In a bid to diversify their economies and capitalise on the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs), national oil companies in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are planning to extract lithium from brine in their oilfields.
The move signals a strategic shift for oil-producing nations as they seek alternative sources of wealth amidst the global transition away from fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has invested significantly in positioning itself as a hub for EVs under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Sources revealed that Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) are in the early stages of exploring lithium extraction from brine, which is considered a critical mineral due to its essential role in battery manufacturing for electric vehicles. However, specific details regarding the extraction technology were not disclosed, and both companies declined to comment on the matter.
Direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, although in its infancy, presents advantages such as avoiding the environmental challenges associated with traditional mining methods. By filtering lithium from saltwater brine, Saudi Arabia and the UAE can leverage their expertise in handling oil brine and wastewater at oil production sites.
The Sainz family may have been a bit disappointed that Carlos Sainz Junior missed out on the podium at the Bahrain F1 GP last weekend, having been overtaken by BWT Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in the last quarter of the race. But they can still celebrate with Sainz Senior’s team taking their first ever win in the Extreme E all-electric off-road series over the weekend.
The ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team finished ahead of Veloce Racing and Rosberg X Racing (RXR) after a battle over the sands of NEOM in Saudi Arabia during the Desert X-Prix. The crew of Laia Sanz and Mattias Ekstrom dominated the race from start to finish, establishing a comfortable lead as Veloce Racing and RXR fought over the runners-up spot.
Reigning Extreme E champions Rosberg X Racing (RXR) continued their winning ways with overall victory in the opening round of the all-electric off-road series in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. This is the second season of Extreme E and for this season, RXR (owned and managed by Nico Rosberg, the former F1 champion) retained the services of Johan Kristoffersson with a new team-mate. Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky.
The pair were the victors in a Final of two halves, as a red flag was brought out at the end of the first lap following a big accident for McLaren XE’s Tanner Foust who, in a bid for third place clipped the back of the RXR car driven by Ahlin-Kottulinsky and then rolled his ODYSSEY 21 on the opening lap.
The race resumed for a one-lap shootout, with the four teams released at intervals that matched how they had entered the Switch Zone. X44’s Cristina Gutierrez attempted to close down Laia Sanz in the ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team car, while Kristoffersson closed the gap on the two Spaniards from third.
The RXR driver soon passed Gutierrrez on the inside, setting his sights on Sanz. As the Desert X Prix entered its closing stages, Kristoffersson took a wide line into the second to last corner for an aggressive overtake on Sanz and secure a dramatic win ahead of ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team, with X44 completing the podium.
Chip Ganassi Racing came fourth having secured a spot in the Final with a win in Semi-Final 2, and McLaren XE finished fifth despite Foust’s crash having made an excellent comeback from Qualifying to win the Crazy Race.
“It feels really good, but every week feels good. Every time we go for a race, we have the aim to win, but the competition is so high this year, especially with McLaren coming in, which raises the bar even higher. We learned quite a lot last year, but now things are even tighter we’ll have to work even harder. I’m just very happy to start off the season with maximum points,” said Kristoffersson.
RXR’s win was not surprising as the team set the pace in the first qualifying session. It was a dramatic first session over the 6.9-km course which was disrupted by a red flag following a crash for Veloce Racing’s Christine GZ. The Spanish driver, partnering Lance Woolridge, had looked strong throughout their Qualifying run, but the huge crash denied them a shot at the top spot. GZ was able to exit the car but sustained an injury to her foot.
There was also drama in the first of the new 5-car Heats in Qualifying 2. Sebastian Loeb and ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team’s Carlos Sainz Snr. delivered the strongest starts with Nasser Al-Attiyah running third ahead of Sara Price, all taking very different racing lines up the hill.
As the front three pulled away, the ABT Cupra XE car passed Sainz on the inside, but Nasser Al-Attiyah’s pace caused him to miss the flag and, in recovering, he collided with the Spaniard. Sainz brought the damaged ODYSSEY 21 back to the Switch Zone before retiring from the Heat. After the Stewards reviewed the collision, ABT CUPRA XE were classified last of the 4 runners in Heat 1, with the team relegated to ninth overall.
