Dakar Rally 2024 Special. Behind the scenes at the world’s toughest race #dakar2024
Summary
TLDRThis behind-the-scenes video follows an enthusiastic motor racing fan as he experiences the 2024 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia firsthand. He rides along tracks seeing top competitors like Sebastian Loeb roar past. At the bivouac camp, he interviews racers like driver Lucio Alvarez of the Toyota team to get their stories. The fan marvels at vehicles from the Audi hybrids to classic Porsches and trucks charging through brutal terrain. Despite setbacks, racers persevere with endurance and innovation. The fan conveys his exhilaration at seeing these feats of speed and engineering up close.
Takeaways
- 😲 Sebastian Loeb switched from Toyota to Prodrive Hunter this year, but has had multiple issues and breakdowns
- 🚗 The Audi hybrid is leading Dakar 2024, in its last year of competition before retirement
- 🌵 Stages vary enormously - huge sand dunes, then ultra rocky sections
- 👷♂️ Mechanics work non-stop, often with just a few hours sleep a night
- 🚚 Trucks provide great racing spectacle, carrying 9 tonnes at high speed
- 🛢 Cars carry 500 litres of fuel at the start of longest stages
- 🚲 Top bikes are covered by only minutes after multiple long stages
- 😅 Quad bikes seen as the maddest Dakar competitors, built for fun
- 🗺 Navigation via roadbook is crucial - penalties for missing waypoints
- ❤️ David Richards and Toyota team passionate about Dakar, despite setbacks
Q & A
What is the Dakar Rally 2024's location?
-The Dakar Rally 2024 is located in Saudi Arabia.
What vehicle brand is the video presenter a guest of?
-The video presenter is a guest of Toyota.
How many kilometers off-road did they drive to reach the viewing spot?
-They drove about 90 km off-road to reach the viewing spot.
What challenges do the bike racers face compared to car racers in the Dakar Rally?
-Bike racers face the challenge of having no tracks to follow and must navigate only by the road book, making it a frustration for them.
What is the significance of helicopters during the Dakar Rally?
-Helicopters signify the approach of competitors, as they are often heard before the bikes or cars come into view, indicating the race is underway.
Who won the Dakar Rally in the previous year and what major change occurred with this driver in 2024?
-Nasser Al-Attiyah (referred to as 'naso') won the previous year, and in 2024, he made a major change by leaving Toyota and joining Prodrive, driving a Prodrive Hunter Red Bull car.
What issues did Nasser Al-Attiyah face in the early stages of Dakar 2024?
-In the early stages of Dakar 2024, Nasser Al-Attiyah faced issues with punctures, breakdowns, and a hub failure, leading to a loss of time.
Which teams are in a competitive battle in the 2024 Dakar Rally, according to the video?
-Honda, KTM, GasGas, and Husqvarna are mentioned as being in a competitive battle in the 2024 Dakar Rally.
How is the Audi team performing in Dakar 2024 and what strategy are they using?
-The Audi team is performing well, with Carlos Sainz leading. The team is working under team orders and employing a strategy where they work together to maintain their lead, particularly in navigating and supporting each other.
What technological advancements are used in Dakar Rally navigation and strategy?
-Competitors use electronic road books, which are updated minutes before the stage starts, and they navigate through waypoints to avoid time penalties. The organizers also use ghost timing along the course to ensure competitors do not take shortcuts.
Outlines
😀 Arrival at Dakar Rally
The paragraph describes the author's arrival at a scenic viewpoint during the 2024 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. It mentions the windy conditions, the spectacular views, and seeing motorbikes racing past.
🚗 Watching Dakar Cars in Action
The paragraph provides commentary as the author watches Dakar cars racing past the viewpoint, describing the sounds of the Audi, Toyota, and Prodrive cars. It also discusses the competition status, with Audi working as a team and Sebastian Loeb trying to catch Carlos Sainz.
🏍 Interview with Dakar Bike Rider
The paragraph contains an interview with a Dakar bike rider, who describes the long daily stages, riding through endless dunes, and the challenges for privateer entrants who do all their own maintenance.
👋 Visiting Dakar Team Camps
The paragraph describes the author visiting team camps at the Dakar bivouac, seeing the Prodrive and Toyota cars up close, chatting with the Porsche 924 entrant, and lamenting the lack of coverage of the Dakar trucks.
🧑🔧 Interview with Dakar Truck Team
The paragraph has an interview with a Dakar truck team describing issues with their oil cooler, the challenges of the varied terrain, and their plans to modify their truck based on lessons learned.
