BAHRAIN’S X-raid team is all set to take part in the Dakar Rally to be held for the first time in the Middle East from January 5 to 17.
X-raid is the first self-developed and constructed Mini John Cooper Works and Mini John Cooper Works Buggy.
The driver line-up includes champion drivers Stephane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz and co-drivers Lucas Cruz and Paulo Fiúza.
The 2020 edition marks a milestone for the Middle East with Saudi Arabia becoming the first country in the region to host this prestigious event.
Saudi Arabia will be hosting the event for the next five years.
The 13-day off-road race that was founded on a love of desert driving will see more than 550 drivers from 62 nations contest in 12 stages while exploring the vast and formidable desert terrains of the largest country in the region.
“This is as much a moment of pride for Bahrain as it is for our region. Our participation shows Bahrain’s advances in the motor sports world, inspired no doubt by Bahrain’s pioneering move to host the Formula One Grand Prix since 2004,” said Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, president of Bahrain Motor Federation.
“An event of such global magnitude presented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a monumental opportunity to showcase its unique natural landscape, as well as its keenness and enthusiasm to bring global sporting events to the country and the region.”
The rally will be flagged off in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah and concludes in the capital Riyadh, covering 7,500 kms.
The route will pass through some of the vital and most picturesque destinations in Saudi Arabia, including the Unesco World Heritage site of Al Ula in the north-west; Tabouk region in the north-west, which is home to the futuristic Neom-city project; the ancient Ha’il region and Wadi Al Dawasir in Najd province, which is being developed in the middle of the desert as a new urban centre.
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