Championship Standings after Round 1
1. Rosberg X Racing – 30 points
2. Acciona | Sainz XE Team – 18 points
3. X44 – 15 points
4. Chip Ganassi Racing – 12 points
5. McLaren XE – 10 points
6. Genesys Andretti United Extreme E – 8 points
7. XITE Energy Racing – 6 points
8. ABT Cupra XE – 4 points
9. JBXE – 2 points
10. Veloce Racing – 1 point
Following the opening round, the next one will be held in Sardinia, Italy, on May 7/8. The long gap between rounds is partly because the cars and equipment travel by a ship to reduce the carbon footprint of the event which is also being used to promote climate and environmental issues on the planet.
When Audi’s RS Q e-tron starts in the 2022 Dakar Rally this weekend, it will be an entirely new challenge for the engineers. While Audi Sport is no stranger to tough off-road racing, this event will be with a vehicle that runs on electricity rather than petrol – something they have not done before in off-road competition, especially one in the Saudi Arabian Desert.
“With our drive configuration in the RS Q e-tron, Audi is a pioneer in the Dakar Rally,” said Lukas Folie, a high-voltage battery engineer at Audi Sport. “Defining the challenges for this type of competition was very demanding. There are simply no empirical values in motorsport for such a concept and for this type of endurance competition.”
Designing for unknown requirements
Compared to the Formula E World Championship, which Audi last contested with a battery-electric drive, the standards at the Dakar Rally are different: daily stages of many hundreds of kilometres, the enormous driving resistance in the soft desert sand, plus high outside temperatures and a minimum vehicle weight set by the regulations at 2 tons are extremely tough in motorsport.
“It is not possible with today’s battery technology to realize a purely battery-electric off-road vehicle for the Dakar Rally under these conditions,” said Folie. The engineering team led by Axel Loffler, Chief Designer of the RS Q e-tron, therefore had to define basic benchmarks for the overall concept of the vehicle with electric drive and energy converter without any previous data.
Due to the short project development time, Audi relied on proven cell technology. The capacity of the high-voltage battery is 52 kWh and is therefore sufficient for the maximum expected requirements on each leg of the rally. The weight of the high-voltage battery including the cooling medium is around 370 kgs.
The required energy capacity and performance, as well as control and safety mechanisms, made Audi resort to proven round cells as the basis of the high-voltage battery. The battery system is designed in such a way that the drivers will not feel any difference between a new and a used battery.
Demanding off-road charging
When the drivers depart in full electric drive on the morning of each stage with a fully charged battery pack, a highly complex control system begins. Only a few minutes before the start of the stage do the teams learn any details about the route at all when the roadbooks are handed out. The RS Q e-tron must therefore be prepared for all conditions in terms of distances, speeds, difficulty of the terrain and other factors.
The engineers and electronic technicians have programmed algorithms to keep the State of Charge (the charge level) within defined ranges depending on the energy demand. Energy extraction and battery recharging are always in balance over defined distances. If, for example, a difficult dune passage with high driving resistance requires maximum energy for a short time, the state of charge drops within a controlled range. The reason: the drive power of the engine-generator units on the front and rear axles is limited to a maximum of 288 kW in total under the regulations. However, the energy converter can only provide a maximum charging power of 220 kW.
In extreme cases, therefore, consumption is briefly higher than energy generation. “Something like this is possible for a limited time,” said Folie. “But over a longer distance, it always results in a zero-sum game: We then have to regulate the power consumption down so that the battery’s state of charge remains within a corridor. The absolute amount of energy available on board must be sufficient to cover the day’s leg.”
Energy recovery is an important factor
In order to realize maximum efficiency, the engineers are also relying on a principle that has already been used in the Le Mans sportscars and in Formula E – the RS Q e-tron will recover energy during braking. The MGU units on the front and rear axles can convert the rotational movement of the wheels into electrical energy. The aim is to recuperate the maximum energy.
The power flow in this reverse direction is not subject to the same power limitations as when accelerating. What sounds so simple requires a complex Intelligent Brake System. It combines the hydraulic braking function with the electric regenerative brake.
Efficient on the move
Thanks to this targeted design, the RS Q e-tron has an exceptional position in the starting field. This applies not only to the basic system topology of all assemblies, but also to the energy control system. Although it has to move a larger mass due to the regulations, the RS Q e-tron manages with less energy than the competition. The smaller tank volume for the energy converter specified in the regulations proves that the rally car with the four rings is very efficient.
