Aurélien Canot, Media365, published on Friday, January 06, 2023 at 8:02 p.m.
Due to the weather conditions and the fatigue of the drivers, the 7th stage of the Dakar, scheduled for Saturday between Riyadh and Al Duwadimi, will not take place in terms of motorcycles and quads. On the other hand, the special is maintained for cars and trucks.
In an effort to keep it on track, the 7th stage of the Dakar, initially scheduled for Saturday, and the 8th stage, scheduled for Sunday, were swapped due to difficulties setting up the bivouac in Al Duwadimi given the heavy rainfall on the region. This stage 7, between Riyadh and Al Duwadimi over 333 km (with an assistance zone set up at the finish), is ultimately canceled, but not for everyone. On Friday evening, the organization, which should have shortened Friday’s special, announced that the 7th stage for motorcycles and quads had been cancelled. The reason ? The climatic conditions that created real difficulties for the participants on Friday, but also from a logistical point of view, but also for the fatigue of the pilots.
The specially serviced for cars and trucks
Both motorcycles and quads will therefore do the special in liaison. They will leave the bivouac in Riyadh at 10am on Saturday morning to reach Al Duwadimi as planned, but without timekeeping. The following day, the motorbikes and quads will complete the 8th stage as it has been shifted, i.e. in the form of the 7th stage as initially planned but reduced to 345 kilometres. However, nothing will change for cars and trucks. No cancellation for the latter, who will therefore normally ride in the 7th stage between Riyadh and Al Duwadimi on Saturday. The same applies to the participants in the Dakar Classic. For motorcycles and quads, we meet on Sunday.
