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Motorsports: Poles gear up for Dakar Rally

21.11.2023 06:30
Twenty-three Poles, including former European champion Krzysztof Hołowczyc, are set to compete in the 2024 Dakar Rally, which starts in Saudi Arabia on January 5.
Photo:
Photo:PAP/EPA/GERARD LAURENSSEN

The world's most prestigious off-road event will start in Al-Ula and finish in Yanbu, on the shores of the Red Sea, on January 19, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

The 2024 Dakar Rally comprises 7,891 km of roads, tracks and dunes, including 4,727 km of specials, according to the organisers.

Poland's Hołowczyc, who came third in the rally's car competition in 2015, returns to the fold this year with co-driver Łukasz Kurzeja, the PAP news agency reported.

Hołowczyc's rivals include five-time Dakar winner and reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, 14-time winner Stephane Peterhansel of France, and Spain's Carlos Sainz, among others.

Meanwhile Poland's Eryk Goczał will be vying for victory in the Challenger car class (T3), the PAP news agency reported.

Last year, he won the Dakar Rally in the lighter SSV category at the age of 18.

His father Marek and uncle Michał will also be taking part, having won stages in previous Dakar races.

Other Poles in the 2024 Dakar Rally will include Maciej Giemza in the motorbike class and Dariusz Rodewald, a mechanic with a Dutch truck team, who has already been on the winning team three times, the PAP news agency reported.

The 2024 Dakar Rally runs from January 5 to 19.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, Dakar Rally