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MOTORSPORT – Bahrain will have two individual competitors in the Dakar Rally 2025.
Hasan Al Sadadi and Salman Mohamed will be flying the kingdom’s flag in one of the most challenging motor racing events in the world.
The highly anticipated off-road challenge gets underway today and continues until January 17 in Saudi Arabia, with participants battling it out in different categories for all kinds of vehicles.
Today’s opening events mark the prologue, which will begin and end in the south-western Saudi city of Bisha.
Al Sadadi will be racing in the side-by-side vehicle (SSV) T4 class in his #444 BRP Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR. He will be competing with his team R-X Sport and will be in the driver’s seat alongside his navigator Marcin Pasek of Poland. Mohamed, meanwhile, is competing in the bikes category on his #139 KTM 450 Rally Replica with the Cloudracing crew.
Both 61-year-old Al Sadadi and 37-year-old Mohamed are veteran rally competitors and are making return participations in the Dakar Rally, which is set to be the first round of the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship, sanctioned by both the FIA and FIM.
“What I love about rally-raid is that when you’re racing you can’t think about anything else,” said Mohamed. “All your worries disappear – it’s a special kind of freedom and that is why I am so looking forward to going back to the Dakar.”
This year’s Dakar Rally extends over 8,000 kilometres and it includes various stages that combine speed and navigation over harsh terrains, requiring great mental and physical endurance, in addition to advanced driving skills. The race is a platform to test a driver’s ability to adapt to various challenges imposed by the environment, as well as highlighting the technical innovations used in the participating vehicles.
The Dakar Rally was held for the first time in 1979, and it has turned into a major international event that attracts the best rally drivers from around the world. Participants compete in various categories, including cars, bikes, challengers, SSVs, trucks, M1000s, and classics.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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