Scrutineering under way with two days to go

January 1 ^st 2025 - 09:08 [GMT + 3]

The Jeddah-Bisha axis, spanning nearly 500 kilometres through the southwestern quarter of Saudi Arabia, has been bustling with special visitors these days. The majority of Dakar vehicles have disembarked at the Red Sea port after a cargo ship voyage from Barcelona. Now, they are undergoing final technical and administrative scrutineering —partially completed back in Spain— before the rubber hits the ground in Friday's prologue.

Leading the charge in the motorbike category, the reigning champion, Ricky Brabec, will be among the first to go under the watchful eyes of the scrutineers, joined by his Monster Energy Honda HRC teammates Adrien Van Beveren, Tosha Schareina, Pablo Quintanilla and Skyler Howes —all serious contenders for the 2025 crown. Among their rivals, the W2RC world champion, Ross Branch, is set to make an appearance alongside his new Hero Motorsports teammate, Nacho Cornejo.

In the car category, the X-Raid Mini team is banking on Guillaume de Mévius, Guerlain Chicherit and João Ferreira to push their brand-new petrol-fuelled machine to the top of the leader board. They will be facing stiff competition from local hero Yazeed Al Rajhi, who headlines the Toyota camp alongside the likes of Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero.

Meanwhile, in the truck competition, the 2024 champion, Martin Macík, is officially unveiling the latest beast from his workshop, dubbed "Benny the Big Guy".