☀️ Arrival at Dakar Rally Stage
The paragraph describes arriving by helicopter at the start of a Dakar stage. It mentions seeing motorbikes go by and learning about Carlos Sainz losing time during the stage.
🚙 Interview with Dakar Car Driver
The paragraph contains an interview with a Dakar car driver, covering topics like navigating, fuel loads, in-car accommodations, and adapting to the changing handling as fuel is used up.
⚙️ Interview with Toyota Gazoo Racing
The paragraph has an interview with Toyota Gazoo Racing discussing their team lineup, goals, and the unpredictability of the Dakar Rally.
🤝 Chat with Dakar Leader David Richards
The paragraph describes a conversation with Dakar entrant David Richards about the daily challenges, how Dakar compares to other motorsports, and the slim lead currently held by Carlos Sainz.
🏁 Reflections on Dakar Rally
The concluding paragraph reflects on the author's Dakar Rally experience, praising the access to stages and competitors, and looking forward to the final results.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Dakar
💡racing
💡cars
💡trucks
💡bikes
💡drivers
💡stages
💡dunes
💡navigation
💡endurance
Highlights
Seeing the top Dakar competitors drive past us at high speed is a dream come true
The Audi team is working together to help Carlos Sainz stay in the lead
Sebastian Loeb had two punctures today but still managed to win the stage
The bike riders start their days at 4-5am and ride for 12-14 hours
The amateur 'Originals' riders do all their own mechanics work and ride the same course as the pros
The trucks racing at Dakar carry incredible speed for their size and weight
Racers can change dampers and springs between stages depending on terrain
Cars carry up to 500 liters of fuel, affecting handling as the weight shifts
Drivers race for 6+ hours at a time without a bathroom break
Toyota Gazoo Racing brought on 3 rookie drivers this year along with veterans
The mechanics work non-stop and race day is a rest day for drivers but not mechanics
Even the most experienced racers struggle with the daily changes and adversity
Sebastian Loeb is trying to gain 8 minutes per stage to beat Carlos Sainz
Punctures continue to trouble the racers due to rocky terrain
Dakar is like doing 24 Hours of LeMans every day for 2 weeks straight
Transcripts
Assa
well there you go welcome to a new
Harry's Garage video and we are on the
dhar rally again in Saudi Arabia
2024 literally just arrived at our stop
I'm just going to see if I can get out
the wind slightly Behind These Toyota
Land cruises you'll see here yes I'm a
guest of Toyota this year and we've
driven about 300 km to get here and a
lot of it off road about 90 km off road
to this spectacular spot on top of a
hill unfortunately it's quite Breezy so
I'm going to struggle with sounds I
you'll have to bear with me on this
because I've nothing I can do about it
I've got wind protected mics but it's
really windy up here but this spot is
just like a film set if you're going to
watch Dakar and the races come through
this is where I want to see it and your
first reason we knew those bites were
coming was the helicopter suddenly heard
the helicopter and then the two lead
bites came through the bikes on DEA
always go first it's a frustration for
them cuz they have no tracks to follow
they have to follow the road book we're
going through that we're going to visit
the bivak later today and I'll take you
through some of the details of how it
all works but we've got a Vista here
that just beats anything I've ever seen
on daa we can see I can see another
light there's another light down there
bike coming up there we've got I don't
know 2 km thing they've gone through
this terrain we have and they have to go
up this Rocky slope and then there's a
sand just on this piece here um a
unbelievable spot so yeah you're going
to be joining Harry's Garage on Dakar 24
and I'll give you a behind the scenes
tour of all the racing and all the stuff
at the bivwak what a spot this is going
to
be
that was so excited seeing those Bites
come through it was interesting we saw a
few more bites come through and they're
coming through in pairs and I understand
this is a quite hard stage for
navigation so it's better to work in
pairs if you can and the bikes are very
competitive this year yesterday stage
when they started that there was 1
second between first and second I think
it's now something like 40 seconds
between first and second at the start of
today's stage so it's absolutely going
to the wire and the top 10 by Charlie
holding the camera will correct me I
think covered by about 5 minutes AR they
in Dakar terms over the distance they've
traveled is incredibly close so Honda at
the moment are battling with KTM and gas
gas husana to see if they can get a win
at dhar this year that's what's going on
there in the cars well what a year um
last year Toyota won with naso their top
driver who has won new numerous Dakar
events he won the year before as well
one in 23 but in 2024 shock news he
swapped camps he left Toyota and joined
where the pro drive he's driving a pro
drive Hunter Red Bull car Sebastian loab
and it's not going been going well he
hasn't had a good time the first couple
of stages there was punches Galore he
lost a fair bit of time he had
breakdowns he had a hub go and it's just
not NASA year so it's really wide open
and the big surprise in 2024 is how well
the Audis are going AI declared this is
their last year competing but at the
moment cars is leading dhar from
