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Countries traversed: 7 Total distance: 11,090.5 km Total length of special stages: 5,430.5 km (17 special stages) Total length of liaison stages: 5,660 km Europe: 3 stages, Morocco: 4 stages, Mauritania: 6 stages, Mali: 2 stages, Burkina Faso: 1 stage, Senegal: 1 stage |
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December 29-31, 2003 Administrative checks and vehicle inspections will take place in the Grande Halles d’Auvergne located in the south-east of the city of Clermont-Ferrand in central France. Vehicle inspections were initially scheduled over two days but with an increase in the number of entrants this has been extended to three days (or more precisely 2.5 days). Once qualified, all entrant cars regardless of category, will be kept here in parc ferme until the race starts. |
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This year’s starting ceremony will commence from midday. In the early years the race traditionally started in Paris in the pre-dawn hours of New Year’s Day. Later races also customarily kicked off between midnight and early morning but this year will see a daytime start. After driving down a start ramp, entrants will run in a short gallery stage similar to the 2003 Race on a parallel piste (two cars running parallel, simultaneous start). This stage is not counted in special stage times. The Prologue decides the start order for the following day’s first special stage. After the Prologue, competitors take a motorway liaison stage, arriving in the evening at Narbonne in the south of France for the overnight parc ferme. | |
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Until recent years Narbonne was known for the Chateau Lastours, home of a permanent off-road course sited in its vineyards and host of the special stage. In 2003 a closed (public) village road was used in the nearby district of Corbieres. The first special stage is a 25 km course near the border and it appears it will be held in the same region again this year. This is hilly terrain featuring winding gravel and tarmac roads with sudden dips and crests. The large gallery will be able to observe the prowess of top drivers at close range. Competitors then take a liaison stage to Castellon, a Mediterranean seaside town some 60 km east of Valencia in Spain. | |
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The venue for the second special stage is a specially constructed course on the coast near Castellon. This is the third time a special stage has been held here. The course describes a narrow loop tracking along the coast and is made more spectacular by the addition of depressions and jump hillocks (made of soft sand to minimize damage) constructed with a power shovel. The next 800 km liaison takes the group to the port of Algeciras in west Spain. Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar by ferry, the African leg sets out from Tanger in Morocco. After landing, a 13 km liaison takes competitors to their first African bivouac. | |
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Morocco |
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A 233 km liaison leads to the first special stage in Africa, a short 75 km course through the woods to the north of the Atlas mountain range. The slippery, tight track has very poor visibility and is littered with hidden potholes and depressions. Numerous entrants fall by the wayside by crashing on this stage. A liaison of 444 km then crosses the mountains to Errachidia. Assistance car course distance: 750 km. |
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Staged in an area of sand dunes on the south of the Atlas Mountains, after a short liaison, the course tracks through the famous Erfoud desert to reach Ouarzazate in the west. The sand dunes appear early on and make good practice for later stages. The track traverses wadis (dried rivers), canyons and sandy terrain for several kilometres until reaching the race highlight Erg Chebbi (the Chebbi dunes). The final special stage allows a cracking pace. Assistance car course distance: 310 km |
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While not especially tough, this rough track is traversed at high speed, often producing significant damage through driver error. A 276 km paved liaison stretch leads to Tan Tan, a major town in the Western Sahara. Assistance car course distance: 740 km |
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Morocco - Mauritania |
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This is basically a high speed stage but presents the first challenge as the longest transition totalling 1055 kilometres. Competitors will depart the bivouac in the middle of the night to travel the 345 km liaison to the border where they will regroup before dawn. The special stage will start over the border in Mauritania. The wide, flat opening stage, conducive to sizzling speeds, gradually gives way to more challenging terrain. Dunes appear with more frequency in the later stages closer to Atar. A major highlight is the dunes of Oumaghawaba which offer the only passage to Atar. Assistance car course distance: 1040 km of which 100 km is shared with competitors. |
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Mauritania |
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The day starts by travelling the bed of the wadi Toungad and from Far Aoun competitors follow a new course never before used in the Paris-Dakar event. In contrast to the previous day’s high speed stage, this navigation stage offers the multiple challenges of finding a path through the valley and navigating the deep, fine powdery sand called “fesh-fesh” making it potentially a mentally stressful stage. On top of this, Tidjikja is the mid-point bivouac in this marathon stage with no assistance trucks or cars. Assistance car course distance: Atar - Nema 1,535 km |