The RS Q e-tron will contest its first Dakar Rally with 3 cars entered by Team Audi Sport, with support from Q Motorsport. The 2022 event, which is the third Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, has 12 stages with daily distances of more than 800 kms in some cases. The total length of the rally is 8,099 kms, with 4,252 kms of timed off-road stages.
The 2022 Dakar Rally will start on the second day of January and finish on January 14. It will be run entirely on Saudi Arabian soil, as in the previous two editions. The route will go south, passing through Riyadh, and conclude back in Jeddah. There will be 12 gruelling stages, with navigation, sand and dunes featuring more heavily than in previous editions. 80% of the route will be totally new to competitors. Managing the mechanics and physical exertion are two of the most important aspects of the event, and these aspects are never as decisive as they are during a marathon stage, where the ability to be autonomous is essential, even for those used to helping each other out. In the Empty Quarter, the two marathon days will be run ‘the old-fashioned way’.
There had been feverish anticipation in the build-up to the weekend’s first Extreme E round – the Desert X Prix held in the remote Al-‘Ula region of Saudi Arabia. The new series, for electrically-powered SUVs, has the off-road challenges of the Dakar Rally but also uses the event to create awareness of environment issues at locations where it will be run.
Following the Qualifying time trials on Saturday, the teams – consisting of one male and one female driver – went wheel-to-wheel for the first time, generating some of the most spectacular images ever seen in the sport and drawing widespread acclaim from competitors and fans alike.
Rosberg X Racing duo Johan Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor were the pace-setters from the outset in, but the pair still had to dig deep in the desert to battle their way to victory and carve themselves out a piece of motorsport history.
Former F1 driver Nico Rosberg (left) with his winning drivers Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson.
But, ultimately, nothing could stop the duo from storming to the top step of the podium – not a 60-second penalty for exceeding the 30 km/h limit in the driver switch zone yesterday, nor less favourable grid slots in both the Semi-Final and Final today. It was a virtuoso display of speed, skill and superhuman car control in the most challenging of conditions.
“This is insane. I’m so thankful to the whole team for the effort put in this weekend, which has been intense and really on-the-edge. Everything has come together so well and everybody has worked together so well,” said Nico Rosberg, Rosberg X Racing’s Founder and CEO, who is the son of Keke Rosberg, former F1 driver. Their car had No.6 on it, which pays homage to the senior’s racing number when he was in Formula 1.
“We have a fantastic team of engineers and mechanics, who prepared perfectly for this first weekend with so many unknowns, and Molly and Johan produced some phenomenal driving. Neither of them put a foot wrong in really tough conditions, and they both showed unbelievable speed out there – their performance was really inspiring and I felt really proud watching them. To come back to claim victory after a 60-second penalty caused by a technical problem is just awesome, and they are definitely deserving winners. For the championship as a whole, it’s really been a good start,” he said.
Shoot Out
The duel for seventh place in the overall classification was fought out between Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing (Kyle LeDuc/Sara Price) and ABT CUPRA XE (Mattias Ekstrom/Claudia Hurtgen), both of whom endured difficult Qualifying runs. Price initially pulled ahead by using her Hyperdrive power boost, before Ekstrom repaid the favour on the exit of Turn One to snatch the lead.
Once the driver switch was complete, LeDuc set about chasing down Hurtgen, but almost within sight of the finish line, the American – unsighted by the dust – made contact with his German rival and the pair both ended their weekend beached in the desert.
Crazy Race
With just one spot up for grabs in the Final, the stakes were high for the three Crazy Race competitors – Andretti United’s Timmy Hansen/Catie Munnings, Hispano Suiza XITE Energy Team pairing Oliver Bennett/Christine Giampaoli Zonca and JBXE duo Jenson Button/Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky.
A wild start by 2019 FIA World Rallycross Champion Hansen saw the Swede already clear of his adversaries before the trio arrived at the first gate, with Bennett narrowly sneaking in front of former F1 World Champion Button to snatch second.
Hansen opened up a 30-second margin before Munnings took over; after which, the 2016 European Rally Championship Ladies’ Trophy winner artfully managed the gap to safely bring the Andretti United car home. Giampaoli Zonca did a good job to peg her British rival throughout, with Ahlin-Kottulinsky similarly showing a strong turn-of-speed on her way to the finish line in third.
