MOTORSPORT / 2020 Dakar rally contests the Saudi sands
The epic contest between the main protagonists in the ultra-competitive vehicle and motorcycle categories of the first Dakar in the barren (and cold) Saudi desert was ultimately decided not by speed but by navigational skills.
The 2020 Dakar Rally, the first edition of the arduous marathon event in Saudi Arabia, again proved there is no substitute for experience when it comes to competing in the top league of the world-renowned crosscountry race.
By winning the 7,000 km challenge from Jeddah to Al-Qiddiya, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz, besides providing the X-Raid Mini team with their fifth overall victory in the car category – at age 57 became the oldest man to win the Dakar in its 42-year existence.
With runner-up, Qatarian Nasser al Attiyah of the Gazoo Racing Toyota Hilux team shortly celebrating his fiftieth birthday and third-placed Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel, Sainz’s team-mate, already past 54 summers it means the average age of the three top vehicle contenders in the recent Dakar is over 53 years! There seems to still be lots of life left in them.
Besides some serious tyre problems and navigation issues for the top teams (due to route notes only made available to the co-drivers 15 minutes before the start of each stage), as well as engine power disputes, this year’s event will be remembered for Honda ending 18 years of KTM domination in the bike category – courtesy of Ricky Brabec, who incidentally also became the first American to win a Dakar, an achievement he shares with Casey Currie in the UTV category.
The 12-stage race, the first event under direction of David Castera, who replaced Etienne Lavigne last year, was also marred by the deaths of Portuguese motorcycle stalwart Paulo Gonçalves on stage seven – leading to the cancellation of stage eight for the bike competitors in honour of “Speedy” – and Dutch motorcyclist Edwin Straver after the event following his accident on stage 11.
SA RECORDS
From a Southern African perspective, the “third chapter” of the Dakar – as local hero Giniel de Villiers described it – will be fondly remembered for the double victory on stage two for De Villiers in the car category and for Botswana’s Ross Branch in the bike category.
This bestowed the South African the honour of being the first competitor to win a Dakar stage on three continents (Africa, South America and Asia) and in all three different editions of the race.
It will also be celebrated for the first stage victory by the South African developed Century CR6 buggy in the hands of the French privateer Mathieu Serradori, plus the indomitable spirit shown by our motorcycle competitors, in particular by Branch and female rookie rider Taye Perry, with Kirsten Landman and Perry becoming the first South African women to finish the Dakar.
The performances of two other South Africanborn competitors are also worth mentioning: Sean Berriman, racing under the American flag, won the UTV class with Currie, and Swiss-entered adventurer Mike Horn won a stage in the UTV class with Dakar legend Cyril Despres (sort of unofficially though, as they were racing under Dakar Experience rules).
In the coastal city of Jeddah, the growing intermixture of tradition and modernity, religion and secularity in the kingdom was notable. Veiled women with trendy sneakers under their black hijabs cycled on the pavements, big American, Japanese and Korean SUVs filled the highways and new half-built skyscrapers vied with mosques to dominate the skyline.
In contrast to South America, where the Dakar participants were welcomed by crowds of people, local interest and participation in the event were minimal. Names like Alonso, Peterhansel, Sainz and Despres and the magnificent opening show
on the Jeddah foreshore – with a distinctly Spanish flavour, oddly enough – was greeted with polite, muted enthusiasm.
TYRE AND NAVIGATION PROBLEMS
All the top teams suffered numerous punctures on the rocky terrain of the long and difficult first stage from Jeddah to Al Wajh. De Villiers lost three tyres on his Hilux, and Dutch teammate Bernard ten Brinke had to give him an extra tyre to ensure he reaches the finish. To make matters worse, most of the frontrunners had problems with navigation, setting them back in the field.
Stage two to Neom in the north of the country produced more of the same but De Villiers kept it clean and neat on the rocky sections to win the special, keeping him and Alex Haro in contention for the lead. With good results (except for Fernando Alonso and Marc Coma who sheared a wheel off their Hilux, losing a lot of time) the mood in the Gazoo Racing Toyota team was buoyant – although excessive tyre damage was a concern.