BISHA, Saudi Arabia: Veteran Spanish driver Carlos Sainz made history when he won his fourth Dakar Rally last year and is confident that he has what it takes to challenge for victory in this season’s grueling race in Saudi Arabia.

Sainz’s fourth title came when he was 61 — the oldest winner of the race and the first Dakar victory for German outfit Audi.

Now 62, the Spaniard — the father of Ferrari Formula One driver Carlos Sainz Jr — recently became a grandfather, but the two-time world rally champion known as ‘El Matador’ professes to be in fine form.

“Personally I’ve done everything I can to arrive in a good physical condition and I will give everything to try to have a good race,” Sainz said at the launch of his new Ford Raptor car.

“We are comfortable, we have done all the jobs we can.”

Sainz added: “I expect first of all to enjoy, to have really good fun driving.

“I expect to have not so many problems and I expect to fight for the victory. I’m happy to help to try to win this challenge, the Dakar.”

No one has managed to take a machine fresh from the factory to victory since Ari Vatanen, who triumphed with the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 in 1987 and then with the 405 — its technical heir — in 1989, followed by the Citroen ZX in 1991.

But that hasn’t stopped Sainz’s rivals also choosing to blood new cars over the 5,115 kilometers (3,178 miles) of specials mapped out over 12 stages between Bisha and Shubaytah.

Five-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and France’s nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb will be piloting Dacia Sandriders, while Spain’s one-time Dakar winner Nani Roma will also be in a Ford.

One notable absentee from the action, however, will be France’s ‘Mr Dakar’, 14-time champion Stephane Peterhansel, who hung up his keys last year.

In the bike section, two-time winner Ricky Brabec (Honda) will be back to defend his title, with the American’s main rival likely to be Botswana’s Ross Branch (Hero), second last year.

A 434-strong colorful caravan made up of cars, bikes, quads and trucks sets out from Bisha with an opening prologue on Friday.

Twelve stages then await the 778 competitors from 72 countries, with a Jan. 17 finish in Shubaytah, on the border of the UAE.

This year’s route includes a second 48-hour stage in the Empty Quarter, a vast sea of sand with dunes as far as the eye can see.

Introduced last year, organizers said the concept of the stage, during which competitors have to bivouac on the sand and are not allowed outside help, was simple: “Juggling the twin challenges of endurance and performance while blasting through a thousand kilometers of desert in two days.”

“It’s the rally of maturity,” race director David Castera told AFP. “There’s a real level of difficulty, it’s a real, tough Dakar, which will push everyone beyond their limits, beyond their comfort zone.”

The 47th running of the event may be called the Dakar, but the last time the Senegalese capital actually hosted the finish was way back in 2007 — the security situation in Mauritania forced the 2008 cancelation.

It moved then to South America until finding a new home in Saudi Arabia since 2020.

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian racing driver Farah Al-Yousef will take to the same track as stars such as Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton when the Formula 1 World Championship returns to Jeddah next year.

The 22-year-old from Riyadh has been selected as the “wild card” entry in the F1 Academy support race during the 2025 Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend, which will take place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit from April 18-20.

Al-Yousef will compete in the all-female F1 Academy races against experienced drivers from countries around the world.

She recently qualified for the Formula Woman World Qualifiers in Dubai, where 50 women from 26 countries competed to qualify for the FW Nations Cup Festival. The event is scheduled to take place in the emirate shortly after the 2025 Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix.

Having studied aerospace engineering in the UK, Al-Yousef now plans to focus on her motorsport career. Over the next few months she will test and race behind the wheel of a Formula 4 single-seater car, the same type she will drive in April’s race.

“I’m delighted and so proud to represent my country as the wild card entry for the GP and be the only Saudi Arabia entry for both the GP and the FW Nations Cup,” she said.

“I am so grateful to Saudi Motorsport for assisting me with their support and my training. I can’t wait to start testing again and look forward to having a look at the amazing Jeddah Corniche track.”