        For the fourth consecutive year, the Dakar will once again take place in Saudi Arabia in 2023. But the riders are in for some surprises, starting with the route itself, more than 70% of which will be new according to the organisers. The action will get underway on 31 December 2022 from Sea Camp, before reaching Dammam on 15 January 2023 after 14 special stages and a prologue that will amount to more than 5000 km of timed stages. Three-day Marathon stage and new roadbooks  As ever, the event will also include a Marathon stage, in which riders cannot count on the support park. This year it will last three days, made up of the days on which the specials will take place in the famous &ldquo;Empty Quarter&rdquo;. The roadbooks also come in for a change, divided into A and B and distributed according to a draw. These will present a different order for certain waypoints to be reached during the stage, so that it&rsquo;s tougher for riders to make up time by using the tracks of riders ahead of them. The winners of the various specials will be able to count on a compensation of their total time so that they don&rsquo;t suffer the disadvantage of having to open proceedings the following day. New categories  A distinction will also be made between the professional and very experienced riders, who will compete as &ldquo;Factory&rdquo; entries, and those who are riding for the first time or have no particular goals, who will be known as &ldquo;Explorers&rdquo;: the best will be compensated with bonuses at the end of the stages. Lastly, Dakar Future is back, allowing participants to take part with vehicles of low environmental impact. This was also the case last year, with Sainz, Ekstrom and Peterhansel all using electric Audis in the car category. As for the bikes, Italian rider Tiziano Intern&ograve; may use a full-electric vehicle. Translated by Heather Watson The Ecstar team "seeks work": negotiations with KTM for MotoGP 2023       

In what will be the fourth edition to take place in Saudi Arabia, the world&rsquo;s most important rally raid will trace a route that extends from the west coast to the east, with more than 5000 km of special stages and many new features

Dakar 2023, 14 stages and a revolutionised route: all the new features

        Just a few days after the conclusion of the 2022 Dakar, which saw Sam Sunderland triumph with Gas Gas, various riders have talked about their adventures on social media. And these of course included Tiziano Intern&ograve; who, after taking the fans on the journey with him and his Husqvarna via his &ldquo;Rally POV&rdquo; channel, doesn&rsquo;t conceal his disappointment regarding those who&rsquo;ve belittled the Saudi marathon. &ldquo;When I got back to everyday life, I read articles, comments and reviews talking about how this year&rsquo;s Dakar was rotten, sad, cushy or even horrendous&rdquo;, says the Italian. &ldquo;The problem is that people continue to look to the past, to the pure African adventure, without appreciating the historic period we&rsquo;re now living. That era no longer exists&rdquo;. &ldquo;The 2022 Dakar? An impeccable event&rdquo;  Tiziano goes on to clarify his point of view: &ldquo;Being aware of the present and recognising the greatness of the riders and the performance of today&rsquo;s bikes doesn&rsquo;t mean downplaying the bikes and riders of the past, who are men who guided me and inspired me with their adventures when I was a kid&rdquo;. &ldquo;Maybe I&rsquo;m going against the tide, but for me the 2022 Dakar was impeccably organised. Everything&rsquo;s being cancelled, postponed or reduced right now, even the Africa Eco Race, but the organisers were able to create an impeccable event, comprising a full route that was technical, vast and beautiful. Perhaps the romanticism of yesteryear is no more, but it remains the biggest and most freeing adventure a rider can undertake today, so I want to end by saying one last thing &ndash; long live the Dakar!&rdquo; Translated by Heather Watson 2022 Africa Eco Race postponed to october &ndash; the new dates       

The well-known rider and content creator has responded publicly to those who belittle the 2022 edition of the rally raid: &ldquo;Recognising the greatness of today&rsquo;s bikes and riders doesn&rsquo;t mean downplaying the past&rdquo;

Internò vents: “It’s no longer in Africa, but the Dakar is still amazing”