Sebastian L who's tried to catch him
Sebastian Lo seems to be really quick in
the dunes and then yesterday another
navigation mistake put in back and he is
currently 24 minutes behind the master
of Carlos SS
big S we no helicopter I think we've got
two coming
[Music]
up
[Music]
next
one
see those three audies go through like
that what I think was going on there is
Erikson won the stage yesterday so he
would have led off and he's leading
caros SS uh I suspect there another
coming up now um and then pet Handel
behind us back up if something goes
wrong with Carlos sci's car I suggest
the Audi are working as a team this at
the moment but it was just magic to see
the three together and just how that
Audi sounds so different because it's on
constant revs because it's just charging
the battery while the like we've got the
sounds to
me yeah like another hot just Toyota
coming up they have such a wonderful
sound listen to it
s see he kick kick sand away with those
guys there we
are
yeah there we there we go so Sebastian L
is a long way behind but he he had this
trouble with a wayo yesterday and he had
to double back and he lost a lot of time
and I imagine he is going absolutely
full today and there's another car just
come into the
distance full on on this stage my
goodness and the sun this year unlike
last year where we just had
[Music]
mud
this is such a good spot can't believe
it we're seeing all these guys come
through they're really getting the power
on through the sand there we
are some of
them and then you know they must have a
warning on the road book or something
that there's rocks up there just talking
to Monica who's part of our group and
has done Dakar with her dad in bug
the cars are limited to 170 km an hour
this year and that's the bikes were 160
km last year I need to check if they've
up that to 170 as well but that is the
maximum speed the cars have to be
limited to for safety on the route she
was telling me she was talking to a team
U last night and they were checking the
data of yesterday's stage and one of
their drivers and I have to find out who
had the throttle pinned maximum
for 14 minutes stuck at 170 km an hour
somewhere in the desert yesterday 14
minutes flat out that's D car for
you they all get a tricky bit weide the
track to go here the thing is the bikes
have been through so it's soft and they
try and choose which way they go here we
go
yeah another one coming it wins the best
sound in car on daar by a country
mile interesting is no helicopters with
these lead
cars
sound over those guys
yeah right there we go that was good
wasn't it
yeah fantastic to catch those two coming
up the hill absolutely flat chat all the
way through the valley and then up the
sand until they hit the rocky bit and
just hear the um anti-ag popping and
banging as they go over the hill the
only one now is Sebastian lobe in the um
Hunter Pro Drive Hunter if that comes
through but yeah I don't know I just
can't get over how Toyota have made that
V6 twin turbo sound as good as
[Music]
that
[Music]
the Toyota just gone through has a
staggering amount of fuel on board I
can't get over there it's about 540 L of
fuel he starts the stage with massive
amount of fuel but they need it on these
long stage it's 400 and something
kilometers today they they will manage
how much fuel they put in it depending
on the length of stage and there there's
the time stage and then there's also the
Aon getting back to base back to the
biver each night and I think we got
another one coming
up apparently we've got Sebastian lobe
just coming up the
[Music]
hill don't you can hear that completely
different sound from the pro drive
Hunter yeah Sebastian Lo when his doors
open or his his spare wheel cover or
something whoa he's trying
to Fantastic to see Sebastian lobe go
through like that um yeah door flapping
on his spare tire wheel wasn't slowing
him down much though he's got a lot of
time to make up uh 24 minutes and only
one two three stages to do it in so
eight minutes to take out of color
science each stay for the next three
days can he do it well we'll find out at
the finish I want to just have a word
about way points and things so these
guys they go through various way points
that's the road book They're reading and
they need to get those otherwise they
get time penalties and some of them you
can actually add time if you go for it
um so they will be hitting everyone and
there's also uh ghost timing along the
course and you don't actually know where
that is a competitor but it's what the
organizers use to make sure you're not
taking a you know sneaky shortcut if you
know the LIE of the land so there are
these ghost time points as you go
through and obviously real time points
as well but yeah I can't wait to see
we're going to go to the Finish later
today just how Sebastian lobe is getting
on can he eek out from the master
of Daka Carla SS with backup from Peta
hanzel and Eric Strom that's a pretty
strong team Audi have got for their last
year at dhar with the
[Music]
rron well we're back at the biver whap
so this is our first visit down here
this is where they coming in got this
truck coming in
here there yeah that was crazy during
that stage and it was unfortunate that
the police caught up with us and we
couldn't go the route we thought we'd go
so we've arrived here a little late it
is yeah4 7 but we had some proper
Adventure getting out extracting us from
wherever we were in the Saudi desert it
took over an hour to find tarmac what a
