2023 Dakar Rally | Everything You Need To Know

IMAGE01 2023 Dakar Rally Preview

 

The start of the 2023 MotoGP, WorldSBK and BSB seasons may be some way off but with the turn of the New Year comes the first of the season’s true blue riband events; the gruelling Dakar Rally.

One of motorsport’s most demanding events - on two or four wheels - the 2023 Dakar Rally kicks off on New Year’s Eve (31st December) and runs until 15th January, the dates bookending 14 days of sand-kicking, dune diving and rock-hopping off-road action traversing 8,549km.

While the name continues to represent the event’s original destination point - that of the Senegalese capital city - and no longer dashes through multiple north African countries, today the Dakar Rally is contested solely within the borders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The fourth time it has been held in the Middle Eastern desert, British rider Sam Sunderland heads into the dunes as the reigning champion… as we look ahead to the 2023 Dakar Rally, will Sunderland be kicking sand in the faces of his rivals once again?

 

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The Defending Champion  - Sam Sunderland

 

After making history as the first British competitor to triumph on the Dakar Rally in 2017 - when the event was held in Argentina and Bolivia - Sunderland notched up his second career success in 2022 with a steely run to victory.

Only the third rider to win the Dakar in two different locations - together with Marc Coma and Cyris Despres, who both triumphed during the African and South American-based configurations of the event - Sunderland’s steadfast consistency was the defining factor in 2022 as rivals steadily fell by the wayside.

Moreover, his success marked a maiden Dakar victory for the Spanish-flagged GasGas Factory Racing Team, which became only the six different manufacturer to record a victory in 44 years, joining KTM, Honda, BMW, Yamaha and Cagiva.

For 2023, Sunderland and GasGas stick together in their efforts to defend not only their Dakar Rally title but also their World Rally-Raid Championship crown.

The Dorset rider took the spoils in the new series’ inaugural season, thanks in part to his Dakar Rally success, which doubled up as one of the year’s four rally-raid endurance events.

Going on to win another round in Abu Dhabi, Sunderland held on to clinch the 2022 title and duly heads into the 2023 season opener as the rider to beat in Saudi Arabia.

 

Can I watch the Dakar 2023 on TV in the UK?

Each evening at 9pm from Sunday 1st January, Eurosport will be broadcasting a 60-minute show on Eurosport 1. The show is then repeated on Eurosport 2 at 10.30pm, and again at 3am and 8.30am the following day back on Eurosport 1, though the replay times vary throughout the rally so do check your listings.

 

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The Manufacturers

Many manufacturers have come, but very few have conquered the Dakar Rally since its inaugural race from Paris to Dakar in 1978.

Indeed, few motorsport events have the power to transform a motorcycle’s image should it succeed in enduring the harshest tests of durability and speed over an entire fortnight of full throttle action.

While the more cynical might point out that the 2022 Dakar Rally was won by KTM in all-but-name, though GasGas’ recent buyout by the Pierer Group certainly helped transform its effort from a shoestring budget effort to a professional factory one, it was still expected to be something of a supporting role to its more decorated sibling firm.

However, with David slaying its brother Goliath in 2022, the Pierer Group won’t have been too disappointed to see its flagship brand lose out to its sibling. Moreover, there remains a strong chance the title will remain within the group in 2023 with the combination of KTM, GasGas and Husqvarna dominating the entry list numbers.

Indeed, once you factor in a smattering of privateer efforts on KTM and Husqvarna machinery, the Austrian powerhouse counts 14 of the 27 entries in the RallyGP category.

The trio will face the biggest opposition in Honda, which returns with a three-man factory effort to reclaim a title it won in 2020 and 2021, which in turn prised away KTM’s 18-year stranglehold on the winners’ trophy.

There will be no factory Yamaha contingent on the starting ramp this year - its name upheld by a single privateer effort instead - but that doesn’t mean the 2023 Dakar Rally will be contested solely between the Pierer trio and Honda.