        The Dakar bivouacs also accommodate those who look after the riders&rsquo; bodies, which are subjected to significant stress during the two-week event. This year saw physiotherapist Luca Filippin attend for the first time. After almost twenty years with the Superbike and MotoGP Clinica Mobile, Luca had chance to experience this exciting event up close, alongside Franco Picco among others. What brought you to the Dakar? &ldquo;It was thanks to legendary rider Franco Picco. I was helping him with his preparation earlier in the summer and at first we just mentioned it as a joke. And then things started to take shape, and ultimately, I agreed to join him. My support was then&nbsp;extended to another team too, RS Moto, and so I looked after many other Italian riders, namely Giovanni Gritti, Francesco Catanese, Nicolas Monnin, Julien Barthelemy, and privateers like Giovanni Stigliamo, Domenico Cipollone and Paolo Lucci&rdquo;. What treatments did you provide? &ldquo;I was doing manual therapy for any muscle congestion and then classic physio treatments with bandages and taping for minor strains and the like. I found myself applying dressings for blisters on the hands, something I'd not done since finishing with the Clinica in 2016. There was some tendinitis and inflammation of the spinal column, classic effects of motorcycling that you see across all disciplines. Of course, rally riders are not just racing for 45 minutes but for several hours, so it&rsquo;s very challenging and their joints, wrists, elbows and shoulders all come under stress". What was the Dakar atmosphere like? &ldquo;Something totally different with respect to the racetrack. It&rsquo;s a very warm and familiar environment, everyone helps each other and is very open. There&rsquo;s none of that odd atmosphere you find in some disciplines. It&rsquo;s all much easier, everyone eats together and spends time together. It was a little like going back in time to when the SBK and MotoGP paddocks were like that&rdquo;. When did you start working in the world championships? &ldquo;In the early 2000s and I finished in 2016. I spent 17 years with the Clinica Mobile. My first race was in SBK at Phillip Island, then I went to Sugo in Japan, which had been a dream of mine since I was little&rdquo;. What will you take away from this experience? &ldquo;A great deal, and I&rsquo;ll remember one thing in particular, because Franco Picco has always been a hero of mine. While he might be 66, he&rsquo;s still like a kid on the bike, with all the moves, and then when he gets off he&rsquo;s a 66-year old man with the difficulties and tiredness that can bring&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson Monica and Carlos, married in the name of Valentino Rossi and the World Championship       

From the Clinica Mobile to a totally different environment like the Dakar. Doctor Filippin talks about his experience with his hero and the other Italians &nbsp;

Dakar, Picco’s physiotherapist reveals all: “He’s still a kid on a bike”

        Danilo Petrucci has returned to his native Terni, exhausted after a very tough Dakar 2022, which he took on for the first time. But despite his tiredness, he&rsquo;s happy to have completed this great challenge after problems early on and injury as the race progressed. The italian even scored a stage win, with which he earns a place in history as the only rider to have won a MotoGP race and a Dakar stage. Danilo: &ldquo;The most intense experience of my life&rdquo;  &ldquo;What can I say? - begins Petrucci during an interview with Sky Sport 24 &ndash; it was one of the most intense experiences of my life. I know it would be hard, but I couldn&rsquo;t have imagined just how hard&rdquo;. After stepping away from the MotoGP paddock at the end of 2021 and with very little off-road experience, the Italian decided to take on the Dakar 2022 aboard a KTM just a few months later. His &ldquo;madness&rdquo; soon paid off though: &ldquo;I have so much to talk about, the experience was so amazing that it&rsquo;s hard to sum up in just a few words&rdquo;, he continues. &ldquo;I never had to get up at 3am every day for two weeks before, then get on the bike at 4am when it&rsquo;s still dark and return maybe 12 hours later. And all kinds of things happened. I broke by ankle, then there was Covid, then the bike stopped. But I was also able to win, which I didn&rsquo;t expect.&rdquo; Petrucci: &ldquo;They asked me for live videos, it was cool"  And winning was the greatest feeling for Danilo, the crowning moment in what has been a stormy career at times: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the greatest satisfaction of all, which makes me unique. I&rsquo;ve set my first record and am really pleased, I can retire happy now&rdquo;. Retirement&rsquo;s not on the cards right now though, as Petrux will compete in Motoamerica in 2022, but first he will rest up and make up for the many hours of sleep he&rsquo;s lost, perhaps enjoying a comfortable mattress and an equally comfy pillow. He signs off by telling us what shocked him the most about the Dakar: "What surprised me the most was that the people would ask me to do live videos on social media! I didn&rsquo;t expect it, but it was like the whole world was following the Dakar. So many people wrote to me, and I talked to some riders every day, it was so cool.&rdquo; Translated by Heather Watson Isle of Wight Road Race: the reason for its postponement       

