Dakar 2023 – Neutralizations, starting order, power: changes to the sporting regulations

Le Dakar Rally 2023 (January 31, 2022-January 15) brings its share of modifications to the sporting regulations, used within the framework of the World Championship of rally-raid, the W2RC.

Several changes should be noted first of all in the starting order of the specials. This area is crucial in the discipline, since the competitor responsible for opening the track does not benefit from visual cues from other cars, and therefore has a greater risk of losing time in finding the right path in the desert.

On the other hand, the competitor having to start at the heart of the peloton must make his way between slower vehicles, which generate dust. The loss of time can be significant. It is therefore a question of not being dropped in the starting order, but of not being at the top of the list.

Thus, the starting order from the second stage of each W2RC round will be as follows:
-Top 10 in the ranking of the previous stage (T1/T2/T3 and SSV combined), with three minutes interval between each vehicle
-Two minutes interval between each vehicle from the 11th to the 20th competitor of the previous stage
-One minute interval between each vehicle from the 21st to the 40th competitor of the previous stage, then a five-minute break after the 40th competitor

This starting order does not concern the first stage of the Dakar 2023 because the top 10 in the prologue can arbitrarily choose their starting location on the evening of the prologue.

Then, the mid-stage neutralization for T1 and T2 is removed. An experiment was carried out on the 2022 edition, imposing on all car crews a fixed break of 20 minutes at the refueling station.

According to the organizers, the minimal benefits in terms of recovery revealed consequences contrary to the spirit of the discipline on a strategic level. The stop allowed the leading cars to obtain information on the times achieved by their pursuers, and therefore to be able to adjust their tactics for the second half of the stage.

For example, if a driver, seeing that he had increased his lead at the start of the special over his opponent, could lower his pace afterwards. A driver whose goal was to move up the hierarchy could also take a breather in the afternoon. Rest is now history! This could have consequences on the appearance of the event.

In terms of penalties, the loss of a wheel will invariably be penalized by 10 additional minutes in the ranking. Speeding will no longer carry financial penalties. Too bad for the FIA ​​accounts!

Technical regulations

On a mechanical level, the FIA ​​and ASO have decided to take measures intended to balance the chances of each engine in the Auto category at the 2023 Dakar. The T1Us, in which only the Audi RS Q e-tron E2 hybrids participate, see their minimum weight increase to 2 kg. For comparison, the Toyota Hilux and the BRX Hunters built by Prodrive weigh 2 kg altogether.

In terms of power, the Audis (three electric motors of Formula E and a turbo gasoline engine of DTM) like the Toyota and the BRX (V6 turbo gasoline engines) undergo an identical reduction in power, of the order of 42 horsepower (30 kW).

In addition, there will no longer be power correction based on altitude for T1+ petrol engines. A small blow for the Toyotas and BRXs on a Dakar 2023 course which will pass the symbolic barrier of 1 meters of altitude four times during the first week (stage 000, 2, 3, 4).

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