Indian racer Harith Noah in action. Photo: Instagram/ @harithnoah8 Indian racer Harith Noah in action. Photo: Instagram/ @harithnoah8

Saudi Arabia is all set to host the 2025 Dakar Rally for the sixth consecutive year. The 47th edition of the world’s most renowned Rally Raid will take place from January 3 to 17, 2025, starting in Bisha and concluding in Shubaytah. (More Sports News)

Over the next 14 days, 432 vehicles, bikes, cars, side-by-sides, and trucks, will take on the rugged deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. The 47th edition of the Dakar Rally kicks off this Friday with the Prologue, which sets the road order, but the real action kicks off on Saturday when the first of 12 tough special stages begins in Bisha.

This year’s rally is shaping up to be more intense than ever, with newcomers like Dacia and Ford M-Sport stepping up to take on the powerhouse teams of Mini and Toyota.

As always, predicting the winner is a challenge, and we’ll have to wait until January 17 to see who claims the title. The event will also serve as the opening round of the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship.

This year, the rally will kick off in Bisha, traverse the vast Empty Quarter, and wrap up in Shubaytah.

Notably, one of the stages will be a 48-hour "chrono" marathon, covering a grueling 950 km. Five stages will feature separate routes for cars and bikes, and there will be one mass start stage. Organizers have teased more challenging navigation, with the full details of the stages set to be unveiled later in 2024.

Official Route

👇 The official route of Dakar 2025!🚩 Bisha - Shubaytah 🏁🏍 7,706 km (5,146 km of SS)🚗 7,759 km (5,115 km of SS) 🔜 #Dakar2025 #DakarInSaudi pic.twitter.com/ImCJH4OClv

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) November 28, 2024 Indians In Action

Hero MotoSports will be the sole Indian team at the Dakar Rally this year, but four Indian competitors, including the first to race in one of the four-wheeler categories, will be aiming for glory at the world's most challenging rally raid.

The year 2024 marked a significant achievement for Hero as it became the first Indian team to secure a podium finish at the Dakar Rally, with Ross Branch taking second place. Additionally, Branch went on to claim the 2024 World Rally Raid Championship title.

As Hero look to build on this success, the team will have three riders competing in the prestigious Rally GP class at Dakar 2025. Branch will return for his third Dakar Rally with Hero, joined by teammates Sebastian Buhler and Jose 'Nacho' Cornejo.

Other than the Indian team, there are a few other Indian racers too Including, Harith Noah, Ashish Raorane, Jatin Jain and Sanjay Takale.

The New Jersey State Police have arrested the driver responsible, who is now charged with vehicular homicide. He is being held at the Salem County Correctional Facility.

"When the team returned home and we announced a training camp for the Asian Champions Trophy, the three informed us that due to domestic issues they wouldn't be able to attend the camp," Mujahid said.

Entries

432 crew total136 Bike crews64 Ultimate crews (45 T1+, 2 T1.1, 17 T1.2)54 Challenger crews39 SSV crews45 T5 Truck crews95 Dakar Classic

Stages

Prologue: Bisha-Bisha (79 km / 29 km) – January 3Stage 1: Bisha-Bisha (500 km / 412 km) – January 4Stage 2: Bisha-Bisha (1057 km / 965 km) – January 5-6*Stage 3: Bisha-Al Henakiyah (845 km / 496 km) – January 7Stage 4: Al Henakiya-Al Ula (588 km / 415 km) – January 8Stage 5: Al Ula-Ha’il (491 km / 428 km) – January 9Rest Day: Ha’il – January 10Stage 6: Ha’il-Al Duwadimi (829 km / 606 km) – January 11Stage 7: Al Duwadimi-Al Duwadimi (745 km / 481 km) – January 12Stage 8: Al Duwadimi-Riyadh (733 km / 487 km) – January 13Stage 9: Riyadh-Haradh (589 km / 357 km) – January 14Stage 10: Haradh-Shubaytah (638 km / 119 km) – January 15Stage 11: Shubaytah-Shubaytah (506 km / 280 km) – January 16Stage 12: Shubaytah-Shubaytah (205 km / 134 km) – January 17

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Stage 2 includes a 48-hour Chrono stage across two days.

Dakar Rally 2025: Live Streaming

The 2025 Dakar Rally kicks off on Fridaygolden plus, January 3, with coverage beginning at 8 pm ET on Peacock. For Indian fans, the live streaming information is not available yet. Stay tuned for updates on where to catch the action as the rally progresses.