Dacia Gears Up For 2025 Dakar Rally With Powerful Sandrider

Dacia has prepared for next year's Dakar Rally by conducting a battery of tests on the wild-looking Sandrider in both Wales and France. With its Ultimate T1+ homologation, the Sandrider will be able to participate in World Rally-Raid Championship events.

The Sandrider's lightweight tubular chassis supports its 355 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque. This engine drives all four wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox. The automaker has signed some of the sport's greatest stars, like Sebastien Loeb, Nasser Al-Attiyah, and Cristina Gutierrez, despite the fact that the Sandrider will be a newcomer to Dakar.

Gutierrez and Loeb put the Sandrider through its paces in Wales's Sweet Lamb testing facility from May 6–9. Then, the trio continued their testing at France's Château de Lastours for four days. From June 28th to July 6th, the Dacia team will be doing extensive testing on the Sandrider in Morocco. It will be tested on terrain that is comparable to that which it will encounter during the Dakar Rally, which takes place from January 3–17.

The testing has been a success, according to Loeb. “I did one day in the UK and two days in France. We worked on the suspension and the diff to find a good balance with the car, and I was happy with how it worked. The engine was working well since the start, and we didn’t have any problems. Based on the experience of a brand-new car, it’s looking really good and I look forward to continuing the testing in Morocco.”

The Dacia Sandrider's 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 engine can use synthetic fuels from Amarco, the world's largest oil producer. At the Rallye du Maroc in Morocco in October, it will supposedly make its competitive debut.