DAKAR REVS INTO ACTION

The tent pole fixture of the rally world , the Dakar , has revved into life in Saudi Arabia once again as riders battle it out for offroad racing supremacy . The 2023 edition of the toughest race of endurance in motorsport features 5,000 racing kilometres spread over 14 timed special stages in the deserts of Saudi Arabia . Taking on the challenge of the desert , the 2023 Dakar fires into life with 820 competitors on board from 68 nationalities around the world . Rule changes came in late for riders of the 2023 Dakar , with a new timed bonus for the riders opening the stage . The idea of giving the first three opening riders a time bonus came about due to those riders being at a significant disadvantage compared to riders further back in the field due to the extra navigation challenges these riders face . So the race committee decided that for Dakar 2023 , the opening rider will receive a waypoint bonus calculated at 1.5 seconds x distance travelled since the previous waypoint and rounded down to the nearest hundred metres . The second rider gets a bonus of 1 second x distance travelled and the third rider gets 0.5 seconds x distance travelled . These bonuses then go into sorting the running order for the next day ’ s stage . This year is proving to be one of the toughest events to pick a potential overall winner , with talent oozing out of each team . But talent doesn ’ t guarantee success as reigning Dakar Champion , Sam Sunderland , found out at the 52km mark of the first stage of the rally . A crash saw Sunderland battered with a concussion and broken shoulder blade among other injuries , forcing the Brit out of the rally .