Off-road heavyweights head to desert for Dakar tune up

Reigning Dakar champion Carlos Sainz has returned to Saudi aiming for more success. Images: Red Bull Content Pool.

Bengaluru, December 12: As curtains almost come down on year 2020, a rally-raid December double-header is the perfect opportunity for off-road contenders to get into gear for 2021 Dakar Rally.

A posse of former Dakar Rally champions have targeted the two Baja Hail events taking place in Saudi Arabia this month as a final tune-up ahead of the big one next January.

Dakar Rally legends such as Carlos Sainz, Stephane Peterhansel and Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah never turn down an opportunity to race in the desert.

Over the next seven days they have the chance to tackle two races as Baja Hail 1 & 2 cover more than 1,000 kilometres in the formidable An Nafud desert.

Reigning Dakar champion Sainz returns to Saudi Arabia aiming for more success. The Spaniard will be alongside co-driver and countryman Lucas Cruz in a MINI JCW Buggy.

Winning formula

Sainz will be searching for the winning formula that has already delivered three Dakar wins and two World Rally Championship titles in an ultra-impressive motorsports career.

"Of course it's possible to win again - but you get nothing for free at the Dakar. I definitely feel fast enough to challenge for the win," said the Spaniard.

Monsieur Dakar

Also at the wheel of a MINI JCW Buggy at both Baja Hail races will be Peterhansel, a 13-time winner of the Dakar. The short-term goal for the man known in the bivouac as Monsieur Dakar will be to grow his relationship with fellow Frenchman Edouard Boulanger.

"Now Edouard sits next to me - a young Frenchman and great sportsman. I think that we will work well together," said the Frenchman.

Regional hero

If Sainz or Peterhansel are to win either of the Baja Hail races in their new look MINIs they will have to get past Al Attiyah. Qatari ace Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel know the region well and have twice taken victory at the Hail International Rally. The duo also won the 2020 Andalucia Rally when rally-raid competition returned this October.

Al Attiyah and Baumel come to Saudi Arabia with a Toyota Hilux vehicle that has undergone significant improvements since helping them towards their Dakar win in 2019.

Przygonski challenge

Poland's Kuba Przygonski will also drive a Toyota Hilux at Baja Hail 1 & 2 alongside German co-driver Timo Gottschalk. The pair are in hot form after winning the 2020 Polish Cross-Country Championship are have their sights fixed firmly on the podium places in Hail.

The 2021 Dakar Rally will run from January 2 until January 15 in Saudi Arabia and start with a prologue stage for the first-time ever.

(Source: Red Bull Content Pool Media)