relief when we got there but we had the
Sandy tracks we had rocks Etc what I'm
going to do now is give a very random
tour around the bivac the bivac is where
everybody stops for the night there's
motor homes there's all wher everybody
camps out there big tent going up there
for some of the original some of the
bike guys and we'll just see who we can
bump into here on the stage today the
things I took away with those three
Audis going together they are working to
team orders they are doing everything
they can to get Carlos sits to the
finish of front Sebastian L that is the
battle for the ultimate uh overall
champion of D the other thing you don't
realize is all these guys are on the
same roads as us so we a couple of them
came past us as we were making our way
back to here they all have to be road
legal and the distance they've done I
want to find out from some of the bike
riders what time they started this
morning I say yeah 7:00 7 and they're
only just coming in there could be a
5:00 4:00 start this morning is a long
long day and then you repeat the next
day anyway let's get cracking see what
we can
[Music]
see right we are at the BRX Hunter this
is Sebastian L's card that we saw go
through the stage who won the stage
today I can't get over how much is
stripped off this car you'll see no
Shockers and dampers they're all off
all sorts of work we saw of spare wheel
covers flapping around during the race
when they came past us I didn't realize
um he had two punches today and he had
to change two tires and still one
today's stage which is incredible going
in a perfect world in perfect this they
can change to in one or two minutes they
actually have hydraulic jacks on this
car this is here that's the great big
goes down onto the desert lift the car
up um hold side up and that's where the
car lives spot it on put the spare in
there get on to do that twice today and
still win the stage that's good go and I
think he took about four or five minutes
out of car science's time as well he's
got three more stages I understand to to
uh make up 20 minutes or so to take the
win there the suspension and springs
that have' taken off Sebastian
apparently it's a different terrain
tomorrow so they actually put completely
different units on but as a matter of
course the they would come
off this is Gazoo racing and although
there there highlights here they're
doing very well I haven't caught on the
full result top 10 this uh today yet but
uh we're here tomorrow as well I'm going
to have a proper guided tour around this
thing so for tonight I'm not going to
look at those I want to capture some of
the other cars here try and get up to
some of the classics go and see Audi and
that sort of
thing expect that I didn't know there
was a tit of truck in this who
racing a great truck these are about
nine tons and I'm gutted we didn't see
them today on the stays they're one of
my favorite things now on dhar the Mad
trucks are just a spectacle and they
just charg through the speed they carry
is incredible on S can't get over this
lineup of V Evo trucks ad MIT F this is
an earliest shun here there's a whole
row of them here there's another tent of
them over
there Evo properly I think this might be
the one to do it
[Music]
in
here's the sleeping accommodation for a
lot of the teams here the Riders
mechanics all intent they actually had a
special stage this year where there were
um you had to stay even Carla SS was in
a tent out in the desert but here they
always have this compound where you will
put your tent up and that's right this
is the originals and it's so turned
because the are F the privateers have
entered and they look after them
themselves there a dedicated area for
them this is the Hardcore way of doing D
up you look at their boxes exactly the
same as we get on Sand Raiders all their
kit has to go in that box then that goes
on a transporter and the organizers take
it to the next stop and the rest of it
you're on your own with these
bikes what time do you start in the
morning what time start time morning at
7
nor 12 14
hours for us that for me and we are more
or less arm I know professional rer
exactly I don't know how you do it I
take my hat off and bow to your
endurance it's romantic it is isn't it
but your bike and your T nothing else no
and the desert and the desert well yeah
the scenery we see I couldn't get over
the June this year not empty quter yeah
this year with the 48 Hours Marathon
stages was crazy because with me I spent
14 hours and half in the stage 14 hours
it's crazy I me all us no
tracks nothing DS d
d too much maybe yeah I think well I
could do it I just couldn't do do you go
the same course as the other guys uh the
cars no have a easier course old the
motorbike yes the the stage in the empty
quarter was 624 km
of 624 of June they the cars are
570 but with different light so easier
and how much fuel can you carry 32 L you
32 half and half 16 uh the bottom 160 in
the front part with two fuel pumps so we
can decide to balance the back in
different way and also in case of a
problem to a f pump one F pump you can
right I see balance that thank you for
talking to us congratulations 600 km of
Junes Charlie how you going to do that
are you going to do that I'm not going
to do
that this is where we were last year
with Audi this caros SE car which is
leading overall at the moment it's
interesting just hear it humming it's
it's a very interesting car this I think
guys it's a shame it's getting retired
is it really going to get retired if