The KTM rider has spoken about the emotions he felt and particularly his stage win that makes him the only rider to have won in both MotoGP and the Dakar

Petrucci on his Dakar: “I’m unique now, I can retire”

&quot;Five years it&#39;s a long time to wait&quot; has said the 2022 winner of the Rally Raid. Watch the video to hear the full interview collected by our contributor, Federico Tondelli

Dakar 2022, Sam Sunderland: "I think it feels even better than the first win"

        Today&rsquo;s eighth stage of the 2022 Dakar smiled down on the Gas Gas team, with rider Sam Sunderland scoring first place in the special stage and moving back into the lead in the general standings. But the other half of the team had less to smile about, with Daniel Sanders forced to retire from the competition. The Australian injured his left elbow and wrist yesterday, after crashing during the transfer prior to the start of the stage. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have much to say, but I want to reassure everyone that I&rsquo;m doing well and am in good hands as I wait for elbow surgery&rdquo;, said Sanders in a video on his social media channels. Sanders: &ldquo;The other riders avoided me, I was lucky&rdquo;  The official Gas Gas rider, the winner of various stages during week one, describes the unfortunate episode: &ldquo;It was completely dark and I was on the road that runs from the bivouac to the start of the special along with other riders, when I tried to overtake a car. We were travelling very slowly, but with limited light I didn&rsquo;t notice that there was gravel and a raised edge alongside the road, which saw me crash as I ran over it&rdquo;. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be operated on soon. This definitely wasn&rsquo;t the way I thought I&rsquo;d end my Dakar, but all in all I was lucky, because no one hit me when I crashed&rdquo;, continues Daniel. &ldquo;I hope to be back in the bivouac soon to spend the last race days with my team and support Sam (Sunderland), although it will be hard knowing I can&rsquo;t race&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson Dakar, Sanders and the sandwich strategy: &ldquo;I wanted to avoid starting Stage 4 first&rdquo;       

The Australian has had to abandon the rally after an accident heading into stage seven: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m in good hands now. I&rsquo;m really sorry, but I was lucky&rdquo;

Dakar, Sanders disheartened: “Not the end I was aiming for”

The third stage of the 2022 Dakar, in which Portuguese rider Joaquim Rodrigues set the fastest time, saw Daniel Sanders starring in a bizarre episode after the final waypoint. The Gas Gas rider, who already won stage one, was lying first when, just a few kilometres from the finish, he stopped to eat a sandwich, in order to waste the necessary time so that he would not finish the special in first place.  Sanders&rsquo; strategy was well thought out, as stage four will be one of the longest of this edition, a special spanning 450 kilometres from Al Qaisumah to Riyadh, and the Australian preferred to finish fifth today so as to not lead the way tomorrow, taking a risk that could favour his direct rivals.  Sanders: &ldquo;It was a strategic move, I know I&rsquo;m one of the fastest&quot;   &quot;Towards the end of the special I was feeling a bit hungry. It was a short stage and I&rsquo;d missed lunch&rdquo;, commented the Australian, who&rsquo;s competing in his second Dakar. &ldquo;I stopped for a few minutes to have a snack a&nbsp;few kilometres from the end, , although I was really trying to waste time and avoid opening tomorrow&rsquo;s stage, which will be very long. We&rsquo;ll need to cover more than 450 timed kilometres, so this was a strategic move that I think worked, as my short stop meant I finished fifth&rdquo;.  &quot;I know I&rsquo;m one of the fastest, I just need to improve my navigation&rdquo;, continued Daniel. &ldquo;For example, during yesterday&rsquo;s second stage I made a few mistakes and lost a lot of time. In tomorrow&rsquo;s special, which is so long, it&rsquo;s better to start further back and try to catch the other riders by making up time. We&rsquo;re already considering these strategies because the ideal situation would be to reach the rest day (8 January) in a good position, as the second part of the rally will be the hardest&quot;.  Translated by Heather Watson  Dakar, Toby Price: &ldquo;Day 2 and 3 have been really good&rdquo; 

In first place for a good part of the special, the Australian Gas Gas rider finished stage three in fifth place after a&hellip;. snack break, which he made to avoid having to start the next stage first

Dakar, Sanders and the sandwich strategy: &ldquo;I wanted to avoid starting stage 4 first&rdquo;

At the end of the day, the Gas Gas rider explains why he stopped in the middle of the desert, to have a snack. Watch the video!

