“Dakar has once again generated strong enthusiasm during the registrations in the Motorbike and Quad categories, and we thank you for your interest. Many of you have expressed your attachment and willingness to participate in the Dakar by submitting your application for the 2024 edition.
“After careful consideration of your application, we are pleased to announce that you have been selected for the 46th edition of the Dakar rally, which will take place from 5 to 19 January 2024, from Al’Ula to Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia. […]
“By taking part in the biggest rally in the world, not only are you writing your own story, but also that of the Dakar’s legend. We are very happy to welcome you as a competitor in this next edition and will be by your side throughout this incredible adventure.”
This letter from race director David Castera and competition director Charles Cuypers is what applicants hoped to see when they checked their inboxes, but only 120 will actually get it. The Amaury Sport Organisation and FIM began selecting bike and quad riders for the 2024 Dakar Rally last Friday, completing a month-long application and evaluation process in which registrants supplied a dossier of their qualifications and races they ran. Those accepted include returning faces from 2023, newcomers to Dakar, and those who return after not taking part in January.
One of the easiest ways to qualify is to race in an FIM-sanctioned event such as any of the World Rally-Raid Championship rounds and standing out. Tobias Ebster and Francisco Alvarez earned their spots by winning the Road to Dakar at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and Sonora Rally, a programme that ensures free admission for those with no prior Dakar experience; Ebster went a step beyond by winning the Rally2 overall at the ADDC.
The ADDC in March was how Oran O’Kelly, Modestas Siliunas, and Vincent Biau clinched Dakar grid slots as the trio finished third through fifth among Road to Dakar entrants. O’Kelly, who has also raced in the FIM Bajas World Cup, will be the first Irish rider to compete since 2013. Biau will take part in the Malle Moto category (officially known as Original by Motul), as will Iader Giraldi who raises the stakes for his second Dakar by moving from Rally2 to the solo rider class.
Ashley Thixton, Ronald Venter, and Dwain Barnard were part of a southern African contingent in Mexico to punch their Dakar tickets, competing in the Sonora Rally in April and respectively running third, fourth, and ninth in the Road to Dakar.
Javier Campos was accepted on his 2022 merits, which included a forty-third at the Rallye du Maroc. Enduro riders Romain Duchêne and Bartłomiej Tabin built their submitted résumés around the race as well as they placed thirty-sixth and twenty-first; while the FIM does not prioritise races outside of its sanction, Tabin also loaded his qualifications with RBI Sport efforts that recently included a fourth at Rallye Breslau in his home country of Poland last month.
As the above are set for their Dakar débuts, others head back after taking a year off for various reasons. From Greece, Vasilis Boudros is back following a seventieth in 2022. TwinTrail Racing Team returns with a tandem of Isaac Feliu and Carles Falcón, the former having recovered from severe injuries sustained in a crash at the 2022 race. In an inverse of Giraldi, Ashish Raorane will race for the first time since 2021, albeit in Rally2 with Xraids Experience after doing Malle Moto in his first run.
Riders who are initially rejected might be heartbroken at the moment, but not all hope is lost as they can still earn their eligibility if they excel in FIM events held later in the year such as the W2RC’s Desafío Ruta 40 in August or the Rallye du Maroc in October. Ruben Saldaña Goñi is a Dakar 2023 example after being turned down in July for a lack of desert racing experience only to perform well in the 2022 Moroccan event to qualify.
However, being accepted does not guarantee one will be at the start line in Saudi Arabia come January. Riders still have to pay for expenses such as the entry fee (waived if they won the Road to Dakar), travel, equipment, and lodging unless they find a backer or team willing to cover the costs. Applicant Justin Gerlach told The Checkered Flag that he had to make a down payment of five thousand euros just to enter the ASO’s selection process, followed by a payment plan of €6,000 in September and €7,000 in October, while fellow interviewee Ace Nilson was on the hook for over USD$100,000 (€91,490) ahead of his Dakar début in 2023. Launching fundraisers or sponsorship programmes are common tactics to tackling the money question; for example, Biau has sponsor packs for his bike and firesuit ranging from €500 to €3,000.
The 2024 Dakar Rally commences on 5 January.
