China Beijing, Jan.3rd,2021— With 13-day Dakar Rally 2021, the toughest international rally, kicks off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, BAIC ORV that is the sole Chinese participating off-road brand is under spotlight and greets 2021 new year with exceptional performance of three BJ40 teams. In the initial sector, BAIC Team 352 is ranked 14th while Team 343 and Team 361 take the 24th and 39th place respectively, all of which have been poised to challenge endless deserts. The last rally champion Carlos Sainz leads the ranking with 3:5’ record at present.

The first sector ranges from Jeddah to BISHA, total 623km including the Liaison of 345km and the Special of 277km. Driving through stretches of valleys, the driver and co-driver must highly coordinate to tackle unexpected difficulties from sands, earth roads and gravels, like lost direction or tire puncture. Unfortunately Sébastien Loeb, the WRC champion for 9 times, only takes the 18th place due to several punctures and navigational errors, far less over 22mins than Carlos Sainz. By contrast, Zhang Guoyu and Sha He in BAIC Team 352 are remarkably listed in the 14th place with the result of 3:23’31’’.

For over 40 years of development, Dakar Rally is widely recognized as the game of braves and the toughest international off-road adventure, feverishly pursued by more than 500 million followers around the world. Dakar Rally 2021 with historically harsh desert sector is particularly noteworthy because of 5 highlights.  

Various landscapes— Dakar Rally 2021 is located in the Middle East with total route of 7646km and the specials of 4767km. Besides of 50-80km routine road, the new desert sector accounts for 90% of the far-flung journey where the competitors need to traverse sand lands, the Red Sea, dunes, bushes and etc. across Saudi Arabia.   

The rigorous route— One qualifying Short-track and 12 long sectors are arranged in this rally, featuring 11 desert sectors, the one-day longest distance up to 810km and a marathon sector without any backup. In this context, lost direction, tire punctures and oil or food shortage are high likely to happen like ghost.    

The strictest rules—E-map won’t be released till 10mins before the rally starts in order to test co-drivers’ skills of tempo control. Moreover any tire change is forbidden in the marathon sector, requiring drivers’ higher abilities in tire maintenance as well as their coordination with co-drivers. 

A fierce rivalry— As a show & glory stage for black horses and veteran players, Dakar Rally 2021 also attracts some classic teams with their timeless off-road spirits to unfold a visual and mental impulse. 

Exciting gathering of hotshots—Total 83 legend drivers enter into this great event with 555 competitors, including defending champion Carlos Sainz, Nasser Al Attiyah, Stephane Peterhansel, Sébastien Loeb, De Villiers and etc.