Dakar, Daniel Sanders: “The 5th place in the 3rd stage? A strategic move”

        The Dakar can be cruel, and Danilo Petrucci has quickly realised this as he participates in the rally for the first time. The Italian was putting together an excellent debut, placing thirteenth at the end of a first stage that left the likes of Joan Barreda, Kevin Benavides and Toby Price in difficulty. Petrucci: &ldquo;I was having fun, then&hellip;&rdquo;  The KTM rider made a good start to the second stage, which ran on Monday from Ha&rsquo;Il ad Al Qaisumah, and was lying fourth just four minutes from the front at the 80 km waypoint, but a technical problem stopped him and his 450 Rally Factory Replica at km 115. &ldquo;I was going really well, I was very fast in the first part and was having fun&rdquo;, a disappointed Petrucci told the Dakar TV channels. Petrux continued: &ldquo;I&rsquo;d reached the two riders in front of me, but then my bike suddenly turned off. I don&rsquo;t know if it was the fuel pump that broke or something else, but I tried to repair it, moving the fuel from front to rear, but unfortunately there was no way&rdquo;. Last hope  Petrucci and his team might be able to count on the &ldquo;jolly&rdquo; formula, which would allow the former Tech3 rider to restart tomorrow, but with a significant penalty that would prevent him from aiming for a strong result. As we write this, the 31-year old is awaiting news as to the damage so that he can understand whether it might be possible to rejoin the race. Translated by Heather Watson First Triumph, and now Ducati and MV Agusta look to MX and Enduro       

The Italian was forced to abandon the second stage of the rally due to a technical problem. The rules would allow him to restart on Tuesday, but with a significant penalty

Dakar: Petrucci’s hopes hang by a thread after he retires from the stage

        A Motoclub Spoleto special guest at the 2021 prize-giving for the National Trophy champions, Danilo Petrucci has revealed that he&rsquo;s suffering a few physical problems after a recent training session. The Italian has stated that he nevertheless feels ready and pressure-free ahead of the Dakar, and has also revealed something of his future plans, which could see him in MotoAmerica with Ducati. Petrucci: &ldquo;The Dakar will be a very tough challenge&rdquo;  The pain in his ankle shouldn&rsquo;t prevent Danilo from competing in the famous marathon race that will get underway in Saudi Arabia on 2 January: &ldquo;I went too fast over a hump while training and have hurt my ankle even though I didn&rsquo;t crash, but I should be able to race the Dakar&rdquo;. "I don&rsquo;t exactly know what to expect as I&rsquo;ve never done it before, but I know it will be very tough in terms of the hours and the time spent in the saddle, and the navigation which is complicated even for the experts. 8000 kilometres in such a short space of time, I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve even done that in a car&rdquo;, continues the Italian with a smile. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll compete in other rallies and travel to America&rdquo;  On completing his Saudi adventure, &ldquo;Petrux&rdquo; will take on new challenges in 2022, both off-road and track-based, as he dives into a new chapter of his career and life: &ldquo;After the Dakar, I&rsquo;ll compete in some other rallies as I just love off-road, but in terms of the track, it&rsquo;s almost certain that I&rsquo;ll be back with Ducati, racing in the MotoAmerica Superbike class. I think it can be an interesting championship, different to what I&rsquo;m used to, and I&rsquo;ll seize the opportunity to spend the year there with a view to returning to the world championship as soon as possible&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson MotoE: the electric Ducati is officially here!       

