As the countdown to the biggest rally event of the year continues, Saudi driver Dania Akeel feels excited and eager to take on the challenge of the Dakar Rally 2024 for the third time in her racing career. The 45th edition of the Dakar Rally will be held Jan. 5-19 in Saudi Arabia.
Akeel told Arab News she had gone to Austria to prepare for the Dakar Rally, while Red Bull and the Athlete Performance Centre, a hub dedicated to pushing athletes to their limits and beyond, had also helped.
She affirmed her full fitness and said she feels more motivated than ever to secure a positive result at the legendary event.
“The whole reason for being (in Austria) is to find my weak points and receive a plan and a report to develop and to strengthen not only my body but mind as well,” Akeel said. “And it’s really nice to be around a bunch of people who really enjoy what they do.”
After driving a T3 car, Akeel switched to a new car for this year’s edition. “I’ve recently changed cars. I was using a T3 car as well but it was a Can-Am. So, it was a great car to learn on and I enjoyed it a lot,” she explained.
“I’ve recently switched to a car that has a se-quential gearbox and that means that you are shifting constantly during the stage and this was a skill I wanted to add to my skill set because the bigger classes like T1 and the main category of the event, all of those cars have a sequential gearbox and I wanted to pick up the skill in the T3 category with the lightweight prototypes.”
Akeel had already tested out the car recently at the Rally Du Maroc, and performed really well. “It was really engaging to have this new layer involved where you’re constantly shifting gears up and down. It adds a different stimulant.”—APP