Semi-Final
As top qualifiers yesterday, the X44 crew of Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez opted to start from the right-hand side of the grid for the Semi-Final – giving them the theoretical inside line for ‘Turn One’. ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team duo Carlos Sainz and Laia Sanz chose the middle slot, with Rosberg X Racing (Kristoffersson/Taylor) taking up position on the left.
When the action got underway, Sainz got the best launch to edge fellow multiple FIA World Rally Champion Loeb away from the line, with the pole-sitter briefly slipping back to third. Loeb then regained the advantage as the battling Sainz and Kristoffersson both drifted wide, but the Swede was not done yet and neatly undercut both of his adversaries on the exit of the first gate to seize the initiative.
Kicking up a sandstorm in his wake, Kristoffersson rapidly made his escape as his pursuers found themselves driving blindly through the dust – and by the time he arrived at the switch zone to hand over to team-mate Taylor, the Rosberg X Racing car was almost 13 seconds to the good.
Thereafter, the former Australian Rally Champion continued to extend the gap, crossing the finish line just under half-a-minute ahead of Gutiérrez, as both teams successfully booked their places in the all-important Final. Another 38 seconds in arrears, ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team wound up third to slip out of contention.
The Final Duel
As winners of the fan-led GridPlay vote, Andretti United had the luxury of choosing their starting spot for the Final. Hansen duly plumped for pole position on the right, with Kristoffersson lining up in the middle for Rosberg X Racing and X44’s Loeb taking up the third grid slot on the left.
Hansen replicated his lightning launch from the Crazy Race as Kristoffersson focussed his efforts on fending off Loeb for second, before employing the same tactic that had served him so well in the Semi-Final to sweep wide going into Turn One and undercut compatriot Hansen on the exit in a sensational switchback move.
The 3-time FIA World Rallycross Champion then wasted no time at all in stretching his lead, as Hansen settled into second and Loeb – grappling with power steering problems – trailed behind the pair in third. Kristoffersson handed the car over to Taylor with a half-minute advantage, and whilst Munnings would go on to narrow the deficit slightly over the course of the second lap, the Australian always had the situation under control and wound up just over 23 seconds clear at the finish.
Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E, said: “We’ve worked so hard on this for many years, and finally everything has come together this weekend. It really has been beyond my wildest expectations. If I had written a script for the perfect weekend, I could not have come up with anything better than what we have witnessed these past two days – I’ve never seen such extreme racing in my life!”
About Extreme E
Extreme E is a totally new racing series which will see electric SUVs competing in extreme environments around the world which have already been damaged or affected by climate and environmental issues. During the 5 races at different locations, the impact of climate change and human interference in some of the world’s most remote locations will be highlighted. Extreme E also aims to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in the quest for a lower carbon future for the planet.
The first round was held in Saudi Arabia where desertification and water resources are serious environmental issues.
To minimize local impact, Extreme E races will not be open to spectators, with fans instead invited to follow the action through live TV broadcast, and on social media. Additionally, to minimize carbon emissions, a cargo ship – the St. Helena – transports the freight and infrastructure, including vehicles, to the nearest port for the round. Besides serving as Extreme E’s operations hub, the ship will used to facilitate scientific research through its on-board laboratory.
All the 9 teams use the same specially-developed SUV, including the powertrain.
Extreme E is also pioneering hydrogen fuel cell technology which will enable its race fleet to be charged using zero emission energy. This innovative solution from AFC Energy uses water and sun to generate hydrogen power. Not only will this process emit no greenhouse emissions, but its only by-product will be water, which will be utilized elsewhere on-site.
The very first round of the new Extreme E series for electric SUVs got off with a highly-charged (no pun intended) qualifying session at Al-‘Ula in Saudi Arabia yesterday. The round is known as the Desert X Prix and is run in the desert with stunning backdrops.
There was high drama throughout the qualifying session which saw each member of the 2-person crew (one must be a female) driving the specially developed electric SUVs around a challenging, high-speed 8.8-km off-road track. The layout was designed to push drivers and cars absolutely to their limits and apart from the unique noise of the electric motors echoing off the hillsides, there was also a heart-stopping moment when the car of ABT CUPRA XE’s Claudia Hurtgen flipped and rolled 5 times in the sand.
