Everything You Need to Know About Dakar Rally 2025: A Beginner’s Guide

The first major motorsports event of the year is here: Dakar 2025 will kick off the motorsports calendar. The Dakar Rally is one of the most challenging and legendary motorsport events in the world. Every year, competitors from across the globe push themselves and their machines to the limit, traversing some of the harshest terrains on Earth. As we gear up for Dakar 2025, here’s everything a beginner needs to know about this iconic rally.

What is the Dakar Rally?

The Dakar Rally is an annual off-road endurance race that tests the skills, endurance, and determination of its participants. Originally named after its starting point in Paris and finishing destination in Dakar, Senegal, the rally has evolved over the years. Since 2009, it has been held in South America and, more recently, in Saudi Arabia.

Dakar is part of the World Rally Raid Championship, commonly known as W2RC. The series involves both two-wheelers and four-wheelers and is co-sanctioned by the governing bodies of both categories, FIA and FIM. Rally Raids is the generic term for long-distance or cross-country rallies. While traditional rallies are conducted on roads or tracks, Rally Raids are mainly held in open terrains.

The race covers up to one thousand kilometres per day over dunes, mountains, and rocky terrain, making it one of the most demanding events in motorsports. This is why the race is so challenging: participants not only endure the physical strain of driving over tough terrain but also face the mental strain of constant navigation to avoid getting lost in the vast, open desert.

Despite its name, the event isn’t restricted to Dakar, but it retains the adventurous spirit that made it legendary.

When and Where is Dakar 2025?

The 14-day-long Dakar 2025 will take place from January 3rd to January 17th, across the rugged landscapes of Saudi Arabia. The route will include a mix of sand dunes, desert plains, rocky tracks, and mountain stages, ensuring a gruelling challenge for all participants.

The Route for Dakar 2025

According to the organizers, Dakar entrants said they ‘wanted a gruelling route that pushes the field to the limit’ and the organizers heard them loud and clear. The route this year stretches for almost 8,000 kilometres, for comparison Dakar 2024 was around 5000 kilometres

The race starts with a prologue on January 3rd at Bisha. Bisha will also host Stage 1 and the harrowing 48h chrono stage, Stage 2. The 48h chrono stage is a marathon stage in the Dakar Rally that challenges competitors to drive through the desert for 48 hours while balancing endurance and performance. The next 10 stages, from Stage 3 to Stage 12 will see the race visiting Al-Henakiyah, Alula, Hail, Al Duwadimi, Riyadh, Haradh and finally ending in Shubaytah.

Rules of the Dakar Rally

The Dakar Rally adheres to the regulations set by the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship. Competitors navigate thousands of kilometres on public roads to reach the starting point of each off-road special stage or SS. Starting positions are typically determined by the results from the previous day’s stage and any delays in reaching the start line result in time penalties.

The competitors don’t know the exact route of the stage until they receive the roadbook at the start. Although GPS systems are available, the roadbook is the primary guide, detailing specific waypoints and hazards. Participants race against the clock to complete stages as quickly as possible, navigating through unfamiliar and often hazardous terrain while trying to avoid getting lost.

After completing a stage, the convoy travels to the next bivouac—a mobile hub equipped with mechanics, catering, showers, and rest facilities. During the marathon stages, however, competitors camp in the desert without access to support vehicles or mechanics, relying solely on their own skills to repair their vehicles.

The roadbook is a vital tool, outlining the route, waypoints, and distances, along with illustrations of obstacles and potential dangers. While competitors can follow the tracks of others, those ‘opening the road’ rely solely on their navigation skills. Experienced participants often add personal notes to their roadbooks to aid in navigation.

In Dakar 2025, over 800 participants will compete in seven categories: Bike, Car, Challenger, SSV, Truck, M1000, and Classic. Since the inaugural event in 1979, which featured cars, motorbikes, and trucks, new categories have been introduced over time. The Challenger (T3) and SSV (T4) categories, introduced in 2017, feature UTVs and buggies designed for off-road racing. The M1000 category showcases prototype vehicles powered by innovative technologies like hydrogen. Added in 2021, the Classic category includes vintage vehicles from earlier editions of Dakar, such as Porsche 924s, Toyota Land Cruisers, Nissan Pathfinders, and Mitsubishi Pajeros.

Who to Look Out For

If you’re new to Dakar and don’t know who to support or look out for, this section is for you.

1. Carlos Sainz Sr.

Carlos Sainz Sr. won the Dakar 2024 in what was his last Dakar appearance with Audi. He will embrace a new challenge with Ford and M-Sport for Dakar 2025. The 62-year-old Spaniard has a total of 17 times with a wide variety of manufacturers and has taken 42 stage wins and four overall victories.

Although winning the Dakar 2025 will be a bigger challenge as the Ford Raptor Raptor is still in its early days of competition and hasn’t accrued mileage in an event of this scale and compared to some of the other vehicles in the field, Ford’s new challenger is still a relatively unproven quantity.

2. Harith Noah

Harith Noah made history by winning the Dakar 2024 in the Rally2 category. He is part of the Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team. Noah is only the second rider from India to reach the finish line in Dakar, the other being CS Santosh.

It took Harith Noah two Dakar editions to learn and adapt before becoming the second Indian rider to reach the finish and not only did he achieve his dream he also managed the best-ever performance for an Indian claiming an excellent 20th overall position in 2021. Part of the Sherco TVS Rally team then suffered some severe setbacks including the fracture of the fifth thoracic vertebrae (T5) of his spine. A very worrying crash that could have had terrible consequences.
The wonderkid from Shoranur in Kerala returned even stronger and made history by finishing 11th overall in 2024 and winning the Rally 2 title.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Harith Noah (@harithnoah8)

3. Hero Motorsports Team

Founded in 2016, Hero MotoSports Team Rally is the first and only Indian team to have reached the prestigious podium of the toughest race on the planet. Racing on their self-developed and ever-evolving Hero 450 Rally, team Hero MotoSports finished Dakar 2024 in the overall 2nd place. Hero MotoSports rider Ross Branch was crowned the 2024 FIM World Rally Raid Champion.

4. Nasser Al-Attiyah

The reigning FIA World Rally Raid Champion, Nasser Al-Attiyah is always the one to watch out for at Dakar Rally. Al-Attiyah boasts an impressive five overall wins in 20 appearances, plus 11 podiums and 48 individual stage wins.

Although the Dacia Sandrider is a new car, the new platform underwent extensive testing to prepare it for Dakar 2025. The car has already proven itself by winning the Rally Morocco. That, combined with Al-Attiyahs experience makes the Qatari one of the favourites to win this year.

5. Sebastien Loeb

Having tasted immense success in the world of Rally racing, Sebastian Loeb is still chasing his first victory in the gruelling Dakar Rally. Having taken 28 stage wins and five overall podiums in his 8 appearances in Dakar, Loeb will be hoping to take the overall top step on the podium of Dakar 2025.
Sebastian Loeb will be behind the wheel of the Dacia Sandrider and has played a significant role in the development of the car.

Where To Watch

There is no official broadcaster listed for India as such, but you can follow all the action on Dakar’s official Website. The complete list of International TV Broadcast is given below: