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Issue #21:December 2, 2024
On November 28, 2024, the organizers of the Dakar Rally, A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation), announced the 2025 Dakar Rally outline and route information.
The rally is to be held in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, for the sixth time, between January 3-17, 2025, over a total of 15 days. There will be 5,115 km of SS (competition sections), and a total distance of 7,759 km is planned, making the route about 500 km longer than the 2024 rally. We expect to see the durability of the cars and machines fully tested.
After the prologue on January 3, which is to be held in Bisha in the southwest, the rally will commence with a loop course starting from the same location for the first day of competition stages. Many competitors in the 2024 rally struggled with THE 48H CHRONO STAGE* and 2-day Marathon Stage, where teams must push through without any support from the mechanics. These stages will no doubt be the highlights of the first half of the rally.
After a rest day in the central-northern city of Ha'il on January 10, the route will proceed through Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to the second half’s highlight in the Empty Quarter – a vast expanse of land. The teams will need to tackle steep dunes as well as clusters of demanding sand dunes with intense undulations, continuing through the most difficult stages to reach the finish line of the 2025 rally in Shubaytah on January 17.
On November 17, TLC conducted a shakedown of the two cars set to compete in the 2025 rally, completing operational checks and setup of the vehicles. Covering approximately 150 km on an off-road course near Lyon, France, where the rally car development base is located, both drivers and engineers expressed confidence in the performance of the vehicles. Following the shakedown, the two rally cars were transported along with other teams’ cars by ferry from the port of Barcelona in Spain on November 29 and are now on their way to Saudi Arabia for the opening of the rally.
TLC is aiming for a 12th consecutive victory in the Stock (Production Car) class with both cars completing the rally. We welcome and appreciate your warm and ongoing support.
Through this official website, we plan to launch a dedicated Dakar Rally 2025 site in mid-December. The dedicated site will feature daily rally reports, opportunities to submit messages of support to the team, and information about media coverage featuring TLC’s performance in the 2025 rally. Be sure to check the dedicated site to follow the Land Cruisers’ adventures!
*THE 48H CHRONO STAGE: Competitors must complete the stage on their own within a total time window of 48 hours. On the first day of the stage, driving is stopped at 5 p.m., and based on the distance covered, competitors are assigned to one of six designated rest areas along the course, where they must spend a night in the desert. On the second day, the remainder of the course must be cleared within the time limit. For the 2025 rally, the chrono stage has been significantly lengthened compared to the previous year and will span an intense 970 km that participants must get through entirely on their own.