Indeed, French company Sherco [above] put up a strong fight for long stretches of the 2022 Dakar Rally as more established rivals fell foul in the desert. It’s a performance that has spurred the now TVS-owned firm into a full-on factory offensive for 2023, one that could cause a surprise.

Similarly, Hero MotoCorp has looked more convincing with every year it competes, which coupled to the Saudi Dakar’s unpredictable nature could see the Indian giant in the mix.

 

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The Riders to Watch

Five Dakar Rally winners – Sam Sunderland, Toby Price, Ricky Brabec, Kevin Benavides and Mathias Walkner - head up the 2023 Dakar Rally entry list in RallyGP.

As defending Dakar Rally and World Rally-Raid Champion, Sunderland heads into the 2023 edition as the man to beat but faces stiff opposition from runner-up and 2020 Dakar Rally winner Ricky Brabec.

The American spent the entire 2022 Dakar Rally in recovery mode after losing an hour on the very first stage but showed impressive focus and speed to claw his way back to 7th.

He heads up a formidable quartet of Honda riders, including new signing Pablo Quintanilla. The Chilean - who switches from Husqvarna - was second to Sunderland in 2022 and even led the Briton with two stages to go before being forced to settle for the runners-up spot.

They will be supported by Jose Ignacio Cornejo, who is eyeing a first Dakar podium, and new signing Adrien Van Beveren. The Frenchman most recently headed up Yamaha’s effort and topped the leaderboard last year within sight of the finish, only for a navigation error dropped him to a galling fourth.

Alongside Sunderland in the GasGas Factory Racing team is Daniel Sanders, the young Australian returning to the dunes having emerged as one of last year’s standouts before a crash and injury put him out of action.

At KTM, Price [pictured] - a mainstay of the brand since 2009 - and Walkner will be seeking to restore the manufacturer’s authority at the top of the podium after three years of being outperformed. The Australian-Austro duo are joined by Kevin Benavides, winner with Honda in 2021, the Argentine bidding for a better result in his second outing with KTM.

After watching GasGas steal the limelight in 2022, Husqvarna will be looking to make its own bit of history this time in 2023. Skyler Howes and Luciano Benavides - brother of Kevin - remain on board in the two-strong factory effort.

Sherco ran well inside the top ten for periods of the 2022 Dakar Rally with Lorenzo Santolino, the Spaniard returning to head up the French firm’s 2023 bid alongside Portugal’s Rui Goncalves and India’s Harith Noah Koitha Veetti.

Of the factory contingent, Hero heads to Dakar with four official entries for former Yamaha factory rider, Ross Branch from Botswana, plus Sebastian Buhler, Franco Caimi and Joaquim Rodrigues.

Elsewhere, top privateer efforts to watch out for include Joan Barreda Bort on the JB Honda, who is eyeing the podium after a career-best fifth place in 2022, BAS KTM pair Mason Klein and Tosha Schareina, plus the sole Yamaha entry of Antonio Maio.

The 2023 Dakar Rally will also see the belated debut of James Hillier on the OMG Racing GasGas.

The Isle of Man TT winner was due to tackle the Dakar back in 2021 as part of an attempt to switch from road racing to rally-raid but pushed his entry back a year in the run up citing a lack of sufficient preparation time.

However, after OMG Racing's switch from BMW to Yamaha machinery in BSB led to a contractual headache, he didn't make the startline in 2022 as planned either.

Nevertheless, he will be present and correct in the Solo Riders class on a GasGas 450 Rally.

 

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2023 Dakar Rally Entry List

No.

Rider

Nat.