they're doing this well this year uh
three cars Peta hanzel car sights and
ericon all working as a team now making
sure the traps okay so elstrom out front
checking cuz he did actually win the
stage yesterday car doesn't have to win
the stages he's 24 minutes ahead of
Sebastian he stays safe in the middle
and then pet Hansel coming up the rear
unfortunately way out of it cuz he had
that nightmare when the Jack didn't work
and suspension issues and he's hours
behind not sure exactly where but it
means he carries two extra spare tires
and it does seem as though Dakar 24 is
all about punches this year and they all
carry the same control tire but
unfortunately it does seem to be a
problem in this Rocky terrain and when
we're this side of the uh s this is
where the rocks are they've left the
dunes behind so yeah be very interesting
to see what happens
tomorrow we saw you at the beginning I
felt two wheel drive sand dudes but
you're here yeah yeah today we had
problem with uh uh oil colleag oh and we
lost all uh oil
but uh you lost all your oil yeah where
did you lose it pipop or something no
yeah yeah it was
here they was so vampy
yeah oh it hit on the cooler yeah oh it
went and even though you had a plate
there it's still yeah there was there
was a plate and the oil were as you see
everywhere two two last stage was uh
really good we were uh finishing even on
11th place so so so that's really cuz
you're in two Drive CL no no no overall
over oh you are you'll be back next year
then yeah so yeah we have many things we
have to change because now we know this
is the first Daka now now we know that
that we have to change many things yes
we are good for uh hard uh roads but not
for the the the D the the Sun so so uh
ge box uh Wheels a little bit higher
suspens
susp realized there was a defender in
the proper Defender yeah that's a new
one now you know you don't have to take
this one but uh more likely to get
around oh here we go we've done um the
last couple of days with no power
steering so scenery was just inred
it wasn't for the fact that I was
hanging on to the wheel we were saying
it was the most spectacular stage we've
ever ever done you can't be on Sandy
dunes and then suddenly you're into the
really hard lav yeah but that's the
challenge and well it's ahead of a
challeng unbelievable well we did 400
odd 500 km or today today today was 6
6:07 today 7:15 7:15 yesterday we left
here
4:27 y morning or not yet wherever we
were last night High we were in high
last night so we left there at 427 and
we're into the
Bak about
76 yeah and it's not just a weekend or
something isn't it it's two Chuy weeks
it takes a while to get your head around
the fact you do a few days of rallying
and you think well you know you get on
it just starting then you do a week yeah
but but we were saying today that after
after a week of it you start to
understand it you get into a rhythm it
kind of makes more sense and it's a bit
less daunting so well it's horribly
addictive unfortunately you know nothing
else like it and you've got a year to
forget about it oh that's a good idea
I'll do that
again I'm surpris so what age is this
1985 oh so that's just in I don't know
is there a cut off 2000 is it really I
see it's a trick stuff then yeah yeah oh
you'll get me looking at the classifi
and stuff what I could do take on the
defender I wouldn't advise using a 90
it's way too short so it's you know we
do a lot of different events with it I
built it to do all sorts of different
types of Motorsport so it's really good
fun for little twisty stages but you
want something a bit longer because
you're just constantly on it all the
time in it maybe it's a Range Rover
though Range Rover Discovery yeah 11 is
probably a little bit big and heavy
yeah over you're a bad man I have to go
I can't listen to this something kicking
around there'll be something in the
garage yeah yeah yeah nothing suitable I
don't think
[Music]
[Applause]
yeah
[Music]
well this is day two of the dhakar rally
for us and uh we literally just arrived
at our lunch stop here we had a we had
to get up this same slope not realizing
it was the live track for dhar that's
the thing you do not know the root of
the Dakar they are given it a few hours
before they set off and they have to put
it in so no one actually knows the final
route it's kept completely under wraps
and uh yeah we locked out big time here
we literally we were only yeah few
minutes and then the first bites went
through it's quite a tricky little bit
of sand there turns out to be a waypoint
somewhere over there not very far away
from here cuz we have heard some bites
go past here and then have to come back
to hit their way point yeah last night
just to sort of update what was actually
happening what we've discovered since we
were around the bwack we didn't have the
full information to hand and NASA um
with the pro drive Hunter swapped over
in Toyota um for this year he's had
another nightmare day yesterday on the
stage that's why we didn't see him on
stage early on in yesterday's stage the
engine failed on the the Hunter he was
driving and they had one spare engine
and the decision was taken that they
needed to not give NASA the spare engine
so he could continue the rally because
with Sebastian lobe hoping for his first
Victory he's 20 minutes behind carer SS
last night they want to keep that bare
engine for loes with three stages to go
NASA as You' imagine not happy about it
and he left the event last night flew
