Gusting through scrutineering with one day to go

January 2 ^nd 2025 - 09:25 [GMT + 3]

Those at the bivouac in Bisha settled down for the night yesterday with gusts of sand blowing about and emerged this morning to strong winds again, leading the organisers to find sheltered areas for the technical scrutineering stands. Calmer conditions are expected to return by the evening, so the programme for the race remains unchanged, meaning preparations are taking place on schedule as planned. As a result, Saudi biker Mishal Alghuneim, who was already present in 2020 for the first Dakar in his country, was the first competitor to get to grips with scrutineering at dawn. He will not always have the privilege every day of leading out the KTM armada, alongside the Benavides brothers, Daniel Sanders and Edgar Canet, who will be following in his wake. Later on, all types of cameras and phones will very likely be focused on the title holder in the car category, Carlos Sainz, accompanied by Nani Roma and Mattias Ekström for the debut of the Ford Raptors on the Dakar. In the truck race, Team De Rooy will be taking on a new look with the arrivals of Czech driver Aleš Loprais and Lithuanian Vaidotas Žala boosting the Dutch clan. The squadron of MD Rallye Optimus vehicles, with notably Christian Lavieille, Eugenio Amos et Simon Vitse, will also be making its way through scrutineering, all wearing their racing goggles to protect their eyes from the wind, eager to also put on their helmets!