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This 736 km stretch is the longest special stage in the event. Tracking from Tidjikja to Tichit and down to Nema it throws up some extremely harsh desert sections. The pace is snappy over soft sand until Tichit. The course then heads to locations including the Well of Arate, the Rocher des Elephants and the Enji pass, memorable locations for previous competitors who recall the legendary sandstorm of 1985. Dunes covered with clumps of hard, well-rooted camel grass make progress bumpy and slow, and make the going tough for both people and machines. | |
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Mauritania – Mali |
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While there are no prominent sand dunes toward the south from Nema in south Mauritania we reach the arid region of Sahel where the narrow track twists and turns. Starting from Nema is a smooth, fast stage to the border followed by the stage highlight, the track to Nara in the north of Mali. The road book does not contain the GPS points for this stage making it the first stage of navigation without GPS assistance. Myriad small side roads heighten the risk of taking a wrong turn! Assistance car course distance: 1,275 km of which 450 km is shared piste. |
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Mali - Burkina Faso |
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The special stage on this day takes competitors from Mali toward Burkina Faso. The course threads its way up the steep slope of the Bandiagarra cliff to a track through the woods. The course passes through numerous villages and the closing stage sets a fast pace to the border region. A tarmac liaison leads to the bivouac at Bobo Dioulasso. Assistance car course distance: 467 km. |
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Bobo Dioulasso is a typical African town with a tranquil atmosphere enhanced by streets lined with mango and kapok trees redolent of the tropics. The town centre stretches along the banks of the Houet River and takes its name from two ethnic groups, the Bobo and the Dioula. Everyone seems like part of an extended family. The region produces magnificent musical instruments and is a centre for production of the balofon. An old mosque, formerly a temple reputed to have converted to Islam in 1880, is situated to the east of the Great Market. | |
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Burkina Faso - Mali |
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Liaison: 88 km - SS: 213 km - Liaison: 365 km - Total: 666 km This is essentially a fast-paced 213 kilometre special stage once used for the World Rally Championship. Both sides of the track in the early stage are covered with fesh, but give way to a hard gravel surface cutting through a tropical forest. The dreadful dust makes overtaking a hazard and looks likely to frustrate some competitors. Assistance car course distance: 541 km. |
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Mali - Mauritania |
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Striking out to the north from the Mali capital Bamako, the course returns to the Sahel. After about 200 kilometres of tarmac roads comes a special stage used for the first time. As it heads to the north the track becomes sandier, finishing with a tough climb. Heavy rainfall in the region this year may result in revisions to the road book. Assistance car course distance: 730 km of which 450 km is shared track. |
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The sandy track runs into a succession of small dunes in the first few kilometres. These small dunes become more common as the course heads northwards. The highlight of the day is the crossing of the gigantic dunes which line the 200-metre high Taskast cliff. Once over this hurdle it is 130 kilometres to the finish on a fast track. As an interim bivouac during a marathon stage and without assistance cars, the return to Tidjikja is another highlight of the later stages. Assistance car course distance: Ayoun El Atrous - Nouakchott: 830 km |
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This last tough section has the potential to eliminate some competitors. Camel grass stretches for two to three hundred kilometres making this a gruelling stage requiring grit and determination. Fuel consumption has to be monitored carefully, especially until the Amoukrouz dunes have been successfully negotiated. This is the last bivouac under tents. | |
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Mauritania-Senegal |
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This is effectively the final special stage, covering 210 kilometres to the Senegal border. The gravel road over the mountains allows high speeds but drivers cannot afford to lose concentration on the tortuous bends. This again is a navigation stage where GPS cannot be used. Upon arrival in Dakar the Meridien hotel car park on the city’s outskirts will host the final service park. Assistance car course distance: 580 km. |
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On this last day of the 26th Paris-Dakar Rally, a victory lap will run on the traditional course around the salt lake Lac Rose on the Atlantic coast. However, breaking with the tradition of previous years,the order will be reversed and Lac Rose will be the starting point of the special stage with the finish at the beach. This will be followed by a liaison stage back to the Meridien Hotel where the awards ceremony will take place on a purpose-built finish podium. | |
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