The first gust of wind in the Dakar reaches all participants one month before the start of the marathon, where all participants, or more precisely, all Dakar equipment gather in one place, writes "igo2Dakar".
After a long time from Le Havre, and this year from Marseille seaport, all sports cars, trucks and other equipment leave by boat to the starting point of the Dakar Rally - the second largest city in Saudi Arabia - the port of Jeddah.
The last time the Dakar Rally from Marseille started was on the first of January 2003. The 25th Dakar Rally then crossed Tunisia, Libya, and finished on January 19 in Sharm El Sheikh.
The crew of the iGo2Dakar team - Mindaugas Plukys and Andrius Laucius - also went to Marseille to escort their equipment. The 2020 Dakar challenge for this team, like their four-wheel-drive Nissan Navara pickup truck named Odysseus, is third.
This year, the technical and administrative commissions took place on the Paul Ricciard route, 50 kilometers from the port of Marseilles, where the fastest pilots of the planet F1 spun in June.
These procedures check that the customs documents have been filled incorrectly, that the taxes have been paid or that the car has been properly registered.
"The bureaucracy surrounding the Dakar Rally is not straightforward. In addition to completing accreditation applications and various forms for car transportation, it was necessary to complete a number of formalities in Marseille, a French port city from which all Dakar participants traveled by ferry to Saudi Arabia. It is good that this is our third Dakar, everything is much clearer every year, "said M. Plukys.
The car must also have a triangular sign, fire extinguisher, reflective vests, seatbelt cutters and a map of Saudi Arabia. There must also be a place inside the car and cables for navigation. The car must also have two points for towing, a rope of at least five meters and an active audible signal. After completing all the procedures, stickers are affixed and headed for the port.
Giving up a car against Dakar is far from the only task for the team. For example, it is necessary to arrange insurance in advance, because the organizers of Dakar require that everyone there is insured for at least 30 thousand. in the amount of EUR.
"As Dakar is full of not only adventures but also challenges and dangers, the choice of insurance must be carefully analyzed after the type of injuries covered by a particular insurance policy and the number of medical expenses. Evaluating all this, we chose "If insurance", which insured each of us with 100 thousand. "Plukys said about the preparations for Dakar.
Other procedures await after paperwork: while traveling to South America, although not mandatory, the team was vaccinated against yellow fever infection and other diseases. No exception when going to Saudi Arabia.
The team members say that there are significantly more campers in the port this year than in previous years.
"The teams do not know the exact route yet, so they are not sure about booking hotels. In order to avoid awkward nights, many teams ride campers with their pilots and co-drivers with them, ”commented Mindaugas Plukys.
Campers are usually powered by only two wheels, and Dakar organizers have a basic requirement for all cars in Dakar - they must have a four-wheel-drive transmission.
Whether it's a pickup truck, an SUV, a minibus, or a mobile home, models with two-wheel drive are undesirable and are not accepted onboard.
The only exception is for caravans or minibusses, provided that they are assigned to a specific team and that team uses a truck with at least six wheels without a trailer, which can tow another vehicle if necessary.
"By granting accreditations or other types of permits to participants, the organizers assume some such responsibility for their health. Therefore, it is desired that the risk of getting stuck or simply not overcoming an obstacle is minimized. The simplest way to ensure this is precisely four-wheel drive - such an SUV will usually have both high ground clearance and other systems that increase mileage," says A. Laucius.
In 2018 and 2019, the men of the iGo2Dakar team rescued many cars trapped in treacherous dunes with their Nissan Navara. The men say that during both trips, new ideas arose as to what improvements the car still needed to minimize their chances of getting stuck in the sand dunes.