Be A part of the Legend: Shorter, More Intense
Offer to competitors a shorter, more intense course, with varied stages
and a balance between the difficulties, was the way we have worked for the
2005 edition. With two stages and hundreds kilometres less than last year,
this 27th edition of the Telefonica-Dakar is shorter in length, particularly
the itinerary for assistance vehicles which has been reduced by
approximately 40%. On the ground, the best will show their worth via their
navigating ability rather than by the performance of their vehicles
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Overall map: 16 stages, from 2004-12-31 to 2005-01-16, Barcelona to Dakar. Photo by A.S.O.
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Stage 1: Barcelona to Barcelona
31 December, 2004
Liaison 27 km - Special 6 km - Liaison 17 km
Total 50 km
The people of Barcelona will be spectators to a Super Special staged on the
beach.
For the first time, the Super Special will not only serve to establish the
starting order for the following day's stage, the times will also be taken
into account for the official classification.
Over the 6 km of this route run on the beach, the slightest mechanical hitch
could already be of consequence!
The motorcycle trunks will not be available here.
Stage 2: Barcelona to Granada
1 January 2005
Liaison 920 km
Total 920 km
After the ceremony presenting the competitors on the podium situated
"Placa de Espanya", the Telefonica-Dakar caravan will face its first
difficulty.
No competing is on the programme, but a long and testing liaison to Granada.
The route will almost exclusively be covered via motorway, apart from an
exit for a lunch break and a check point in Castellon, another regular city
on the Dakar route.
The loading or towing of motorcycles and quads is strictly forbidden.
Stage 3: Granada to Rabat
2 January 2005
Liaison 6 km - Special 10 km - Liaison 557 km
Total 573 km
Before leaving Spain, competitors will race a final 10 km special, swift and
spectacular, run on military ground near Granada.
The liaison to Algeciras, where they will embark, includes a passage control
in Antequera. After the boat crossing, the first part of the route on
African soil is very smooth running, with a stretch of motorway from
Tangiers to Rabat, where the finish may nevertheless be late.
For the 4th time in its history the Dakar will set up its bivouac in the
Moroccan capital, after previous visits in 1994, 1999 and 2002.
Stage 4: Rabat to Agadir
3 January 2005
Liaison 122 km - Special 123 km - Liaison 421 km
Total 666 km
The short liaison will take the competitors to the start of a first African
special that is filled with traps from the very beginning; the route is 70 %
new. In the first part, marked out through an undulating cork oak forest,
Rally specialists may put their driving skills to full use. After this,
although the sand and the desert are still far off, the first navigating
problems appear.
There are many changes in direction, in a landscape sorely lacking in
landmarks: competitors, even experienced drivers, will very likely lose time
here. And before reaching Agadir, the gateway to the south, 430 km of
liaison must still be covered.
Stage 5: Agadir to Smara
4 January 2005
Liaison 240 km - Special 381 km - Liaison 33 km
Total 654 km
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Stage 5: 2005-01-04, Agadir to Smara. Photo by A.S.O.
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Before attacking the first long - Special, there will be a warm up session on
a tarmac road to Guelmin. The start of the special, between the hills, will
allow high speeds but the very rocky tracks that follow will force drivers
to reduce their pace.
The level of difficulty will move up a scale here. The rest of the - Special
will alternate between slow and fast stretches, on a mainly sinuous track.
This second part, never taken before by any of the competitors, will end
with a very long "chott". From this stage onwards competitors' positions may
change and leads may be established.
Stage 6: Smara to Zouerat
5 January 2005
Liaison 121 km - Special 492 km - Liaison 9 km
Total 622 km
Drivers skilled at dune crossing and navigating will here be in their
element. But for the 40 % of new entrants in the motorcycle category, it is
in arriving in Mauritania that the real Dakar experience will begin.
After 100 km of track liaison to the Mauritanian border, competitors will
start the - Special with a very fast section on sandy ground.
This will be followed by mainly speedy stretches punctuated by spaced out
dune fields, as far as 1 km apart.
Assistance vehicle will take the special route on 100 km.
Stage 7: Zouerat to Tichit
6 January 2005
Liaison 9 km - Special 660 km
Total 669 km
Regular Dakar participants won't be able to use their intimate knowledge of
the region as most of the route is new this year. In the motorcycle
category, there will be a line-up start, in lines of 20. Up to the difficult
El Ghallâouîya pass, situated between two cliffs, drivers will cross plains
and some dune fields. The programme will then consist of the crossing of El
Mrayer, the "mirror", a series of small ergs, followed by one hundred or so
kilometres of camel grass, and terminating with the need to find a pass, the
only way to arrive at the Tichit oasis! At the finish, only refreshments are
authorised; vehicles are placed in the Parc Ferme. "Real" marathon stages
are back on the Dakar programme.
Stage 8: Tichit to Tidjikja
7 January 2005
Special 520 km - Liaison 18 km
Total 538 km
This stage is a real best of. It will include several stretches of the
greatest - Specials raced in the region over the last 20 years.
Competitors will have sand and sand and sand...
But along with the many dunes to be crossed, there will also be several
difficul passes to find, for which competitors who need could request the
GPS de-blocking codes.
After climbing the Nega pass, which becomes more and more difficult every
year, drivers must follow a rocky and sinuous track to Tidjikja.
