The Bedouin Touch

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

All travellers have their own style, preferences and habits. At the Dakar, we like to travel like vagabonds, dedicated to discovery and wonder, and in our case, to technical performance and endurance under extreme conditions. Saudi Arabia offers an immense variety of wide open spaces and unique places to satisfy this thirst, even for the most demanding. And the bivouac lifestyle goes hand in hand with the nomadic culture we have experienced with our hosts during the two latest editions. It is in this spirit that we hope to get started with the preparation for the 2022 edition. In terms of terrain, the route will be characterised in particular by a push into the Empty Quarter: a vast expanse of desert with sands and dunes that beckon the drivers and crews of the rally. This expedition will require changes in the way we travel: for example, moving the caravan during the rest day. As far as our way of life is concerned, we will take inspiration from the routes taken by the Bedouins, such as those who flocked for centuries to the commercial crossroads in Ha’il, which has since become the centre of the rally raid in Saudi Arabia, and where the competitors will be meeting...preferably in a bivouac, even before the start, rather than in hotels. From here the drivers will be directed by the sand and the dunes, heading towards Riyadh, then Jeddah. Everything the Dakar nomads love.

David Castera
Dakar Rally Director