Dakar 2023 – Logbook from the Red Sea, Loeb at the table and looking for a SIM

Le Dakar Rally 2023 begins with a complication. Where are we ? Unlike the 44 previous editions, the rally-raid does not start in a city. Over the past two years, the city of Jeddah has hosted the great Barnums from the start organized by Amaury Sport Organization (ASO). But this time, the technical checks, the protocol ceremony and the prologue take place in a single desert area, a good distance from any town.

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Also, when family members ask from France " where are you ", I am at a loss to answer! Should I answer them “an hour’s drive north of Yanbu” ? But who could locate Yanbu from the metropolis? Should we use the official name found by ASO, Sea Camp? Lovers of the language of Molière will not appreciate this. Although, Sea Camp doesn't really sound good. We will therefore settle for a vague “in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, on the coast of the Red Sea”.

In 2022, the Dakar bivouac was already substantial. It was better to equip yourself with hiking shoes to explore this unique place in the world of motor sports, as we explained to you last winter. Fans of step counting apps are delighted, because the starting bivouac has never been so gigantic!

A bird's eye view of the Sea Camp bivouac # Dakar2023 pic.twitter.com/lWKTZfPssv

- DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) December 31, 2022

INSEE was not called to count the exact number of inhabitants, but ASO counted “around 3 people” inside this unique bivouac. For the occasion, the organizer saw the big picture, and organized a whole bunch of activities to reconnect with the conviviality of the Dakars of yesteryear: radio-controlled circuit, food trucks, volleyball and football areas , arcade games room, pinball machines, table football, billiards and even two simulators offering the new Dakar Desert Rally video game, which we recommend for enjoying the desert from your sofa! We almost forget to work...

Let's ask the opinion of Carlos Sainz, three-time winner of the event, what he thinks of this traveling city. “I don't miss hotels, I'm very comfortable in my camper van. It's good not to have to move around too much, everything is at hand and we're in the rally atmosphere from the start." We will take this statement as very warm words since the Madrilenian is not the type to get fired up.

It’s still beautiful, a bivouac at nightfall! © Medhi Casaurang

The other undeniable charm of bivouac is being able to meet everyone, from the anonymous amateur to the mega-star. So, as we were getting ready to have dinner on the eve of the prologue in the company of photographers from the DPPI agency, I noticed a distinguished guest at the end of our table: “We eat next to a legend, I tried to slip to my neighbor, the photo expert Florent Gooden. Look discreetly! » It was Sebastian Loeb, oh my !

The nine-time world rally champion doesn't play the diva, that's for sure. His menu, which he shares with his loved ones, is the same as that given to ASO volunteers in this giant canteen where no preferential treatment is given. Sébastien Loeb had to wait his turn in the queue, like at school at lunchtime, and he is quite happy with it. Do acquaintances from other teams recognize him in the middle of the tables? Courteous, he answers them without problem.

The next day, we see him on an electric bike, in the middle of Audi hospitality. The Alsatian from the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team has kept friendly contacts with his former teammate Citroën in WRC et Peugeot in the Dakar, Carlos Sainz. Not the same jersey, but the same passion in short!

The ordeal of the SIM card

In order not to be completely cut off from the outside world, the use of a local SIM card is necessary in rally raids. A store of the Saudi Telecom Company (STC), the flagship Saudi telecommunications company in the country, is present in the bivouac, but the crowds worthy of the biggest sales openings make us fear an interminable wait, while the work (yes, yes, I assure you) does not wait.

My colleagues from all over the world share this opinion and a bus is chartered to take us to Yanbu, to another STC store. When we arrived, it was a cold shower: a team of 20 people were already waiting to obtain the precious object. We are patient, which allows us to get to know Spanish and Scottish journalists. Colin Clark, emeritus reporter on the WRC and adventure partner of my colleague Loïc Rocci, even offers me a coffee and a croissant! He quickly identified my passion for snacks, the guy!

STC boasts of having 5G, but the speed of customer service is not of the same ilk... Can you find the snack? © Medhi Casaurang

This expedition will not have failed to put our patience to the test. Landed at 14:45 p.m., we left at 18 p.m.! Each reporter had to lend their Saudi visa, which was scanned by an employee before finalizing the purchase. Of course, there were unforeseen events, obviously, some of my colleagues came across defective cards, but the croissant being surprisingly tasty for a country without a very pronounced pastry culture, this excursion was not in vain .