The culture of the challenge

May 11 ^th 2021 - 20:00 [GMT + 3]

Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome back to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the home of the Dakar Rally - the most famous and toughest rally in the world.

We made a promise back in 2021 to organise the rally amid the massive challenge of the global Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic that took the world by storm and saw unprecedented travel restrictions and a variety of protocols introduced. But we managed to rise to the challenge and deliver on our promise.

Today, we stand on the verge of hosting the event for a third successive year. We are proud of our previous achievements and our focus is now firmly on the future. We will call upon the extensive experience we have gained over the last two years to arrange another unparalleled edition of the Dakar Rally that we are confident will live up to the expectations of global motor sport fans and supporters of the Dakar Rally in particular.

Our team will again work tirelessly to source the most challenging tracks to enable us to devise the most stunning route for competitors from across the world to compete on in all the relevant sporting categories.

We are blessed with magnificent landscapes that few countries can rival. This varied and challenging terrain is the perfect location for the Dakar Rally.

One of the most beautiful things about the Dakar Rally – at least from my personal perspective – is that it introduces visitors and viewers alike to the true essence of our nation, with its tolerant culture, rich heritage, picturesque landscapes, and hospitable people.

Thanks, first and foremost, to our wise leadership, The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the goal of Vision 2030, the Kingdom was able to attract and host the Dakar Rally for the first time in 2020, after many years when it moved between the continents of Africa and South America. We promised you in 2020 that we would host the Dakar Rally with all our capabilities to become the best rally in 30 years.

We hope that the 2022 Dakar Rally meets the expectations of motor sport fans around the world, and we look forward to welcoming you, once again, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – the home of the Dakar Rally.

HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al Faisal -
Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF)