a separate route on certain stages between cars and motorcycles for safety reasons

The 47th edition of the Dakar will take place over 12 stages in addition to a prologue in the Saudi desert, according to a route presented on Thursday and of which certain stages will be separated between the motorcycle and car categories, a novelty aimed at improving safety. From January 3 to 17, 2025, 807 participants will compete in the sand of the Arabian Peninsula, aboard 439 vehicles, over some 5,000 km of timed special stages.

The complete route revealed a revised route compared to the previous one, a tour of the country whose prologue will start from Bisha, a town located in the southwest which will also host the “48h chrono” over two days – a format inaugurated last year and where the pilots have neither possible assistance nor communication and are obliged to shut down the engines for the night.

The 2025 edition of the famous rally-raid will end in the endless dunes of the Empty Quarter, where the “ranking could be replayed» during the 11th and penultimate stage, according to Dakar boss David Castera.

The main novelty of this edition will be the separation of routes between motorcycles and cars on certain stages – or even trucks -, in particular to ensure better safety.

«For the first time, five stages were traced on courses separating FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, editor’s note) and FIA (International Automobile Federation) vehicles, i.e. 45% of all timed sectors», indicated the organizers in the press release presenting the route.

43 women at the start

Winner of the 2024 edition in the car category, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz will drive a Ford for the first time in this race while the newcomer among the manufacturers, Dacia, will line up the Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, five-time winner of the Dakar, French rally legend Sébastien Loeb – who hopes to finally put his name on the list after his ninth participation – and Spaniard Cristina Gutiérrez.

This edition will be without the Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel, record holder for victories on the Dakar (14 successes, including six on motorcycles) and absent for the first time in 36 years from the event. At 59 years old, “Monsieur Dakar” (his nickname) explained on social networks that he “need a break».

On the motorcycle side, the American Ricky Brabec, titled last year, will have a hard time facing his teammates at Honda, the Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren, the Chilean Pablo Quintanilla and the American Skyler Howes. In addition, 43 women will also wear the helmet this year, in a Saudi Arabia which entered a vast program of economic and social reforms a few years ago which includes a relaxation of the prohibitions weighing on them.

After the Sahel, then South America, the Dakar, the largest rally-raid in the world, made Saudi Arabia its setting in 2020, a choice which sparked controversy due to the failings of the ultra-conservative kingdom in terms of human rights.