Winding its way spectacularly between canyons, through ravines, across deep sand dunes and punctuated by 33 waypoints, the rock-strewn course was bumpy and undulating in equal measure, with steep climbs offset by ‘The Drop’ – a 100-metre, 45-degree descent likened by some competitors to tackling a black ski run. For almost everybody, it represented a journey into the unknown – and it produced some memorable action.
Lewis Hamilton’s X44 team ended the day at the top of the rankings following a duel against Nico Rosberg’s competitive Rosberg X Racing outfit, as the two Formula 1 World Champions renewed battle in the desert dunes (through their teams) and mere fractions-of-a-second separated the leading drivers.
Sebastien Loeb, the X44 driver, said: “We’re very happy to have finished Qualifying in first place. Today went really well and the whole X44 team did a great job with the car in difficult conditions. We were the first drivers to get out onto the track so it was hard to know what to expect in the first Qualifying round, but obviously our strategy paid off and we achieved the time we needed to. Tomorrow is a new day and the standard of the other teams will be really high, so we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing and pushing to win.”
Wile Hamilton and Rosberg did not actually drive, 2-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz did, with the ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team. There was no lack of commitment from the 58-year-old – possibly the oldest driver in the field – who was partnered by Laia Sanz – a 13-time Women’s Trial World Champion – who demonstrated her rapid learning abilities on 4 wheels to secure second place for the squad.
Veloce Racing, a British team, won’t be able to continue this weekend as Stephane Sarrazin’s roll. The accident resulted in severe damage to the roll-cage and it cannot be repaired in time to be safe enough for today’s races.
All teams use a vehicle called the ODYSSEY 21 which comprises a common package of standardised parts with a battery pack produced by Williams Advanced Engineering. The vehicle, which has a 400 kW (550 bhp) powertrain, has a niobium-reinforced steel alloy tubular frame, as well as crash structure and roll cage which protected the two drivers who crashed. “It is a testament to CBMM Niobium and their robust and tough chassis which was put to the ultimate test today and delivered,” said Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E.
“I think the first day of Extreme E has been absolutely fantastic. I have been blown away by the action and the images – there was just so much to look at. It was even better than we expected, and the feedback on social media has been amazing – and this was only Qualifying! I really think we are onto something huge here!” he added.
The St Helena transports the teams and their vehicles as well as all the equipment for the event to each round’s location. It has been specially refitted to be environment-friendly and is being used, instead of aircraft, to minimise carbon emissions. It also has a Science Laboratory on board for research to be conducted at each site.
Since the Dakar Rally began in 1979, MINI has won it 5 times, adding a sixth overall title this year. While not matching Mitsubishi’s 12 wins, XRAID MINI JCW driver Stephane Peterhansel has the record of 14 wins in the event with his latest this week. His total of 14 wins over 30 years of participation in the event, includes winning 6 times on a motorcycle.
Consistency was the secret of success
The event this year was held in the deserts of Saudi Arabia with 12 stages that took the participants from Jeddah on January 2 in a clockwise route of 7,646 kms to finish in the same city 13 days later. Driving a XRAID MINI JCW Buggy, Peterhansel, with Edouard Boulanger, successfully defended the title won in 2020.
While Peterhansel was fastest only on one stage, his consistency in remaining among the top runners throughout the event showed kept him within sight of victory, finishing with a lead of 14 minutes 51 seconds.
“The pressure was immense since we were leading the overall standings for much of the race. You can only lose in that situation. But I have to say, we drove almost a perfect Dakar without any major errors and once again that was the key to success. Things were perfect between Edouard and me, and I was delighted to have him sat next to me. He couldn’t have done anything better,” the French driver said.
Stephane Peterhansel, 55, has won the Dakar Rally 14 times, using motorcycles for the first 6 wins.
In addition to Peterhansel, a third MINI crew finished in the top 10. Vladimir Vasilyev and Dmitry Tsyro crossed the finish line in sixth place in a MINI JCW Rally. A total of eight MINI cars competed in Saudi Arabia this year, 6 of which reached the finish line.
Nasser Al-Attiyah, Toyota GAZOO Racing Hilux, finished second between Peterhansel and Sainz.
