REPORT – 2020 DAKAR RALLY - JUST 4X4S

REPORT – 2020 Dakar Rally

Words: Mike Ryan

Photos: X-Raid, Newspress, Toyota

The Dakar started a new era this year when the event relocated to Saudi Arabia. What the organisers called “Chapter 3” in the marathon rally’s 42-year history follows the initial period in Europe and Africa (back when it was still the ‘Paris-Dakar’ rally) that lasted for three decades, followed by 11 years in South America from 2009.

A new country and new route for 2020 presented new challenges for all competitors, but the starting lineup carried many familiar names.

Battle of Champions

With past winners like Stephane Peterhansel (Bahrain JCW X-Raid Mini buggy), Nani Roma (Borgward BX7 EVO), Giniel de Villiers (Toyota Gazoo Racing HiLux), Carlos Sainz (Bahrain JCW X-Raid Mini buggy) and last year’s winner Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing HiLux) all eager to make history as the first Saudi Arabian Dakar winner, the contest was set.

A joker in the pack was Fernando Alonso; the two-time Formula 1 World Champion, two-time Le Mans 24 Hour winner and FIA World Endurance Champion was making his Dakar debut, but brought vast experience to the navigator’s seat of his Gazoo Racing Toyota HiLux in Marc Coma, a five-time Dakar winner in the motorcycle category.

Of course, the all-new venue meant a level playing field, with even the Saudi drivers in the 2020 entry list, like Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Overdrive Toyota HiLux) having only minimal local knowledge of the rally route.

The route itself would cover almost the entirety of Saudi Arabia, starting in Jeddah on the Red Sea coast, heading north and circling the country en route to the capital Riyadh, then onward into the evocatively-named ‘Empty Quarter’ and concluding in Qiddiya, south of Riyadh. Competitors would face over 9,000kms, including over 4,900km of timed Special Stages over 12 days, interspersed by a rest day in Riyadh.

With a mix of rocky mountain trails, featureless plains, a maze of valleys and mile after mile of dunes, the route presented a multitude of terrain, with pre-rally predictions that accurate navigation would be the key to victory.

After three days of prep and scrutineering, including the traditional “podium” start, the 2020 Dakar got underway at Jeddah on 5 January.

Mini vs HiLux

The opening stage of the 2020 Dakar saw an unfamiliar name in Vaidotas Žala (Agrorodeo X-Raid All4Racing Mini) complete the 319km special stage in first place, but seven-time champion Peterhansel was close behind, while Al-Attiyah was hampered by three punctures in the stage’s closing kilometres.

Stage 2, a 367km stint from Al Wajh to Neom, saw de Villliers take the win, while Alonso lost massive amounts of time after ripping a wheel off his HiLux. Al-Attiyah, Peterhansel and Sainz all lost time with navigation problems, allowing Dakar novice, Sheikh Khalid al Qassimi from the UAE (Abu Dhabi Racing Peugeot 3008 DKR), to complete the stage in third. Al Qassami’s Dakar would be over on the next stage, though, after a heavy crash destroyed his Peugeot buggy.

A former car entrant and five-time winner in the motorcycle class, Cyril Despres was in the SSV class this year, steering an OT3 SxS vehicle with adventurer Mike Horn as navigator. Despres’s first taste of the SSV class ended with mechanical failure on Stage 3, but under ‘Dakar Experience’ rules, he would be able to resume with a replacement engine, but wouldn’t be included in the general classification.

Despite finishing Stage 3 (a 427km loop course in Neom) in fifth, Al-Attiyah was now second overall behind Sainz and the Mini vs HiLux battle was set. Further back, Roma was battling with the underdeveloped Borgward racer and Alonso recovered to finish the stage in fourth, but was still a distant 32nd overall after the previous day’s mishap.

Stage 4 would be the longest of the 2020 Dakar to that point, with 435kms of special stage through rocky valleys and 672km in total. Peterhansel made his mark here, winning the stage, moving to third overall and closing the gap to the leading duo.

The first sandy sections of the 2020 Dakar greeted the field on Stage 5, and Sainz drove them beautifully to extend his lead over Al-Attiyah, but the Qatari, as well as Peterhansel and de Villiers remained within striking distance.