home so he's no longer around but with
the Toyotas the the Hues continue top
Toyota is actually third overall he lost
some time yesterday the last 80 km matus
just didn't quite crack it he was
running in third position and then
dropped 6 minutes or something but uh
continues in third position overall so
we're going to see some other cars come
through here have a spot of lunch and
just drinking Dakar
[Music]
24
[Music]
Here Comes
helicopter wow
wow
right just seen the first car just
appeared over there he didn't take this
more technical route now there's a
helicopter there as well but we can just
see a dust trail if you look there the
car are going through there we do not
know if they see us they might still
come through here we'll just have to
wait and see but that helicopter must be
on the lead cars I would
[Music]
imagine wow
wow
[Music]
yeah right Sebastian L just gone through
and he took our route fantastic what's
been happening today all been going on
in this state we just heard from Spanish
journalist Carlos SCS lost 16 minutes
somewhere on the stage I know his
punches don't know but he's lost 16
minutes but spash L has also lost
minutes so he's taken N9 minutes out of
Carlo SS's lead so far and there's quite
a lot of the stage to go who knows but
he has taken yeah a dramatic bite out of
the 20 minutes he was behind last night
in the biver they're going slightly
slower here I think just because of that
Waypoint is just there and they will
have everything going on the dash yes
he's got a CO driver but he's just
saying is this the right way we're
looking at the bleep you get it doesn't
go live at all how the Waypoint works it
says nothing and suddenly a screen Bing
you're near a waypoint and it starts
bleeping to you the closer you get to it
till you get a solid bleep bang you got
the Waypoint and then you crack on and
[Music]
that's
that was the meus that was meus yeah
he's the lead Toyota driving the hots is
line third at the
moment
yeah the randomness of daa just shows
you there isn't there's two ways to the
Waypoint three ways you're just chasing
across the desert but he's gone that way
now you can hear him slow down he's had
to come down here slow down he's still
looking for the
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
Waypoint
[Music]
yes
sir
[Music]
Luke
[Music]
crazy see them come through here yeah
it's a bit technical here it's not quite
as steep as the Run we have and then
there's a rocky section just over this
this is the terrain around here we found
it yesterday when we in the land Cru you
go from soft sand to Hard Rock and it'd
be dead easy to go way too quick into
that Rocky bit so that's where you need
all the antiag all hitting they're
hitting the brakes here they're powering
through the sand and then have to
throttle off for the rocky section and
there's another car coming give up on
the sand yeah oh it's quads it's the
quads coming
through it's the
quads this is a proper battle between
the two of them rarely oh look at him
fighting
it not my favorite thing is
quads whoa I wouldn't like to follow
that
close they say the bikers are the true
Madmen of Daka I'm not so sure I think
the quad boys are the maddest of the lot
probably having the most fun is the guys
in a truck who
knows
[Music]
that's where my career started with
racing motocross was it oh you're a
Motocross yeah I've never done Motocross
I started racing motocross we saw what
happened today unbelievable I I just
couldn't see the video I just thought
what has others gone over there how I
mean I wouldn't have spotted it you
obviously didn't spot it you must have
been oh moment as soon as you got
to it yeah I mean for sure it wasn't uh
you know what you want uh it was one of
those to where uh you didn't think it
was too big of a deal uh honestly I
jumped off thinking that everything was
going to be okay I wasn't too worried
about it
unfortunately there was a rock
underneath the sand that was hiding for
me uh and that's actually up causing
damage so the drop itself didn't cause
damage as the rock that was from us and
it was both sides it got just just this
side so this side just the right side
end up breaking the front rear damper
and then bending the upper wish from the
video what the rear no yeah so just the
right side oh okay I ne thing he just
said he changed wishbones that looks
completely different Wishbone to me that
you were just handling there yeah so the
one that we had right there that was
opening closing uh that's just one that
we can put inside the car uh so it's
collapsible it's easier for space it's
you put it wherever we want but that
will go there that is the same Dimension
if we needed it yes that will go there
that was it and you had a spare damper
on board yep exactly exactly on just one
we wait for we need
wa yeah it's cruel sport isn't it times
like that yeah we saw you coming through
and I was amazed how many slightly
different routes were taken and if we
had one where everybody had gone wrong
and everybody then does the Temptation I
guess is to follow the track is exactly
I mean it's it's your safest bet we're
out here trying to make our own roads
the whole entire time the safest bet is
to to look forward and and find the line
and usually when there is a line you're
cutting 100 m or 50 m whatever it is you
can see okay it's going to go this
direction and it's going to come back to
here so I'm just going to go straight or
whatever it is so usually the guys in
the back have a much easier time of
being yeah have you ever driven Dunes