Toyota finishes between two MINIs
The MINI was in close competition with Qatari driver, Nasser Al-Attiyah, who won 5 stages. However, difficulties with finding the route and a few punctures lost him a lot of time and by the finish, he could manage only second place with his Toyota Hilux.
Reigning champion Carlos Sainz (the father of the F1 driver) – who last year won the event – was unable to repeat the achievement as mechanical issues dogged him. Putting in a strong effort and winning the final stage got him third overall position, but his total time was an hour behind Peterhansel and Al-Attiyah.
Carlos Sainz collected his third his Dakar Rally victory, this time with yet another team. Having previously triumphed with Peugeot (2019) and Volkswagen (2016), he presented MINI with its fifth overall victory in what is described as the toughest race in the world.
For MINI and MINI Motorsport partner X-raid, this was the first success since their winning run together, which lasted from 2012 to 2015. Sainz, with co-driver Lucas Cruz (also from Spain), drove a John Cooper Works Buggy. He finished 6 minutes 21 seconds ahead of last year’s winner, Nasser Al-Attiyah after completing roughly 7,500 kms through Saudi Arabia’s deserts.
Dakar record winner Stephane Peterhansel and his co-driver Paulo Fiuza finished third, 9 minutes 58 seconds behind Sainz and Cruz, to round off an impressive performance from the two JCW Buggies. The two JCW Buggy crews each won 4 stages, while MINI vehicles went fastest on a total of 9 of the 12 days. Seven of the 9 MINI crews that started the rally reached the finish in Al-Quiddia, 4 of them in the top 10.
The 42nd edition of the Dakar Rally this year was held in Saudi Arabia for the first time. The route took competitors from the shores of the Red Sea in Jeddah, around the canyons and mountains of the western part of Saudi Arabia, over the dunes of the Empty Quarter and all the way to the Qiddiya Sports and Culture Complex near the capital Riyadh.
237 out of the 342 vehicles (59.3%) that started the rally in Jeddah were classified as finishers. A further 19 vehicles withdrew from the race but reached Qiddiya under Dakar Experience rules. Over the 7,500-km route through deserts, there were 12 competitive stages which totalled approximately 5,000 kms.
2020 DAKAR RALLY OVERALL WINNERS IN CAR CATEGORY
1. CARLOS SAINZ/LUCAS CRUZ – Bahrain JCW X-Raid Team
2. NASSER AL-ATTIYAH/MATTHIEU BAUMEL – Toyota Gazoo Racing
3. STEPHANE PETERHANSEL/PAULO FIUZA – Bahrain JCW X-Raid Team
4. YAZEED AL RAJHI/KONSTANTIN ZHILTSOV – Overdrive Toyota
5. GINIEL DE VILLIERS/ALEX HARO BRAVO – Toyota Gazoo Racing
6. ORLANDO TERRANOVA/BERNARDO GRAUE – X-Raid MINI JCW Team
7. BERNHARD TEN BRINKE/TOM COLSOUL – Toyota Gazoo Racing
8. MATHIEU SERRADORI/FABIAN LURQUIN – SRT Racing
9. YASIR SEAIDAN/KUZMICH ALEXY – Race World Team
10. WEI HAN/MIN LIAO – Geely Auto Shell Lubricant Team
The 2020 Dakar Rally will take place on the Arabian Peninsula for the first time from tomorrow (January 5) till January 17. Among the entries are a total of nine MINI racing cars, of which two are Dakar icons in the MINI JCW buggy.
Dakar record winner Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel and co-driver Paulo Fiuza are aiming for his 14th overall Dakar success. The two-time winner and former World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz will also be in the further developed MINI JCW buggy and the support of MINI Motorsport partner X-raid.
The 2020 Dakar Rally will have 12 competitive stages which will total around 5,000 kms through desert. The event will cover some 7,500 kms from Jeddah via the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, to Al-Quiddia.
“After many years in South America, 2020 will see us not only go to a completely new region but also ‘back to the ‘roots’ again. Long special tests, many kilometres and lots of new experiences: that’s what awaits us in Saudi Arabia. It will be a tough Dakar for sure, and hopefully our MINI vehicles will prove their reliability as always,” said Sainz.
“It will be a new challenge for everyone. A few weeks ago, I saw new landscapes and completely different routes in the small Baja around Riyadh, very quickly, but beautiful. I look forward to it!” said Peterhansel.
