“They leave after three days”: Defending champions compete against electric Audis before the start of the Dakar

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Even though the Dakar Rally is taking place in Saudi Arabia for the fifth time despite its African name, it is as always a playground for motorsport warriors. The contenders for victory in the toughest rally in the world? They are all rather gray desert foxes who rarely mince their words.

Such as the five-time Dakar winner Nasser al-Attiyah (53). The Qatari focuses on his long-term rival Stéphane Peterhansel (58) for the prologue on Friday in al-Ula. With his fourteen Dakar victories, the Frenchman is a record winner and a living legend.

The regulations favor hybrid Audis

Since 2022, Peterhansel has been trying to become the first pilot to win with an electric drive. Just like his teammate Carlos Sainz (61), the father of the Formula 1 star of the same name, Peterhansel starts for Audi. The Germans want to win the Dakar with their hybrid monster before joining Sauber in F1 in 2026 and will receive strong regulatory support from rally organizers for their latest entry. A few days before the start of the Dakar, Audi received approval for more power.

That’s why al-Attiyah says on motorsport.com: “That was not my decision, we have to accept it. You will definitely be fast in the first few days.” But then the defending champion says: “I’ll only give them three days, then they’ll go home. We already saw that after 100 kilometers in Morocco and Aragon.” Preparatory meetings took place there.

Al-Attiyah goes full throttle even before the start. But the Audi drivers are being hit hard by the fact that their cars with electric motors, which have been prone to breakdowns over the past two years, will once again be unable to last the approximately 8,000 km to the finish in Yanbu on the Red Sea on January 19. . Carlos Sainz on al-Atyiah: “He can think whatever he wants.”

Source : Blick