Stage 6 was another monster – 477km of timed special and 830km total – but competitors could at least look forward to the rest day in Riyadh after its completion. Peterhansel won the stage as he continued to chip away at the leaders, but Sainz retained his overall lead as the two-wheel drive Mini buggies were proving their suitability over the four-wheel drive HiLuxes in the fast, sandy sections that characterised the past two days.

Alonso completed another stage inside the top ten and improved his overall standing to 16th, aiming to crack the top ten in the second week.

Charge to the Finish

At the start of the second week, Sainz held a 7-minute and 48-second lead over Al-Attiyah, with Peterhansel a further 8 minutes back in third and Al-Rajhi flying the Saudi flag in fourth overall and just under 37 minutes off the lead.

As the route headed south, the sand dunes became larger and more challenging, but Sainz was fazed by neither the dunes nor Stage 7’s mammoth 546km special stage distance: the Spaniard won the day and extended his lead over Al-Attiyah to more than 10 minutes.

Stage 8 was shorter at 477km, but would still be a challenge for all the car competitors, as the death of a competitor in the motorcycle category the day before saw the riders sit out the stage. As riders are the first away each day, the following car competitors often use the rider’s tracks to help with navigation, but with no such trails to follow on Stage 8’s Wadi Al Dawasir loop, most drivers struggled. The exception was Matthieu Serradori (SRT Racing Century buggy), who capitalised on navigation mistakes and sand bogs from Sainz, Peterhansel and Al-Attiyah to win his first ever Dakar stage and move to seventh overall. Serradori’s stage win was also the first for an amateur in 32 years.

Alonso was second on the stage and moved to 13th overall, but at the top of the general classification, it was still Sainz from Al-Attiyah, with the margin now under 7 minutes. Peterhansel held on to third overall, with Al Rajhi a distant fourth and Orlando Terranova (X-Raid Mini JCW Rally) completing the top five.

With the terrain changing from sand to rocks and high dunes giving way to wide valleys separated by towering cliffs, Stage 9 covered 886km in total as competitors approached the Empty Quarter. The rally was approaching a possible nail-biting finish, too, as ‘El Matador’ Sainz lost almost all his advantage on this stage. A combination of navigation problems and a delaminated tyre saw Sainz’s lead cut to a mere 24 seconds over Al-Attiyah with three stages remaining. Peterhansel won the stage and closed the gap in third place overall, too, now less than 7 minutes off the lead and with a comfortable cushion over the following Al Rajhi.

Just when it looked like a fourth Dakar victory was in his grasp, it all went wrong for Al-Attiyah on Stage 10. The Qatari experienced navigation problems and finished the stage in 17th place. Compounding Al-Attiyah’s woes was Sainz’s stage win and a decision by race organisers to shorten the stage due to high winds. As such, what was a 24-second gap a day earlier blew out to over 18 minutes.

Peterhansel suffered similar navigation problems to Al-Attiyah and, now unlikely to beat Sainz, were in their own battle for second place, separated by only 16 seconds ahead of the penultimate stage.

Stage 11 from Shubaytah to Haradh saw Sainz finish third, but even giving up 8 minutes to stage winner Peterhansel in the dunes of the Empty Quarter, the Spaniard was still in command with a 10-minute gap over the chasers with one stage remaining.

For the final stage of Dakar 2020, a 374km transit and 167km timed special stage en route to Qiddiya, all Sainz needed to do was manage the gap to those behind him in the general classification, which he did superbly. Al-Attiyah won the stage, but the 4-minute advantage wasn’t enough to unseat El Matador as he finished 6 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of the Qatari in the general classification.

“It makes the victory even nicer when the battle is so tough,” Sainz said. “On top of that, I won in a third different car – I’m very proud of that.”

Sainz’s third Dakar title and first with X-Raid Mini follows previous wins in 2010 with Volkswagen and 2018 with Peugeot.

Finishing 13th overall, Alonso was the top-placed Dakar rookie and has already expressed an interest in returning in 2021.

Full results at https://www.dakar.com/en/