Slots online can be put aside, as the world’s top off-road racers will compete in the fourth Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on December 31. There, they will cover 5,000 racing kilometres over 14 timed special stages before the finish line in Dammam on January 15. The event consists of one stage per day, which may be on or off-road and has at least one “special” stage (several hundred kilometres) in it. The times set in the special stage are added to any sporting penalties to determine the stage’s classification. Since participants in the 2014 Dakar Rally tackled 5,000 kilometres of specialities divided into a prologue and 14 stages, the 2023 Dakar Rally will have the longest route yet.

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