I’ve been following the Dakar for as long as I can remember. With a background in motorcycle riding, I even dreamed that maybe one day I might be lucky enough to participate. For me, the true spirit of the Dakar is the modern-day embodiment of adventure. Exotic landscapes, alien cultures and a real risk to life and limb; it appears the antipathy of modern life. While I refuse to let that glimmer of hope from deep down inside extinguish, visiting the Dakar in Saudi Arabia has to be the next best thing.
It’s considered to be the ultimate endurance test of human and machine: racing motorcycles, ATVs, buggies, cars and even trucks for two weeks across some of the wildest terrain the world has on offer. Originally the Paris to Dakar Rally, the Dakar was moved to South America in 2009, where it spent 10 years, before migrating back east to Saudi Arabia in 2020.