Despite an injury sustained while training, Danilo will try to take part in the Saudi marathon: "I know it will be a very tough challenge. Once that's done, I&rsquo;ll be back with Ducati, competing in MotoAmerica"

Petrucci: “I have an ankle problem, but I want to race the Dakar”

        In the world championship until 2007 and then in Superbike, where he won the title in 2011, Carlos Checa is now ready for an incredible new adventure, in which he&rsquo;ll double up on the wheels. The Spaniard has announced that he will compete in the 2022 Dakar, taking place from 2 to 14 January in Saudi Arabia, at the wheel of a Buggy. Palpable excitement in his post  The post reads: &ldquo;I will take part in the next edition of the race, driving a Buggy Optimues with French team MD Rallye Sport. My navigator will be the experienced Ferran Marco. I&rsquo;d been wanting to do the Dakar for a long time and finally everything&rsquo;s come together, and I can take on this significant challenge&rdquo;. Checa officially hung up his helmet eight years ago, but he&rsquo;s kept busy ever since: &ldquo;Since leaving the racing as a Superbike rider, I&rsquo;ve never stopped putting myself to the test on both two and four wheels&nbsp;and the Dakar is the ultimate expression of motor racing in terms of the adventure and the challenge. I&rsquo;m always up for a challenge and this is exactly that, with a capital C&rdquo;. Pre-set goals  As a professional rider/driver, the 49-year old knows what he wants: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping to have a great experience, fighting for the best possible results. I&rsquo;m not going to Dakar for a mosey let's say, or as a tourist, and will be lining up with a prestigious team in the rally raid world and a very experienced navigator&rdquo;. So he has everything he needs. Good luck Carlos! Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Valentino Rossi: &ldquo;Marquez caused me to lose in 2015&rdquo;       

The former rider looks forward to the challenge and is set to drive a Buggy through the Saudi Arabian dunes: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not just going to take part&rdquo;

Dakar 2022, Carlos Checa to take part

        It&rsquo;s time for a new challenge for Danilo Petrucci, the Italian looking for a little light at Silverstone after what has been a rather complicated season so far. He doesn&rsquo;t hide his love for the English track, despite it often being unrequited, and he&rsquo;s ready to get to work. &ldquo;I really like Silverstone - confirms Danilo - although I&rsquo;m not often fast, it&rsquo;s the same relationship that I have with Phillip Island for example. The first time I raced here I won, but I was in Superstock so another world entirely, while in 2015 I scored a great podium. The last time we raced here I was able to recover after a poor qualifying. It&rsquo;s an historic track, tough and long, with many different types of turn, so you need the right set-up in every way&rdquo;. But there&rsquo;s still room in Danilo&rsquo;s mind for the future too of course, which now seems to be fairly clearly mapped out. It looks as if Danilo will move away from the asphalt and into the off-road world. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t received any interesting offers from Superbike, so it&rsquo;s best to continue with KTM, with whom I&rsquo;ve started to plan a Dakar project. It&rsquo;s what I want to do honestly. Now the next step is to sit down and work out the details, but my mind is made up&rdquo;. Petrucci: &ldquo;You ride more in off-road with less photos&rdquo;  Danilo already seems to have entered into a new mood and has clear ideas as to both MotoGP and off-road. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve spoken to some off-road riders, who operate in a world that is very different to my current planet. Sometimes you sleep in a tent, you wake up at four to start a special stage at five. It&rsquo;s something I enjoy and want to do. In MotoGP I&rsquo;ve realised that you spend more time looking at the data than actually riding, while elsewhere you ride more and talk less&rdquo;. The Italian seems to have officially made peace with KTM, having exchanged some less than kind words in the past. &ldquo;I think that KTM was under pressure regarding Raul (Fernandez), who they didn&rsquo;t want to lose, which meant that they perhaps moved in a less than correct way. But we&rsquo;ve worked it out and I&rsquo;m pleased that they still want me. Personally, I&rsquo;ve given it my all this year, both on and off track, but I&rsquo;m the first to say that the current results are not good for me or for KTM&rdquo;. In conclusion, Petrucci looks further into the future, excluding (in part) a return to the asphalt. &ldquo;I think I have two or three years in which to learn how to be competitive in off-road, where perhaps my body type can be an advantage. I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;ll have offers for track racing in future, but I definitely won&rsquo;t forget how to ride on the asphalt of course, so for now I&rsquo;ll be keeping up with my riding both on and off the track&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson Ducati SBK: Redding out to make room for the tried and tested       

