The 2022 Dakar Rally will be a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 44th edition of the Dakar Rally organized by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The event will take place 2 – 14 January 2022. This will be the third time Saudi Arabia had hosted the event, with support from the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. The race will start in Ha’il and end in Jeddah, going through canyons and cliffs in the Neom region, passing by the Red Sea coastline, into to stretches of dunes surrounding Riyadh, with a lot more action on sand dunes in the Empty Quarter. The route consists of one prologue stage and 12 normal stages, with one rest day in Riyadh on 8 January.
The route
The feedback from competitors about previous event was that there were too many rocky surfaces resulting in excessive tyre wear and punctures, and not enough sandy stages which traditionally dominated Dakar rally. The organizers listened to the complaints and on 11 May 2021 revealed a new route which is characterized by a push into the sandy Empty Quarter. Same as last year, the route includes 1 Prologue stage, 12 stages including 2 loop stages and 1 marathon stage. The route will consist of around 4,000 km (2,500 mi) of special stages and 2,500 km (1,600 mi) – 3,000 km (1,900 mi) of liaisons. The exact route was revealed in late November 2021. The route did not feature the Empty Quarter this year. Initially, due to very difficult terrain, the competitors were planned to be airlifted from stage 8 finish to Riyadh.
Entry list
Announced early entries
Entrant | Team | Car |
---|---|---|
Carlos Sainz | Phoenix Racing | Audi RS Q e-tron |
Stéphane Peterhansel | ||
Mattias Ekström | ||
Sébastien Loeb | Prodrive | BRX Hunter T1+ |
Nani Roma | ||
Orlando Terranova | ||
tbc | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota GR DKR Hilux |
Guerlain Chicherit | GCK Motorsport | GCK Thunder |
Jesús Calleja | Astara Team | Century CR6 |
Óscar Fuertes | ||
Akira Miura | Toyota Auto Body | Toyota Land Cruiser |
Jerome de Sadeleer | Mika Metge | Can-Am Maverick XRS |
Teruhito Sugawara | Hino Team Sugawara | Hino Ranger (HINO 600 Series) |
Martin Macík | Big Shock Racing | Iveco PowerStar |
A total of 750 riders, drivers and co-drivers entered the event, among them 209 rookies (first-time entries), 130 legends (participating for the 10th or more years), 34 original by Motul (riders without support team) and 60 women. Another 315 drivers and co-drivers entered the Dakar Classic (classic car and truck categories).
Stages
Stage | Date | Start | Finish | Bike/Quad | Cars/SSV | Truck | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total / Special | Total / Special | Total / Special | |||||
Stage 1A | Sunday | January 1, 2022 | Jeddah | Ha’il | 636 km / 19 km | 1029 km / 393 km | 1029 km / 393 km |
Stage 1B | Monday | January 2, 2022 | Ha’il | Ha’il | 546 km / 334 km | 691 km / 145 km | 691 km / 145 km |
Stage 2 | Tuesday | January 3, 2022 | Ha’il | Al Artawiya | 585 km / 339 km | 657 km / 72 km | 657 km / 72 km |
Stage 3 | Wednesday | January 4, 2022 | Al Artawiya | Al Quaysumah | 554 km / 368 km | 719 km / 165 km | 719 km / 165 km |
Stage 4 | Thursday | January 5, 2022 | Al Quaysumah | Riyadh | 707 km / 465 km | 852 km / 145 km | 852 km / 145 km |
Stage 5 | Friday | January 6, 2022 | Riyadh | Riyadh | 563 km / 348 km | 694 km / 131 km | 694 km / 131 km |
Stage 6 | Saturday | January 7, 2022 | Riyadh | Riyadh | 635 km / 421 km | 714 km / 79 km | 714 km / 79 km |
Rest day | Sunday | January 8, 2022 | Riyadh | — | |||
Stage 7 | Monday | January 9, 2022 | Riyadh | Al Dawadimi | 700 km / 401 km | 793 km / 93 km | 793 km / 93 km |
Stage 8 | Tuesday | January 10, 2022 | Al Dawadimi | Wadi Ad Dawasir | 828 km / 394 km | 1096 km / 268 km | 1096 km / 268 km |
Stage 9 | Wednesday | January 11, 2022 | Wadi Ad Dawasir | Wadi Ad Dawasir | 490 km / 287 km | 600 km / 110 km | 600 km / 110 km |
Stage 10 | Thursday | January 12, 2022 | Wadi Ad Dawasir | Bisha | 757 km / 374 km | 930 km / 173 km | 930 km / 173 km |
Stage 11 | Friday | January 13, 2022 | Bisha | Bisha | 500 km / 345 km | 568 km / 68 km | 568 km / 68 km |
Stage 12 | Saturday | January 14, 2022 | Bisha | Jeddah | 676 km / 163 km | 960 km / 284 km | 960 km / 284 km |