PREPARATIONS are in full swing for the 2016 Dakar, which starts
just after New Year continues for two weeks.
There are 56 trucks in the total field of 556 motorcycles, cars,
quads and trucks which will contest the 38th Dakar Rally.
The 2016 Dakar Rally will start in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on
January 3 and finish in Rosario, also in Argentina, on January 16 after a route
of more than 9 000 km that includes a loop into Bolivia.
The intrigue in the car category will be two-fold, with the matter
of the continuing Mini supremacy,
triumphant on the last four editions, and especially that of their leader Nasser Al Attiyah. Having dominated last January to pick up his second title, the “Prince of the Desert”, he has gone on to outshine the competition on the rally-raid world cup, also adding an 11th success in the Middle-East Rally Championship, and the WRC2 title. However, the thousands of kilometres of confidence accumulated do not guarantee success to the Al Attiyah-Baumel duo, nor should it give their pursuers complexes. Their rivals will be plentiful in the Minis (Roma, Terranova and Hirvonen), but also in the Toyota Hiluxes, like South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers or Yazeed Alrajhi.
triumphant on the last four editions, and especially that of their leader Nasser Al Attiyah. Having dominated last January to pick up his second title, the “Prince of the Desert”, he has gone on to outshine the competition on the rally-raid world cup, also adding an 11th success in the Middle-East Rally Championship, and the WRC2 title. However, the thousands of kilometres of confidence accumulated do not guarantee success to the Al Attiyah-Baumel duo, nor should it give their pursuers complexes. Their rivals will be plentiful in the Minis (Roma, Terranova and Hirvonen), but also in the Toyota Hiluxes, like South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers or Yazeed Alrajhi.
More significantly, the already stupendous team fielded by Peugeot
last year, with Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres, will be
further enhanced by the addition to the team of nine times world rally champion
Sébastien Loeb.
These four drivers will be counting on new version of the Peugeot
2008 to stay ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa.
Team principal Glyn Hall said the test session north of Upington
was a great success, with both De Villiers and Leeroy Poulter having driven
hundreds of additional test kilometres during the session, while De Villiers’s
German navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz also gained valuable knowledge of the latest
race car to emerge from Toyota Motorsport’s workshop at Hallspeed.
“The new Hilux is better than its predecessor in every way,” said
De Villiers at the end of the test session. “The team has made incredible
progress with the car, and I’m feeling very confident at the moment.” De
Villiers and Von Zitzewitz will again partner Poulter and Rob Howie for the 2016
Dakar Rally. However, this year also sees the addition of Saudi racing sensation
Yazeed al Rajhi to the team. He has German navigator Timo Gottschalk in the car
beside him, and the pair completed a short test session of their own in South
Africa earlier in November.
This year will be the Dakar to allow trucks into Bolivia. The 2016
route includes sections at an altitude of more than 3 500 metres.
The Russian Kamaz drivers have only missed out on one truck
category title since the race switched to South America. However, the winner of
that title in 2012, Gerard de Rooy, has teamed up with his former rival Ales
Loprais to attempt to counter the favourites.
The oldest truck racer, 74-year-old Yoshimasa Sugawara, has two new
Hino trucks on his team and they aim for a seventh straight win in the class for
trucks with engines under 10 litres.
Racers on quad bikes will be watching winners of four Dakars in the
quad category, brothers Alejandro and Marcos Patronelli, who make their return
after a four-year absence for the elder and two for the younger. As usual, the
pair haven’t taken part in a single race to get ready. — WR.