like that before not to that extent I've
done some Dune driving in California but
those were those were another level
we're going up Dunes
for 2 km about I mean they're they're so
tall that we're climbing them for so
long they've been baking in the Sun for
thousands of years and nobody's seen
them before or touched them and as soon
as you touch them they
turn yeah do you get seasick but it's
like that I personally don't get seasick
I know that there's a lot of other
drivers do so luckily enough I do not
get get well and how long do you stay in
the car what's the longest stretch on
this R sit I
believe it's a minimum of I think it's
been 6 hours minimum 6 hours uh I think
the max we've been in the car is
probably about 12 13
hours and simple things having an energy
drink having a pee stuff about that
how's that work not
allowed no so you get water or whatever
you put in your T bags and yeah I have a
big bladder fortunately I'm just going
to say it I don't have to be but other
guys like my Cod driver wherever he is
um hate me for saying this uh he wears
an adult di right you have to yeah got
to figure out you're doing 6 hours you
can't blame him you can't them cuz you
got to do what you got to do yeah well
yeah quite right too honestly I think
anybody could get in this car and be
competive pry I'm very tempted to prove
that's right does it you got half a ton
of fuel do you make any adjustments
before when it's near empty I mean it
must feel completely different yes so
that's a hard one uh suspension Center
play car is very difficult not to the
extent of the geometry of the car but to
the extent of the amount of weight that
we're we're transferring uh when we
start with our 500 L uh the car is
usually kind of soft you can feel it uh
does have a lot of traction to be honest
you know it got a lot of grip in the
rear um but it's hard cuz sometimes when
we start with 500 L of fuel which we
don't always do uh we will raise the
right height of the car to come back to
the level where we were and then by the
time that we're you know at 100 L the
car is 10 mm up a little bit in the rear
and and it feels different and starting
to act different but Glenn our engineer
says if you're a good enough driver you
you go through those things you get used
to it so that's what we do so no
adjustments on the Fly no tire pressures
no dampers roll bars not allowed to I
mean you could stop but you're in the
middle of a race oh right no I mean
wheel you got n of that you're just
steering y yeah changing gear stuff like
that yeah sounds easy
anyway SE thanks ever so much for that
that's really good to around thank you
so uh in the Toyota Gaz racing Factory
team so we are Global Factory team so we
run under the ambassadorship of AA
Froman out and so we have five race cars
uh last year we had three race cars so
it's actually uh quite a setup and in
the five race cars we have three rookies
so that's also quite amazing uh and that
is showing also how we look differently
to mod sport so must have been a
credible change for you this
year big step as well and of course we
have been honored to work closely
together with NASA as our champion so
for many many years but when he took the
conscious decision to move on we then of
course decided that what would fit
perfect to Toyota G racing brand than
bringing young talent and proving that
they can be the future Elite drivers
right this is now uh the 14th time this
it the 14th time the racing and on the
13 past ones we've been 12 times on
Podium so it's very important two days
to continue that Legacy with 9,000 km
through Saudi and this now the fifth
time the country uh gives fantastic
opportunities so even every year we come
back we discover more canyons and
different terrains and obviously we also
see a very strong interest from the
Middle East and mother SP well it's been
very special to watch have incredible to
get involved I don't know how you sleep
at night cu it changes everything every
day doesn't it most of us sleep in the
car during the day right we do 600 to
800 km a day movement so people rotate
one has to stay awake and the others are
sleeping in the so how long are you
going to be on duty it's qu past 7 there
me I try to be in my tent before 2:00 at
night but uh the mechanics uh they are
not going to make it um they make a
decision call around 4:30 whether to
still go into it take the shower and
then leave with the car because of
course with the drivers we have a rest
day but the rest day doesn't count for
the mechanics they uh they have a lot of
work to do so it's an endurance for the
mechanics and you will also discover
that when things are now happening and
breaking down uh it's the that last
minute tension at 6:00 in the morning
whether that bold is right whether that
connector was back on so no no you don't
win uh it's a it's a team effort it is
doesn't get any easier at this event
does it I think the older you get the
more difficult it becomes yeah I I rang
back to somebody in the office this week
and they saying are you having fun out
there I said you know this was part of
the ASA race team group I said this is
like doing 24 hours of L more every day
for 10
days I I look at you know I've done
virtually every my career every
I look back and I look at this I think
this is to motoracing what Mount Everest
is to Mountaineers and it's just well
you only got to look you know Ze is
having every time I think he on the up
and then something happens I couldn't
get over
