Dacia Sandrider prepares for competitive debut

Following its extensive test programme, the Dacia Sandrider will make its competitive debut in Morocco from this Sunday (October 6th). The Rallye du Maroc covers 2,468km, or a little more than 1,500 miles, from Marrakech to Mengoub Bouârfa, and will take six days. More than 1,500km (932 miles) is against the clock, too, adding to the challenge already faced thanks to the rocks, dunes and heat. 

Dacia will enter three Sandriders into the rally: #200, driven by Nasser Al-Attiyah with Edouard Boulanger on pacenotes, #212 with Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno, then #219 piloted by Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin. The French WRC legend said: “It will be a full-scale test, a live rehearsal you could say, so the objective is, above all, to see that everything is in place and working properly. If it isn’t this is the opportunity to identify the problems and resolve them before Dakar. But if we can get a good result, that would be even better.”

For the Al-Attiyah/Boulanger Sandrider, though, a little more is at stake, as they’re competing in the 2024 FIA World Rally Raid Championship and Morocco is the deciding round. Having competed with other teams for the first four rounds of the season, they can seal their respective championships in Africa. Al-Attiyah is ahead by 25 points, Boulanger 20 in his title race. 

Tiphanie Isnard, team principal of the Sandriders, said: “In less than three months we’ll be in Saudi Arabia for Dakar and for what will be an extraordinary human challenge. But you can’t run before you can walk and that’s why we’ve entered the final round of the 2024 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship to get more important practice and confirm all that we have been learning and developing during testing… The dedication of all members of our team has been incredible and I’m really proud of each and every one of them for what they have done.” Certainly if these images are anything to go by, the Sandrider in the dunes will be a spectacular sight to behold. Let’s hope its performance can live up to the promise.