Stage 9: Tidjikja to Atar
8 January 2005
Liaison 3 km - Special 361 km - Liaison 35 km
Total 399 km
In this final stage before the rest day driving enthusiasts will here be in
their element. The 300 kilometres of track will be very fast running even if
the end of the stage is punctuated with difficulties. 20 kilometres from the
end, competitors will find themselves at the foot of the immense and
mythical Chinguetti erg. Crossing the dunes will have to be done gently,
without overdoing it, in order to arrive quickly at the bivouac. As after
more than a week into the race, every hour of rest will be appreciated. This
stage has been traced so that amateurs can reach the bivouac as early as
possible in order to enjoy the rest day.
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Stage 9: 2005-01-08, Tidjikja to Atar. Photo by A.S.O.
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Rest day: Atar
9 January 2005
Stage 10: Atar to Atar
10 January 2005
Liaison 8 km - Special 483 km - Liaison 8 km
Total 499 km
Competitors usually have a smooth start to the stage following the rest day.
That will not be the case this year! This loop - Special is the hardest in the
rally in terms of dune crossing.
At the very beginning of the stage, a 40 km erg will filter the competitors,
and then they will have to climb the difficult Thaga pass.
A sea of sand and numerous dune fields will enliven the route to the El
Beyyed Erg: another 40 km of non-stop dunes, amongst the most difficult ever
crossed by the competitors. The "return" route will be easier, marked out
through the plains for 200 km over the Sebkhet Chemchâm "chott".
Stage 11: Atar to Kiffa
11 January 2005
Liaison 34 km - Special 656 km - Liaison 5 km
Total 695 km
To celebrate in a worthy fashion the leaving of Atâr and the last day in
Mauritania, drivers will race a long - Special of 600 km. The first half,
towards Tidjikja via the Pic de Bou Naga, will include much dune crossing on
very soft sand: be careful with the fuel consumption. The track is then a new one, in the
valleys of the Tagant massif, crossing the superb Ksar el Barka oasis before
once again taking the very rocky stretch leading to the Nega pass, this time
in a downwards direction.
The final 150 km stretch is a fast one, but motorcycle participants will
have to watch out for ruts made by trucks on this sandy track.
Stage 12: Kiffa to Bamako
12 January 2005
Liaison 25 km - Special 586 km - Liaison 208 km
Total 819 km
The arrival in Sahelian Africa is marked by speedy tracks surrounded by
vegetation. Difficulties in finding landmarks make navigating a delicate
operation in the first third of this stage, up until the malian border.
Then follows the crossing of numerous villages. Drivers are here obliged to
slow down for the security of everyone. After Nioro competitors will
encounter narrow laterite tracks, which make overtaking very difficult. They
will also splash through their first rivers, and perhaps encounter a few
animals. In Bamako, vehicles will once more be placed in the Parc Ferme, and
no mechanical interventions will be allowed.
Stage 13: Bamako to Kayes
13 January 2005
Liaison 205 km - Special 370 km - Liaison 93 km
Total 668 km
From the start of the - Special to the Manantali barrage, the still laterite
track is on the wide side and allows for fast Rally style driving.
For the next 150 km, it's back to bush landscape, where the track more often
than not takes the form of a bush path through the middle of nowhere.
Motocross specialists will be the most confident in the crossing of the
Tambaoura cliffs.
The finish of the - Special will be judged in Sadiola, a small Malian town
known for its opencast gold mine.
Stage 14: Kayes to Tambacounda
14 January 2005
Liaison 93 km - Special 529 km - Liaison 8 km
Total 630 km
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Stage 14: 2005-01-14, Kayes to Tambacounda. Photo by A.S.O.
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It is from Sadiola, in Mali, that this stage will start, moving directly
south along the Senegalese border.
The laterite track gradually narrows leading to a savannah landscape near
Satadougou.
Here the rally will cross the Faleme River, which in the memories of old
hands remains a historical spot as it heralds the arrival of the rally in
Senegal and the finish.
The track that leads to Tambacounda alternates between bush landscape, the
crossing of villages and quick splashes in little rivers in Soninke country.
Stage 15: Tambacounda to Dakar
15 January 2005
Liaison 108 km - Special 225 km - Liaison 236 km
Total 569 km
Competitors will be back on a tarmac road for a liaison of approximately
100 km to the start of the - Special.
This is a route for specialists of expert driving for all those who have the
energy left.
We leave the tropical forest for the savannah, the landscape lightens along
with the kilometres but landmarks are so difficult to find.
After the - Special, there is a final 200 km stretch of route through Senegal,
to be savoured slowly, for your personal safety and enjoyment! No bivouac at
night. The Assistance Parc is situated within the perimeter of the hotel
Meridien.
Stage 16: Dakar to Dakar
16 January 2005
Liaison 37 km - Special 31 km
Total 68 km
Apart from a handful of competitors capable of moving one or two places
further up in the "overall" ranking and so interested in gaining a few
seconds, the outcome is already decided for everyone else.
This year, the finish will renew with tradition. There will be a line-up
start for the Special on the beach: in lines of twenty for bikers, in twos
for cars and trucks. So be careful on the final route which runs through the
dunes, followed by the traditional tour of the Lac Rose in front of the
thousands of people who have congregated here to applaud their heroes! After
the ceremony on the podium and the prize giving, everyone returns in
procession to the hotel Meridien.
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