The Dakar Rally heads back to the deserts of Saudi Arabia for the second time, where the race will be run from January 3-15, 2021.
The rich tapestry of landscapes in Saudi Arabia offers an almost infinite number of permutations to give the route of the Dakar Rally a better flavour.
Just as 2020 was a quest of discovery, the 2021 Dakar Rally route will be a journey of exploration.
Everything will be brand-new, including every single kilometre of the specials.
Furthermore, the fastest sectors, where the difference comes down to raw power, have been trimmed.
Keep up to date with all the latest Dakar Rally news on The South African website.
Prologue
Saturday, January 2, 2021
Jeddah > Jeddah
Total: 129km | Special: 11km
This appetiser will give participants the chance to ease into a competitive mindset. The race will take the competitors about 30 kilometres away from King Abdullah Stadium and feature a handful of sandy tracks where the temptation to just slide around the course will be hard to resist. Most importantly, the classification will establish a safe starting order for the next stage, with everyone right where they belong
STAGE 1
Sunday, January 3, 2021
Jeddah > Bisha
Total: 623km | Special: 277km
The opening special will be held entirely on tracks. The main challenge lies in stringing up one valley after another while avoiding the navigational hazards posed by the numerous intersections. Competitors will have to be on the lookout in the stony sections if they want to avoid flat tyres.
STAGE 2
Monday, January 4, 2021
Bisha > Wadi Ad-Dawasir
Total: 685km | Special: 457km
Here come the first dunes, which will appear in a section stretching for about 30 kilometres in the first third of the stage. Yellow dominates the kaleidoscope here, but the white dunes will provide a touch of contrast. A lengthy off-track section – the desert’s answer to “open space”- comes right before the final sequence of sandy tracks.
STAGE 3
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Wadi Ad-Dawasir > Wadi Ad-Dawasir
Total: 629km | Special: 403km
The gateway to the Empty Quarter provides the backdrop to this stage – pure, unadulterated desert. Competitors will get a hefty serving of dunes, albeit spread far and wide and in small chains. The special intersperses technical sections with
STAGE 4
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Wadi Ad-Dawasir > Riyadh
Total: 813km | Special: 337km
If the link sector is included, this is the longest stage of the race, but the sporting part is unlikely to push the competitors to the limit. On the contrary, the focus will be on having fun at the wheel, even though the winding tracks will give participants no respite. However, it is worth keeping in mind that mistakes carry a hefty price tag even on transition stages like this one.
STAGE 5
Thursday, January 7, 2021
Riyadh > Buraydah
Total: 624km | Special: 419km
Patience is a virtue in rally raids, as will be seen on this long, hard stage, where competitors who fail to control their nerves are in for a bad day. Several elements will bring down the average speed, including a tough dunes sector near the middle of the special and the numerous stones that litter some tracks. Haste makes waste – or, in this case, a flat tyre.
STAGE 6
Friday, January 8, 2021
Buraydah > Ha’il
Total: 655km | Special: 485km
The road to Ha’il will be 100% smooth and sandy. The course of this stage features dunes in all shapes and colours, testing the competitors’ ability to tackle them forwards and backwards! Bikers will face their greatest challenge here and even the toughest riders will end up with their arms like jelly. Some may even get to know the desert after dark… and have to settle for a very short rest day.
REST
Saturday, January 9, 2021
Ha’il
For many, the rest day is an important intermediate goal. Whatever happens, it will be time for everyone to take stock of their strategy and use the time wisely to recover in a balanced way, It will be shorter for latecomers, who will certainly have a lot of work to do on their vehicles. The rest will be divided between the maintenance necessary to get back to the dunes and rest in the truest sense of the word. All this while remaining focused on the competition!
STAGE 7
Sunday, January 10, 2021
Ha’il > Sakaka
Total: 737km | Special: 471km
The marathon stage gets underway with a fearsome sequence of sand mountains and 100 km of up-and-down racing almost without interruption. Competitors will need to go gentle on their vehicles from the get-go to stop their engines from overheating. The first part comes to an end with a series of stony plateaus and a mix of winding and fast sections. The area set up for participants to work on their vehicles will be off-limits to everyone else.
STAGE 8
Monday, January 11, 2021
Sakaka > Neom
Total: 709km | Special: 375km
The second part of the marathon stage tends to reward those who have been cautious in the first one. On top of the satisfaction of blasting through the sandy and then stony tracks of this special, competitors will get to enjoy the most majestic landscapes in the country… while keeping a close eye on the roadbook. If there is a time to whip out the camera, this is it.
STAGE 9
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Neom > Neom
Total: 579km | Special: 465km
The special will get going on the shore of the Red Sea and start with a ramble along the seafront. It will not be all smooth sailing, however, as the course takes the field to tracks that are sometimes fast but often too sandy to push the pedal to the metal. This stage’s length and variety place it among the toughest of these two weeks of racing.
STAGE 10
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Neom > AlUla
Total: 583km | Special: 342km
There are not enough superlatives to describe the landscapes in the first part of this stage. The hilly areas that make up most of the rest of the course are just as breathtaking. However, the sandy tracks will provide an opening for navigation savvy participants to blast their way through the valleys
STAGE 11
Thursday, January 14, 2021
AlUla > Yanbu
Total: 557km | Special: 511km
The longest special in the rally will set the scene for the decisive showdown among the remaining contenders. Dunes are back after several days to separate the best from the rest in an ocean of sand stretching for almost 100 kilometres where time differences can be huge.
STAGE 12
Friday, January 15, 2021
Yanbu > Jeddah
Total: 452km | Special: 225km
The last stage of the Dakar is not necessarily the easiest. The riders, drivers and co-drivers will still have to deal with the threat of chains of dunes, where getting stuck can easily spell the difference between a sweet ending and a bitter one. However, “celebration” will be the buzzword here, as the finish line on the shore of the Red Sea brings back memories of Lac Rose for some finishers.
