Dakar Rally 2024: what the “Empty Quarter” is like, the most inhospitable desert on the planet where you drive blind

He Dakar Rally 2024 celebrates its first week in Saudi Arabia. From the plane window, a sea of ​​sand looms over there. It seems to give an idea of ​​the existence of infinity with that yellowish ocean that offers no end, as the horizon is diffused by the sand itself.

The minutes pass and the landscape does not change. How is it possible that so many kilometers from the top of a plane there are no changes? It is the very immensity of desert, so mysterious and overwhelming that it forces us to think about the grandeur of nature, the challenge of many civilizations to conquer such an inhospitable place. Or the mysteries and stories that those dunes jealously wrap around each other.

here is the Dakar. The most extreme race in the world, which puts its competitors in the most inhospitable desert in the world Saudi Arabiathe so-called “Empty neighborhood”south-west of the wonderful town of Middle East.

In this particular part of the planet, the Dakar entered to live the unique experience of distributing the competitors in 8 mini camps, who were provided with food by the military in the area, to experience two unforgettable days with the “48 hours” dispute .

The crew is uncommunicated. In an area without signal, competitors do not know their position in the race, until they complete the second part of that 48 Hours on Friday, which is used in the Dakar for the first time, emulating the old style of its African origins.

The organization’s flight lands on a runway in the sand. Just a small control tower and the military monitoring the ship’s descent. The military airport is essential for Dakar to reach this area, the richest in oil and gas, with large refineries, in the north of the “Empty Quarter”.

Everything takes place outdoors. The suitcases are taken from the plane to leave them on the tarmac and everyone takes their things and heads towards the fieldjust 4 kilometers away.

The analogy is constantly repeated. The image of Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones It seems to peek out from every corner of this incredible place. Even some old military green trucks could very well be part of the famous film saga.

Al Shubaytah is the threshold of the “Empty Quarter”, also known as Rab al Khali. It corresponds to the largest desert on the Arabian Peninsula, the second largest after the Sahara and the one with the largest amount of sand on the planet. It is classified as the most inhospitable place in the world.

With an annual average of 30 millimeters of rainwater, i.e. only one downpour per year, crude oil comes from here in oil exploitation, which places Saudi Arabia with the potential and richness that distinguish it.

This impressive desert is shared by Saudi Arabia, along with Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi. Winter makes it easier to stay, but for much of the year the daily temperature is 55 degrees.

The sea of ​​sand, fascinating and frightening at the same time, has always been a challenge for man. Many stories of conquests, many of which were truncated, fuel the mystery of the Rub al Jali.

Only in the 1930s was the first exploration documented in reliable documents carried out. It is said that within the desert existed the lost city of Ubar, which served as the epicenter of trade carried out by the natives with the use of camels to transport various products. Hence the famous video game Ubar, which challenges you to discover a lost city in the desert.

The “Empty Quarter”, the magical place that welcomes the Dakar. One of the most extraordinary landscapes on the planet, the ideal setting for the most extreme competition on the planet.

Carlos Sainz dominated the dunes of Quarto Empty on the first day

The Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Audi) tamed the dunes of the first part of the queen stage of the Dakar, divided into two days to cover over 550 kilometers in the Empty Quarter and which has already seen the abandonment of the leader of the general classification, the Saudi Jazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing), retires after overturning on the dunes.

Sainz, for whom everything went wrong this Thursday, became the virtual leader of the general classification after that abandonment. Added to the excellent driving was the retirement of Al Rajhi and the bad start of the reigning champion and great rival for the title, the Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, who had to open the track in the desert and was left more than seven minutes behind . the first 50 kilometers.

In fact, in field ‘C’, the last of the seven located in the desert through which all the ‘top ten’ of the race passed, Sainz had 24 minutes and 26 seconds ahead of Al-Attiyah, sixth, and 5 minutes and 29 second to the Swede Mattias Ekström (Audi), who finished second.

The Audis dominated this first part of the stage, which was shortened due to the lack of petrol in the dunes. Indeed, Ekström joined the fight for the Dakar, already being second and 16 minutes behind the Madrilenian, having snatched second place from Al-Attiyah, who finished the day around 21 minutes behind Sainz in the general classification, although I’m temporary, waiting for the stage to end this Friday.

Thus, those from Audi arrived first and second, and only the Frenchman Sébastien Loeb (Prodrive) came close, with 5 minutes and 53 seconds, in this stage which covers more than 550 kilometers this Thursday and this Friday through the most inhospitable area of ​​the empty neighborhood.

Beyond abandonments or mechanical problems, the other big uncertainty of the stage was fuel. Many of the runners who started the stage had to play with the consumption of their vehicle in order to reach first the “refueling” and then the field, given that a car can consume up to 85 liters of petrol per hundred when pushed. the dunes.

This stage, called “48 hours” and which will cover 547 kilometers this Thursday and this Friday through the most inhospitable area of ​​the Empty Quarter, will resume on Friday morning and will conclude by revealing the general classification after the first week of the Dakar 2024, claimed this Thursday by the withdrawal by Al Rajhi.

However, it is unlikely that Al-Attiyah will be able to gain much time from the exultant Carlos Sainz, who showed off among the desert dunes on the first day of the two that cover the sixth stage of the Dakar in the Empty Quarter.