2022 DAKAR ROUTE DETAILED

Ahead of the third Dakar Rally to be held in Saudi Arabia, Dakar organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) have described the 2022 route as one of the most challenging in terms of navigation and most gruelling in terms of the amount of sand sections.

The 2022 route will start and finish in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, but racing proper starts in Ha’il following a two-day qualifying session, prologue and 19 km mini-special.

Serious competition gets underway with a 546km Ha’il loop stage that includes a 334km timed special. Similar distances follow, but the longest timed special – 465km from Al Qaysumah to Riyadh – will be done with early, on Stage 4. There’s also a 421km timed special in Stage 6’s Riyadh loop ahead of the rest day in the Saudi capital.

The route then heads south and west en route back to Jeddah, with two loop stages, at Wadi Ad Dawasir and Bisha, along the way,

A total distance of more than 8,000km has been laid down for 2022, with around 4,300km of that total being timed specials.

Over the 12 daily stages, riders will go head-to-head on all sorts of sandy terrain - "sand in all shapes and colours" as ASO’s David Castera puts it - while the nuances of navigation in such conditions, which saw many competitors come undone in 2021, may prove to be a game changer in the battle for top honours in 2022.

The 2022 Dakar field is the largest in almost a decade, with 144 motorcycle entries and 21 quad entries in the total of 578 vehicles. Of those motorcycle entries, 33 are in the Original by Motul subcategory where riders are responsible for servicing and maintaining their bike – unassisted - throughout the course of the rally.

The 2022 Dakar also sees the launch of a new format, as the rally is incorporated into the FIA and FIM cross-country world championships that includes rounds in Abu Dhabi in March, Kazakhstan in April, Andalusia in June and Morocco in October.