoulder. It's like night and day compared to last year, when I had a had a good shot at a podium place or even the title. I'd rate my physical condition at 50% of what it was back then. The first eight days are going to be extremely tough on our bodies, with far more kilometres and stages than usual". Finally, Husqvarna may have the ace of spades. Barring any nasty surprises, the American Skyler Howes should be in the mix: "Unfortunately, last year I crashed out of the race early on. I bounced back with two victories in the United States and the Rallye du Maroc, my first triumph overseas, and then I won in Sonora. I feel confident, but this is going to be a very long rally: the 2023 Dakar is three times as long as the Rallye du Maroc! I can't wait to see how it goes".

HONDA LAUNCHES FIVE-PRONGED ATTACK

The Honda clan is gearing up for a long, hard slog in its pursuit of a third title to go along with the ones claimed by Ricky Brabec in 2020 and Kevin Benavides in 2021. The four-man Honda team can now count on the assistance of a "fifth rider" in its bid to prevent a repeat of last year, when it fell a couple of minutes short of victory. Along with Brabec, Cornejo, Quintanilla and Van Beveren, Joan "Bang Bang" Barreda has entered this edition as a lone ranger, competing for his own team, but still on a 450 HRC of the same calibre. Pablo Quintanilla: "Last year, I came in second, three minutes back, after 38 or 39 hours of specials. I fancy a tough race in which you have to fight with your bike, your body and your mind. I feel ready and my shoulder has completely recovered from my crash in the Rallye du Maroc. It was important to start the race serenely and free of pain". Monster Energy Honda Team's fresh recruit Adrien Van Beveren, the man of the moment after claiming the W2RC final in October, shares his view of the challenge this Dakar offers: "I expect a race that is perhaps similar to the first editions of the Dakar in South America, where you were at the end of the rope in the closing stages. When you wake up in the morning and you've still got five days to go, it's almost like a world championship leg. A tough race should work in my favour, if I may say so myself. I'm ready".

RED BULL BRINGS DREAM TEAM OF MANY FACES

Red Bull's two teams for the 2023 Dakar are a mini-Tower of Babel. The Austrian sponsor's alliance with Can-Am to take its project to a whole new level has also expanded its scope, not least with the signing of the Chilean T3 champion, "Chaleco" López, who will be sharing the Red Bull Can-Am Factory Team stable with the Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška (T4) and Cristina Gutiérrez. For the Spaniard, the hype is real after finishing third in the category in the previous edition: "I'm super-excited and itching to start. It's a new team, a new car… It's my seventh Dakar, but it feels like the first." The Red Bull umbrella also spans an American outfit, Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA / BFG, spearheaded by the 2022 T4 champion, Austin Jones, as well as the young stage hunter Seth Quintero, who is determined to shine in the general standings in his third start: "I want to win, like everyone else, and be as consistent as possible. My strategy is to stay within striking distance of the best in the first week. Say, in the top 3, and definitely no more than 10 minutes behind the leader… Unless I happen to be the leader. The stages in the Empty Quarter are shorter but tougher, with an abundance of dunes, and I believe we can go toe to toe with the best there."

ROOKIES GALORE IN T3 AND T4

For several years now, T3 and T4 lightweight vehicles have been a tutorial of sorts for competitors who aspire to compete in the car category, especially for former stars of the motorbike and quad races. For example, five-time world enduro champion Antoine Meo, fourth in the 2018 Dakar, is on the start list of the T3 category, as is Hélder Rodrigues, who counts two third places (2011 and 2012) among his successes in his previous life on two wheels. The Portuguese has since fulfilled support duties at Honda, but his return to competition in the Dakar will take place in one of South Racing's Can-Ams, six years after his most recent start: "Francisco López led the way. I'm really keen on beginning a new career. I think I know the race well, my Can-Am is fast, but I still need to figure out the last details because I am sorely lacking in experience apart from the Rallye du Maroc." Xavier de Soultrait, who wrapped up his career as a biker last January, also picked the T4 category out of an abundance of caution: "I'm not fully confident in my knowledge of this field. We're approaching the race with humility and our feet firmly on the ground… If we finish tenth, so be it. No-one's putting any pressure on us for the first few days, all we've got to do is get the car to the finish".