The riddle of the sands

Dacia is hoping to crack the Dakar Rally first time out with Prodrive and a star line-up. DAMIEN SMITH finds out more

- DAMIEN SMITH

What a place to make your first mark in motorsport. Dacia, the Romanian budget car brand that has zero association with competition motoring, will plunge straight in this January with a three-car entry into the epic, most gruelling event of them all. The Dakar Rally will run for the sixth time in the deserts of Saudi Arabia (despite its name) across two weeks from 3 to 17 January, and what's most remarkable is not just the inclusion of the Renault-owned car maker among the 340 entries in classes for cars, motorcycles and trucks: it actually (whisper it) has a genuine chance to win.

That's because Dacia took the eminently sensible decision to partner with Prodrive for its first motorsport campaign. One of the world's most respected competition specialists, Prodrive hasn't yet won the Dakar but it sure knows a thing or two about the famous rally raid, through its previous Hunter T1+ programme, which culminated in a podium third for World Rally Championship legend Sébastien Loeb last January. Loeb is back to helm one of the Dacias, along with his old Extreme E partner Cristina Gutiérrez and five-time Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah. A decent line-up, to put it mildly.