&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pleased that KTM wants to carry on together, now we need to put the project into practice. With off-road, you ride more but there are less photos, I&rsquo;ll have two or three years to learn&rdquo;

MotoGP, Petrucci: “No valid SBK offer, I’ll do the Dakar”

        The 2022 Dakar will take place entirely in Saudi Arabia for the third consecutive year. This has now been confirmed by the organisers, just four months after the end of the 2021 edition. The sand reigns supreme  The dress might be the same but not the skin, as the race, set to get underway on 1 January 2022, will take in a route of which 85% is different to past editions. It will start from the city of Ha'il, with the prologue that will establish the starting order for the stage on 2 January, before finishing on 14 January in Jeddah. The route for this 44th edition will wind close to the Persian Gulf before entering the Empty Quarter, a sandy desert. In fact three stages will be comprised of nothing but sand and dunes. New regulations  And it will be a Dakar that once again looks to the future. The 2022 edition will serve as a launch pad for the plan to host vehicles that are powered solely by alternative energy sources by 2030. The phasing out of the combustion engines will be gradual and will depend on technological developments. The T1-E category will also be introduced for low-emission prototypes. The electronic road book is now extended to all categories, so cars, SSVs, and trucks, and will also be available to bikes in the Elite category. The Classic category is confirmed, with organisers expecting triple the number of entries (20 last year). Registration opens as of 17 May. Translated by Heather Watson Dakar, Quintanilla and Husqvarna, immediate divorce       

The route for the 44th edition of the world&rsquo;s most famous rally raid, taking place on 2-14 January, has been revealed

Introducing the 2022 Dakar: significant sand and an eye to the future

        The riders&rsquo; market is not only alive and kicking in Superbike and MotoGP, but in other categories too. Particularly in the off-road and Dakar arena, where KTM has just made a significant move, stealing the winner of the 2021 edition, or rather Argentinian Kevin Benavides, away from Honda. The news comes like a bolt out of the blue, but represents a very strategic move by the Mattighofen manufacturer, which signs up the current champion with a view to winning the next edition of the world&rsquo;s most famous Rally Raid, having lost to Honda in the last two years. The Argentinian&rsquo;s first words  The 32-year old will not only compete in the 2022 Dakar but also world cross-country rallies. His first race in new colours will be in Kazakhstan in June. In signing his new contract with KTM, Kevin Benavides had this to say: &ldquo;I&acute;m off to start a new adventure in my career with KTM. As the current Dakar Champion, it&acute;s a very important decision. I&acute;m a rider who loves challenges and new goals, for which I&acute;m sure that I chose the right path to face them.&rdquo; &ldquo;I'm very excited and motivated to start testing the bike in the next few days and to meet the team. Here in Austria I have had a great reception at KTM and Red Bull, incredible places knowing the factory, competition departments, members and staff. I am ready to get started!&rdquo;  Translated by Heather Watson MX tragedy: Alberto &ldquo;Wey&rdquo; Zapata dies       

The Mattighofen manufacturer secures the Argentinian rider, winner of the last Dakar, with the aim of bringing the world&rsquo;s most famous Rally Raid trophy back to Austria

Dakar 2022, KTM hires Kevin Benavides

The ninth stage of the 2021 Dakar was one to forget for Sam Sunderland. The British rider, winner of the 2017 edition, shared what happened during today&rsquo;s special with his followers on social media.  Assisting Toby Price      &nbsp;   &nbsp;  &nbsp;    &nbsp;     Visualizza questo post su Instagram   Un post condiviso da Sam Sunderland (@sundersam)      &ldquo;A rough day, started off so nice along the sea but at km 155 or so I found my mate Toby Crash crashed and in some pain&rdquo;, comments Sunderland. &ldquo;I tried to help until the helicopter arrived and then got going again, managed to get into a good rythem and then at km 260 hit a rock and crashed pretty heavy&rdquo;, adds the British KTM rider.  &ldquo;In the crash I damaged my Roadbook and GPS so had to wait for some other guys to follow with no Roadbook info. It made for a scary day. Glad it is behind me and ready to fight until the end of this one!&rdquo;, promises Sunderland.  Despite the setback, Sunderland placed fourth at the end of today&rsquo;s special and lies third in the general standings.  Translated by Heather Watson  Dakar 2021: Toby Price&#39;s misfortune during Day 2 