yesterday yesterday two punctures so he
changed two wheels on track and still
won the stage didn't he yeah I don't
I've never heard of that being done but
and then you get
today it seems going pretty well when he
went past me he had two punches as well
oh okay but car Saints had three oh
really I had to wait for one of his
other cars to come to give him another
wi oh is that why you got that so that's
why right one of the audies we didn't we
only saw two audies on track that must
have been the third out he's still there
because he hasn't got any ties yet
that's right they really are doing a
team event trying to get car so but
that's how it is you know those two are
out of the event anyway there only one
to do well and we're in the same
situation but well when I I looked at
the spe oh my God you got NASA on board
now as well it Dream Team almost wasn't
it all that experience and then then so
much this event is unpredictable things
going happen and uh We've you know lost
NASA and the support we should have had
from him so what how do you rate your
chances then it's um it's more about uh
I'd say Carlos's event to lose right if
everything goes according to plan you
know even if you had a couple of buchs
13 minutes 22 seconds tomy's got to go
wrong that Gap I know it doesn't seem
very much in the overall context but
it's still um you know it still favors
colors today well I wish you the best of
luck I will be looking at my app been
the made for two years running really
different and I hope they get better
tires for next year I don't know what
you tires no you can't complain you look
at the terrain understand these tires
get better every year
great tires there are some things you
can't yeah you just can't P for the
rocks out here and the road the cars
usly how fast they're going St across
straight line across a p of rocks any
same person would not do it there is a
Roman to dco though isn't there you even
when you when it's as rubbish something
very special about that it's um it's
always disappointed to finish second
let's see what happens so it keeps you
coming back next year while David it's
been wonderful entertainment as a as a
you know spectator I can't imagine how
frustrating it's been for you but I wish
you the best let's see at the Finish
thank you David if you're wondering
what's happening in the background well
this is the head hono of dhar and he's
running through tomorrow's stage so he's
just giving some advice Vigilant note
points they still don't know the route
at this stage they get that in the
morning as they come out and start again
it's wired to they all have these
electronic um Road books now they get it
about 5 minutes before the stage starts
and then they go off but they just get
this debriefing so anybody who taking
part they just want to know Minor
Details if they highlight any particular
incidents on that track but what I
wanted to go through is just a rundown
of what we experienced over the last
couple of days I suppose wonderful to be
on the stages that close and such
fantastic stages and seeing the top
competitors come past us like that that
is a dream come true for an Enthusiast
of dhar like myself and then to come
into this bivak area and just get in the
backstory to how they achieve what they
do the guys girls take part in this
event it is incredibly tough as I was
saying David Richard just now there he
is with the the top two guys to do Daka
NASA and Seb and they're still fighting
and Carlo SCS all that experien the Audi
team at the top of the table with two
stages to go what is going to happen
David doesn't know boss manav AI doesn't
know that is the thrill for me and then
you get those Back stories you go into
Dakar classic guys in that Defender the
gentleman with his Porsche 924 taking
part and the bikers The Originals doing
the mechanicing themselves and you see
them on stage the trucks I'm sorry we
haven't brought you the truck action
this year because they're one of my
favorite things I was looking at the
times they do and the trucks are just
ahead of the buggies they are quick
things yeah I think it's the ultimates
though where all the action they're the
fastest uh things on the stage uh but
the rances there with the
trucks the back stories with Toyota it's
very interesting God you could tell from
Allan The Experience they have in doing
rally rid how they construct the car to
be absolutely foolproof and changeable
if they have a problem having wishbones
that they can swap on all four corners
how clever is that having the strongest
Wishbone at the top so it's out of the
damage very clever and well thought
through and also having the standard end
and dry sump in it what a sales story
that is and yet yeah he did say it's not
the fastest car here but you know with
Toy's expertise it's it's the one that
gets to the finish and as I say yeah
four in the top five today they want to
be on the podium they would love to have
winning it but they're on a long game
training their young drivers David
Richard's at Pro Drive doing everything
to get s to win it this year where's
Carlos sits going to go if Audi really
are not coming back next year where's he
going to go next year anyway all those
stories all those sights all that dust
all that speed all that
endurance I think it's wonderful I hope
you do as well and you have enjoyed this
video if you have well keep watching
keep subscribing more videos coming
along very
[Music]
soon
oh
Browse More Related Video
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)