With nine World Rally Championship crowns and an impressive set of accolades under his belt from Le Mans and X Games to Touring Cars, Loeb’s emphasis on Dakar in 2024 cannot be underestimated. Having proven he and Lurquin had the speed to win throughout the World Rally Raid Championship this year, it was unfortunate punctures that robbed them of time early on in last January’s Dakar event, but their stellar fight back through the field and unwavering focus on pace and rhythm brought them back to the podium, winning all but one stage in the final week.
The fifth Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia looks set to be another gruelling test of human endurance and technical engineering as nearly 8,000 kilometres will be covered over 12 stages and two weeks as the route traverses the huge country from north west to south east and back again for the finish at Yanbu on the coast of the Red Sea.
The organisers have laid out a taxing route over the tracks in the north to the sheer enormity of the Empty Quarter in the south, where dunes cover an area the size of France. This year there lies an extra-long ’48-hour Chrono’ stage at the mid-point. 600kms will be covered over two days in pure dunes with only service allowed from the drivers and crew from the BRX race trucks at the overnight bivouac.
The ‘48-hour Chrono’ wraps up the first week of the Dakar 2024, with both halves of the event almost equal in stage kilometres, but the run up north to Ha’il and the monoliths around AlUla towards the finish in Yanbu usually cradle a sting in the tail, so pin point accuracy over every kilometre will be key as always.
The BRX Prodrive Hunter will arrive at the start of its fourth Dakar with further developments and utilising sustainable fuel to power through the stages in Saudi. With no major changes made to the set-up of the engine to accommodate the biofuel created from agricultural waste, the car will emit 80% less CO2 emissions from the 3.5 litre V6 twin turbo engine during the rally once again.
With new staff joining the team, an evolution of BF Goodrich tyre and the constant hunger to conquer the biggest motorsport event in the world, the BRX team is focused on success come the finish on January 19, 2024
Commenting Sébastien Loeb – Bahrain Raid Xtreme, said: “We’ve had some good results together with Prodrive, but for me the Dakar is my target. To make the best over the big stages, Fabian and I will work hand in hand to have the speed, the correct navigation and avoid mechanical problems. However, the Dakar always has some ‘hidden things’ at any time, so we’ll piece these together over the huge adventure that this rally always is. I’m looking forward to it.”
David Richards, Founder and Chairman of Prodrive, added: “If I turn the clock back and think to when we started this programme with Bahrain and remember how much work has gone in to our Rally Raid Programme, I have to say I’m very proud of what we have achieved. Dakar represents the pinnacle of world motorsport. It’s an incredibly arduous event, even more so with the addition of the new 48-hour Chrono stage at the halfway point this year, but as we head to Saudi Arabia with the BRX team, and Seb and Fabian in one of seven Prodrive Hunters we’ll have in Saudi Arabia for the event, we’ll be pushing for wins from the very start and it’s a challenge we are very much looking forward to.”