&ldquo;I had to wait for other riders to pass because I damaged my roadbook and GPS in the crash. A scary day, I&rsquo;m glad it&rsquo;s over&rdquo;, says the 2017 Dakar winner

Dakar 2021, Sunderland: &ldquo;I helped Toby Price, then I crashed&hellip;&rdquo;

Sunday was the big day. Rally Raid legend Franco Picco left for his twenty-ninth desert marathon: the Dakar. The Italian rider has twice finished the event in second place, as well as having clocked up two wins in the Rally des Pharaons and three wins in the Rally of the Pyramids, competing since he was very young. When he&rsquo;s not racing, he organises bike trips in the desert. It&rsquo;s no surprise then that his nickname is &ldquo;the African&rdquo;.  As we&rsquo;ve said, at 65 years of age, Franco prepares to write another page of history, competing in the Dakar once more. A feat he will tackle alone, because he has decided to participate in the &ldquo;Original Motul&rdquo; class, without support.&nbsp;  Leaving yesterday   We spoke to Franco Picco shortly before he boarded a charter flight arranged by ASO, the Dakar organisation, bound for Jeddah.  &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve done a great job to get around the latest issues with the British COVID strain&rdquo;, explains Franco Picco. &ldquo;Saudi Arabia has closed in terms of all scheduled flights and only charter flights arranged by the ASO are permitted. Luckily I had already opted for a charter flight and so there were no changes. Those who went for a scheduled flight, which cost less, have now had to look for a seat on a charter flight, some having to leave a couple of days early. The organisers have done well to find a last minute solution in agreement with the authorities&rdquo;.  A &lsquo;health bubble&rsquo;   What is your schedule looking like once you arrive in Jeddah on Sunday evening?  &ldquo;I did a COVID test three days ago and will do another when I arrive, organised by the ASO. Then I have to stay in the hotel for two days. If the result is still negative, I can go to the port and get my bike.  &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve basically created a &lsquo;health bubble&rsquo;: you have to be OK to enter, and then not leave. During the race, this health bubble will move without having any other contact. A system that the organisers tested at the Tour de France and Saudi Arabia has definitely helped to ensure we can run the Dakar&rdquo;, adds Franco Picco.  How have you trained in recent days, after loading your Yamaha?  &ldquo;With the exercise bike and with handlebars and weights, to keep moving, but always at home. I didn&rsquo;t go out and about in order to reduce any risk. To avoid COVID I&rsquo;ve distanced, used a mask, washed my hands. I was just thinking that once we arrive in Jeddah there might be some cases, and anyone positive won&rsquo;t be able to race&rdquo;.  &quot;The route is well conceived&quot;   What do you think of the route?  &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the opposite way round to last year, when we started from Jeddah and headed north, crossing the desert on the last days.  &ldquo;This time we head south from Jeddah, into the Rub&rsquo; al Khali, then to Riyahd before climbing north. The rest day is in Ha&rsquo;il, where they had a Baja two weeks ago and some riders who will do the Dakar got some training in. Then we head a little further north, with another desert to cross, and then we have the famous Marathon phase, without support on arrival. Then it&rsquo;s back to the Red Sea, across from Sharm El-Sheikh, and down towards Jeddah in three stages, with the longest 500 km special on the penultimate day.  The route is well conceived, each day will see us cover many miles as we exit and enter the cities. The longest stage is 800 km to Riyahd, although the special is 300 km, we need to get up very early in the morning! There are 12 stages split into two groups of six, with a rest day inbetween, two boucles, or rather two ring-shaped routes, and we&rsquo;ll reach Jeddah on 15 January.  &ldquo;The temperature looks good too. I&rsquo;ve spoken to some guys who have already arrived and they tell me it&rsquo;s a good temperature, around 25&deg;C at eight in the evening. The second week might be a little cooler, at least in the evening, because we head north and to the mountains&rdquo;, adds Franco Picco.  &ldquo;There&rsquo;s definitely a bit of everything, sand, tracks, navigation near the Red Sea and at least four more technical stages in the desert.  &quot;Without charging in&quot;   How will you approach the race?  &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve decided to take it easy, without charging in&rdquo;, comments Picco. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t done anything for a week, and then we have another week before starting. So I need to get back into the rhythm and the best thing is to start easy and then build up towards the end. This is always the best approach at the Dakar, and for me too, considering I have #65 on the bike, my age. I never thought I&rsquo;d be doing a Dakar now, I have to remind myself of this too&hellip;&rdquo; concludes Franco Picco.  Translated by Heather Watson  Dakar, Brabec critical of the tyre regulation: &ldquo;A crazy decision&rdquo; 

