The Dacia Sandriders will switch to competition mode for the first time later when its drivers will contest the Rallye du Maroc (6th – 11th October 2024), the 2024 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship season decider and the perfect practice run for January’s Dakar.
Having tested the Ultimate category Sandrider extensively in the UK, France and Morocco during the summer, The Dacia Sandriders will aim to put all of that valuable learning into practice on an event described as a miniature Dakar, motorsport’s ultimate test of driver and machine.
While Rallye du Maroc, which covers a total distance of 2,468 kilometres, represents a competitive first for The Dacia Sandriders, its driving and team personnel have experience of the African rally-raid event from recent seasons. That gives the squad an important platform from which to progress.
“In less than three months we’ll be in Saudi Arabia for Dakar and for what will be an extraordinary human challenge,” Tiphanie Isnard, The Dacia Sandriders’ team principal said. “But you can’t run before you can walk and that’s why we’ve entered the final round of the 2024 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship to get more important practice and confirm all that we have been learning and developing during testing.
With five test sessions complete this will be our first race and we’re ready for this real-life rehearsal before we embark on our mission to conquer Dakar.
To get to this point has required a huge amount of effort and hard work. The dedication of all members of our team has been incredible and I’m really proud of each and every one of them for what they have done.”
A founding round of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship in 2022, Rallye du Maroc forms the season-decider for the second season in 2024. Getting under way with a Prologue in Marrakech to the west of Morocco on 6 October and finishing in Mengoub Bouârfa to the northeast of the country on 11 October, the event is all about sand dunes, rock-strewn stretches, rough gravel sections and searing heat. Of the 2,468-kilometre total distance, 1,512 kilometres are against the clock, to underline the intensity of the challenge ahead for The Dacia Sandriders.
