How to determine the daily departure order of Dakar

Created Date: 2023-02-17 07:06:37

Departure mode

The starting way of the rally is very different from the track racing we are familiar with. Track racing is usually arranged in order at the starting position, and then all the cars start at the same time when the red light goes out. Because of the large number of vehicles participating in the rally, hundreds of vehicles of all sizes compete at the same time, so it is more necessary to have an orderly departure procedure. In the rally, the departure mode of sequential departure is adopted, one train departs one by one, and a safe interval is maintained between each train.

Group order
In addition to two-wheel and four-wheel motorcycles, cars and trucks also compete at the same time in competitions like Dakar Rally, so the starting order of different models is arranged from small to large according to the size of vehicles. The first start of the race every day is a two-wheel motorcycle, followed by a four-wheel motorcycle, followed by a small car and a truck, and there should be at least a safety interval of more than half an hour between the last four-wheel motorcycle and the first car.

Such a departure sequence arrangement has both advantages and disadvantages for motorcycles. On the plus side, if the car runs in front, the dust will make the motorcyclist completely lose sight; When encountering muddy roads, motorcycles will also fall into the ruts of cars and trucks, so it will be safer to let motorcycles start first.

The disadvantage is that motorcyclists have to get up at three or four o'clock every morning and start before dawn, which not only reduces a lot of rest time, but also uses their bodies to fight the huge temperature difference in the desert. More importantly, the motorcyclists who set out first shoulder the heavy responsibility of opening the way for hundreds of cars in the field, because they are facing the open wilderness without any ruts, and the difficulty of navigation is much higher than that of the drivers who follow.

Motorcycle in-group sequence
The starting sequence within the motorcycle group has different starting arrangements for the qualifying race, the first stage, the second stage and the subsequent stages, as follows:

The starting sequence of the qualifying race
From Dakar in 2022, a qualifying stage with a length of only more than ten kilometers was set up on the opening day of the Games. The results of the qualifying stage will determine the starting sequence of the first stage. For the start of the qualifying race, the race rules are arranged to start from Rally Group 2, then Rally Group GP, and the number in the group starts from the largest to the smallest.

Departure sequence of the first stage
The duration of the qualifying race will determine the starting order of the biker in the first stage, and the biker who runs fast will start first. Especially for the top 15 bikers in Rally GP group, they will have the right to choose freely from the top 15 starting positions. The top priority is the 15th biker, and the 14th biker will choose after his selection, and so on, which determines the starting sequence of the first stage.

Departure sequence of the second stage
The starting sequence of the second stage shall be sorted according to the total time of the qualifying race and the first stage, and the bikerwith the shortest time shall start first.

Departure sequence of the third to thirteenth stages
Starting from the third stage, the starting order of bikers will be determined by the ranking order of the results of the previous stage. The fastest one will also start the first day, and the slowest one will start the last day. Because the champion of the stage will take the lead in the next stage and will inevitably lose some time in finding the way, many experienced bikers will deliberately avoid winning the stage championship. Toby Price has been implementing this old six strategy since the first stage this year. Each stage ensures that he is stable in the top 10, but he will not compete for the championship of the stage. It is this strategy that makes him not win any stage championship so far, but ranks first in the total score. Of course, this kind of strategy can't be done by ordinary people, because everyone starts at different times. In addition to grasping their own results, you don't know the results of other bikers at all. Only highly experienced bikers can plan strategies in this situation and accurately control their finishing order.

Departure sequence of the 14th stage
In the last stage of the whole race, in order to improve the spectacularity of the race, the suspense of winning the championship will be left to the last moment. The race will start in reverse order in the decisive stage, according to the results of the 13th stage, that is, the fastest biker in the 13th stage will start at the end of the 14th stage, and the slowest car in the 13th stage will start at the end of the 14th stage.

Departure interval
In order to give faster bikers a greater safety interval, the departure interval is also special:
In qualifying, the departure interval of GP group is 2 minutes, and the departure interval of Group 2 is 1 minute.
In the third to thirteenth stages, the top 10 bikers set off every 3 minutes, the 11th to 20th bikers set off every 2 minutes, the 21st to 40th bikers set off every 1 minute, the 41st bikers behind set off every half minute, or two at the same time every half minute.
In the 14th stage, the train starts in reverse order, from the last to the 41st, 5 vehicles start every 2 minutes at the same time, from the 40th to the 21st, 1 vehicle start every 1 minute, from the 20th to the 11th, 1 vehicle start every 2 minutes, from the 10th to the 1st, 1 vehicle start every 3 minutes.