&ldquo;I never thought I&rsquo;d do the Dakar at this age. I&rsquo;ll take it easy on the first days&rdquo;, the Rally Raid legend tells us shortly before leaving for Jeddah

Dakar exclusive, Franco Picco: &ldquo;I have to remember I&rsquo;m 65&rdquo;

A little under two weeks before the start of the 2021 Dakar, the entire event is at risk of being cancelled. The world&rsquo;s most important rally raid is now in doubt due to the Saudi government&rsquo;s decision to close its borders in an attempt to contain the latest wave of Covid-19.  Precautionary measures   For now, flights have been cancelled for seven days, but the decision may be extended for another week, preventing riders and teams from reaching Saudi Arabia in time. The only way to allow the Dakar circus to reach Gedda would be to use private jets, which would exponentially raise the costs.  In addition, those arriving from European countries should quarantine for fourteen days before being allowed to enter the country, thus missing a good part of the race, before repeating an anti-Covid test every five days.  The hope, as announced by the Saudi Minister of Interior, is that the latest Covid-19 developments are less serious than expected, so that everyone will be able to take part in the event.  Translated by Heather Watson  Dakar, Brabec critical of the tyre regulation: &ldquo;A crazy decision&rdquo; 

The edition that is set to get underway on 3 January is now at risk of cancellation following the Saudi government&rsquo;s decision to close its borders to contain the latest wave of the Covid-19 pandemic

Dakar: Saudi Arabia closes its borders, 2021 edition at risk

        Ricky Brabec is not at all happy. Having learned about the new tyre regulation, the Honda Energy rider has immediately spoken out, voicing his dissatisfaction with the decision taken by the promoter of the Dakar event in Saudi Arabia: &ldquo;Only six tyres for twelve days of racing? - the American questions - it&rsquo;s not enough. I don&rsquo;t agree, I think it&rsquo;s a horrible option&rdquo;. As the 2020 champion, he has the right to speak up, The idea, in theory, is to reduce the speed of the bike. &ldquo;But that&rsquo;s not true - Brabec continues &ndash; because over twelve days, we have six rear tyres and that means you have to do two days on each tyre. It will wear and not allow us to slow, or go less fast. The regulation is absolutely crazy&rdquo;.  The ASO is the organisation that drafts the rules and Ricky outlines the risks of such a new initiative: &ldquo;This won&rsquo;t slow anyone down, in fact I think the riders will continue to push. We&rsquo;re racing, not out for a touring lap&rdquo;. No strategy, if not survival  The next Dakar foresees twelve stages, plus a prologue and 4800 kilometres of special stages. There are various risks, and Brabec doesn&rsquo;t want to make any predictions: &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a real strategy. It&rsquo;s harder to take on the whole edition than finish first in one stage. My goal is to show up and ride, we need to survive each day, trying to reach the rest day. And then the race really starts&rdquo;. So there&rsquo;s no getting hurt or lost: &ldquo;You need to get to the bivouac - he adds - riding as clean as possible. You need to stay in shape every day and we&rsquo;ve worked hard in California to ensure that. I feel I&rsquo;ll be as fast as I was at the 2020 Dakar, I know it will be difficult to win again, but I&rsquo;ll try to push, also trying to conserve the rear tyre over two days. I&rsquo;ll need to be prudent, choosing when to push and when to hold back. I think many of us want to win it, so it will be important to do our best&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson Introducing the International Foundation for Motorcycling       

Ricky is the 2020 Dakar champion and will defend his title with the Honda Energy team: "If the organisation thinks that six tyres are enough for 12 days, I&rsquo;d say it&rsquo;s a horrible solution. We won&rsquo;t have a strategy, only to survive&rdquo;

18 risultati per 'EN dakar'