Le Dakar 2024 commencera vendredi prochain en Arabie saoudite. C’est le point culminant d’une préparation longue et exigeante, sur le terrain et au bureau, pour ce qui est l’épreuve de référence des rallyes-raids mondiaux.
During an interview conducted by SMG, the race director, David Castera, explained the preparation process: ‘The Dakar Rally requires a year of preparation. We have several teams involved. There are teams in the A-S.O. office in Paris, who mainly work on the sporting aspects and specifications. And then there are all the Saudi teams associated with us, who are more focused on logistics’.
According to the director, it is a process that takes more than a year, with several preparation trips: ‘Together, we work for over a year to prepare for this rally. So we need to make about four to five inspection trips of about two weeks each to have a more or less complete Dakar. In addition, there are roadbook checks. So, we end up doing five or six complete passes of the Dakar in a year to prepare for it’.
Castera concluded: ‘So essentially, we do four Dakar Rallies with our vehicles to prepare for one. But to give you an idea, we cover many kilometers. Some routes are approved, others are not. Some routes are prohibited, so we need to go back. There is a lot of work to ensure that everything is validated and well organized by all institutions so that we can launch the rally’.