Motorcycle

Team

1

Sam Sunderland

GBR

Gas Gas 450 Rally Factory Replica

Gas Gas Factory Team

2

Ricky Brabec

USA

Honda CRF450 Rally

Monster Energy Honda Team 2023

5

Joan Barreda

ESP

Honda CRF450 Rally

Monster Energy JB Team

7

Pablo Quintanilla

CHI

Honda CRF450 Rally

Monster Energy Honda Team 2023

8

Toby Price

AUS

KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica

Red Bull KTM Factory Team

9

Mason Klein

USA

KTM 450 Rally Replica

BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team

10

Skyler Howes

USA

Husqvarna 450 Rally Factory Replica

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

11

José Ignacio Cornejo

CHI

Husqvarna 450 Rally Factory Replica

Monster Energy Honda Team 2023

12

Martin Michek

CZE

KTM 450 Rally Replica

Orion - Moto Racing Group

14

Sebastian Bühler

GER

Hero 450 Rally

Hero Motosports Team Rally

15

Lorenzo Santolino

ESP

Sherco 450 SEF Rally

Sherco TVS Rally Factory

16

Ross Branch

BOT

Hero 450 Rally

Hero Motosports Team Rally

18

Daniel Sanders

AUS

Gas gas 450 Rally Factory Replica

Red Bull Gas Gas Factory Racing

19

Rui Gonçalves

POR

Sherco 450 SEF Rally

Sherco TVS Rally Factory

20

Harith Noah Koitha Veettil

IND

Sherco 450 SEF Rally

Sherco TVS Rally Factory

25

Mohammed Balooshi

UAE

Husqvarna 450 Rally Factory Replica

MX Ride Dubai

27

Joaquim Rodrigues

POR

Hero 450 Rally

Hero Motosports Team Rally

28

Maciej Giemza

POL

Husqvarna 450 Rally Factory Replica

Orlen Team

30

Antonio Maio

POR

Yamaha WR450F Rally

Franco Sport Yamaha Racing Team

33

Franco Caimi

ARG

Hero 450 Rally

Hero Motosports Team Rally

42

Adrien Van Beveren

FRA

Honda CRF450 Rally

Monster Energy Honda Team 2023

47

Kevin Benavides

ARG

KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica

Red Bull KTM Factory Team

52

Matthias Walkner

AUT

KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica

Red Bull KTM Factory Team

54

Daniel Nosiglia Jager

BOL

KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica

Rieju - Xraidsexperience

68

Tosha Schareina

ESP

KTM 450 Rally Replica

BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team

77

Luciano Benavides

ARG

Husqvarna 450 Rally Factory Replica

Husqvarna Factory Racing

80

James Hillier

GBR

GasGas 450 Rally

Rich Energy OMG Racing Ltd

142

Štefan Svitko

SVK

KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica

Cross Team

 

IMAGE06 2023 Dakar Rally Preview

 

2023 Dakar Rally schedule and route

Stage

Date

Start

Finish

Total/Special

Prologue

Sat, 31 Dec 2022

Sea Camp

Sea Camp

10 km / 10 km

1

Sun, 1 Jan 2023

Sea Camp

Sea Camp

603 km / 368 km

2

Mon, 2 Jan 2023

Sea Camp

Al-'Ula

590 km / 431 km

3

Tue, 3 Jan 2023

Al-'Ula

Ha'il

669 km / 447 km

4

Wed, 4 Jan 2023

Ha'il

Ha'il

573 km / 425 km

5

Thu, 5 Jan 2023

Ha'il

Ha'il

646 km / 375 km

6

Fri, 6 Jan 2023

Ha'il

Ad Dawadimi

876.68 km / 466 km

7

Sat, 7 Jan 2023

Ad Dawadimi

Ad Dawadimi

641.47 km / 473 km

8

Sun, 8 Jan 2023

Ad Dawadimi

Riyadh

722.41 km / 407 km

-

Mon 9 Jan 2023

Riyadh

Rest day

9

Tue, 10 Jan 2023

Riyadh

Haradh

710 km / 439 km

10

Wed, 11 Jan 2023

Haradh

Shaybah

623 km / 114 km

11

Thur, 12 Jan 2023

Shaybah

Empty Quarter

426 km / 275 km

12

Fri, 13 Jan 2023

Empty Quarter

Shaybah

375 km / 185 km

13

Sat, 14 Jan 2023

Shaybah

Al Hofuf

669 km / 154 km

14

Sun, 15 Jan 2023

Al Hofuf

Dammam

414 km / 136 km

 

IMAGE07 2023 Dakar Rally Preview