Peterhansel has an amazing record of winning the Dakar 13 times – 6 times on a motorcycle and 7 times in 4-wheelers. This includes the first joint victory of MINI and X-raid 2012 in MINI ALL4 Racing and the title defence the following year. He actually wanted to contest the Dakar 2020 for the first time with his wife, Andrea, who had previously been a successful rally driver. She had earlier navigated her husband to the FIA World Cup title for cross-country rallies in 2019.
Two other MINI JCW rallycars will be used by X-raid driver Vladimir Vasilyev with Vitaly Yevtyekhov and Saudi Arabian hero Yasir Seaidan with co-driver Alexey Kuzmich. Outside the X-raid team, Denis Krotov/Dmitry Tsyro and Vaidotas Zala/Saulius Jurgelenas will be working hard to finish with good results in their MINI JCW Rallycars.
The 2020 Dakar Rally is running for the first time in Saudi Arabia. It will have 12 competitive stages which will total around 5,000 kms through desert. The event will cover some 7,500 kms from Jeddah via the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, to Al-Quiddia.
After joining TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, Fernando Alonso seems to be enjoying much better times than when he was racing in Formula 1. Recently, he achieved his first-ever rally raid podium with the team after a solid performance at the 2019 Al Ula-Neom Cross-Country Rally in Saudi Arabia.
In just their third rally raid competition together, Fernando and navigator, Marc Coma, took home the third-place trophy for the first time since the Spanish duo started their preparations towards the 2020 Dakar Rally just over 2 months ago.
The first 2 of 4 stages took place near the northwestern city of Al Ula which featured two loops of approximately 220 kms each day on mixed terrain of open desert, sand and stone strewn sections, and rocky paths. For Fernando and Marc, this event represented a new challenge of competing on unfamiliar terrain against a field of local rally raid specialists who had more experience.
Nevertheless, the Spanish duo brought their Toyota Hilux home in fourth place after the first stage after negotiating through the dust kicked up by frontrunners, trailing the leader by just 7 minutes 24 seconds. As their Hilux was brand new – only 20 kms on the clock – when they arrived in Saudi Arabia, Fernando elected to take a zero-risk approach during the opening stage by not pushing the vehicle too hard.
After a largely clean run on a route similar to that of the previous day and as they pushed to reduce the overall gap, they picked up a puncture towards the closing part of the stage which was made up of rocky paths. The pair lost approximately 2 minutes 30 seconds to replace the flat tyre, which resulted in an additional 7 minutes 35 seconds of deficit to the leader while maintaining a solid fourth place overall.
The final 2 stages of the event took place near the new city of Neom, on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea, approximately 460 kms northwest of Al Ula. This new and unfamiliar terrain and conditions included areas of tricky navigation which pushed competitors to their limits.
Despite the challenges, the duo showed strong pace over the course of the penultimate stage to bring their Hilux back home third-fastest overall and losing just 17 seconds to the leader after some 180 kms of high-speed driving.
They started the final day in third place overall following a late retirement overnight and securing the final podium spot with consistent pace throughout the day despite some time loss due to inaccurate road books and tricky navigation. Their split times showed excellent speed, a clear indication that they have already reached a highly competitive level in rally raid despite their relative lack of experience as they transition into new motorsport disciplines.
The 2019 Al Ula-Neom Cross-Country Rally is the last of 3 rally raid competitions for Fernando and Marc in their intensive training programme to prepare for the 2020 Dakar Rally. The Spanish pairing first entered what turned out to be an eventful Lichtenburg 400 in South Africa before tackling the formidable Rally of Morocco. They persevered through a wide variety of challenges and learnt invaluable lessons along the way.
With under two months to go before the Dakar Rally, Fernando and Marc will continue private testing before joining their TOYOTA GAZOO Racing teammates in Saudi Arabia in January 2020 for the Dakar Rally. Yes, you read that right – the next edition of the Dakar Rally will be held in Saudi Arabia which will be the third region used for the legendary event that started in 1979 as the Paris-Dakar Rally. In 2009, security concerns forced the organisers to stop using the route down West Africa and the event shifted to South America, but still retaining the ‘Dakar’ name.
The route of the 2020 Dakar Rally which will be held in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the legendary event began 40 years ago.
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