ISLAMABAD: Pakistani motorsport racers have asked the Saudi and Pakistan governments to facilitate their participation in the prestigious Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia early next year.
The Kingdom will host the event for the first time from Jan. 5 to 17, with top racers from around the world racing thousands of kilometers through inhospitable terrain in cars, trucks and on quad bikes and motorcycles. The Dakar started in 1977 as a race from Paris and across the Sahara desert to the Senegalese capital in West Africa and has long been regarded as the world’s toughest motorsport challenge.
“Dakar is indeed the biggest off-road racing event but it is very expensive. The vehicle requirements for Dakar Rally are very high, you have to meet the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) standards. Drivers need a big team so it is hard for individuals to meet those expenses,” said Abdul Wahid, President of the Motorsport Association of Pakistan.
The rally was staged in South America since 2009 after leaving Africa for security reasons.
Next year, the rally will begin in Jeddah and follow a tough route through deserts, dunes and mountains- taking riders through NEOM, the Red Sea Project, Riyadh, and Qiddiya.
“We have the talent and can give tough competition to international drivers at Dakar Rally. Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries should help Pakistani drivers directly and indirectly through their companies’ sponsorships as they have big refineries, airlines and other companies,” Wahid said
“The government (of Pakistan) needs to strengthen domestic racing events and ensure participation of international drivers and multinational companies associated with motorsports,” he said and added that due to Pakistan’s own diverse terrain, the country hosted one of the highest numbers of off-road rallies in the region.
Five-time domestic racing champion Sahibzada Sultan Mohammad Ali who has participated four times in the Dubai International Baja told Arab News that it was every off-road racer’s dream to participate in the Dakar rally.
“I have a dream to participate in this race one day, as irrespective of winning or losing, participation in Dakar rally is in itself a big honor,” Ali said but added that the expenses involved were prohibitive.
“It (rally) has three classes. Even the lowest category vehicle (costs) a minimum of $140,000. Similarly, the minimum participation fee is 25,000 euros, and you have to pay for your team members and other support staff which (one) cannot afford on one’s own.”
Ali said normally the sport’s famed riders were sponsored by multinational companies, with former Formula One champion Fernando Alonso contracted by the Imperial Toyota team for Dakar, but said Pakistani drivers would need government help to flourish at the international level.
Tushna Ronni Patel, one of Pakistan’s handful of women racers told Arab News that motorsport needed plenty of facilities that were altogether absent in the country.
“The terrain in Pakistan is the best in the world. It has the most difficult tracks, like the Cholistan Jeep Rally and the Jhal Magsi Rally, so our drivers are well trained to win in international races like Dakar,” Patel said and appealed to Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman to sponsor a team from Pakistan at the rally.
Veteran rally racer and champion, Nadir Magsi mirrored her words and said Pakistan had the talent but needed the resources.
“We possess talent as we can compete with the best drivers in the world, but we don’t have the required resources. We need either big companies as sponsors or government help. We will not be able to compete with our existing vehicles,” Magsi told Arab News, and added: “Arab countries have taken a keen interest in bringing international drivers to their races, so they should support Pakistani racers as we have the best talent in the sport.
“Saudi and Pakistani governments should come forward and financially help Pakistani drivers to be a part of Dakar rally in the Kingdom,” he said.
