Challenging & Unique Course: David Castera’s Promise

The 2026 edition of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia will be “difficult but with a balance” so that all competitors have an experience «unique»David Castera, the boss of the best-known rally raid, assured AFP on Friday, ruling out a return to Africa due to the security situation on the continent.

Question: What are the new features of the 48th edition of the Dakar which begins on Saturday and what are your ambitions?

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Answer : “We wanted it to be difficult as always but with a balance, since we have 5,000 kilometers of specials, almost as many in the first week as the second with the same level of difficulty over both weeks. So we really played on the balance to try to have a race with as much difficulty as possible until the finish line. Me, with all my teams, I am here to try to put on an event for people who come to try to win, the specificity is that there are also a lot of amateurs, people who come to dream, who come to live a moment, an adventure, a parenthesis in life. My goal is simply to be able to put it all together so that they can live this experience, so that they can live something quite unique in a world today which is still a little anxiety-provoking.”

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Does the Dakar still have its place in 2026, particularly in terms of audience?

“We are fully aware that we are reaching a turning point in various motor sports. In any case, we do everything necessary to ensure that he has his place. We work there with a lot of passion, a lot of responsibility, and also a lot of respect for the places we go and the countries we pass through. Today, the Dakar is doing everything necessary to keep this place for as long as possible. We are also working a lot on the revival of the Dakar with categories like Mission Mille which today allow us to explore new energy avenues, whether hydrogen, electric or hybrid.

Is security still a major concern?

“No, the Dakar here is going very well. We don’t have any major security problems today. Afterwards, you have to be careful. Organizing a sporting event in France is just as dangerous, I believe, as organizing it in Saudi Arabia. And so this necessarily forces us to be careful when we bring 3,500 people. And we work hand in hand with the Saudis.”

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Is a return to Africa possible one day?

“Nothing is excluded. What will guide us is what is possible, above all. Our event takes place in arid areas that require immense space. We travel places where no one goes and there aren’t many places in the world where you can do that. Here, we have a territory that allows us to do extraordinary courses and to be totally suited to our sport. So, we will see how we develop it, we have three years of contract left with Saudi Arabia. But today, if we don’t go to Africa, it’s not because we don’t want to go there. It’s because we can’t go there because of all the events happening there. Mali (facing a deep security crisis, editor’s note) is in the news today. Mauritania and Senegal are countries I would dream of going to. But as long as the geopolitical situation does not improve, the Dakar, like no other event in the world, will not be able to venture into these countries.”