The 46th edition of the Dakar Rally, the mythical event of world motorsport, starts this Friday with a prologue in Aloul and will last until the 19th of this month, always on the territory of Saudi Arabia. This year’s race marks the debut of Qatari Prince Nasser Al-Attiyah with the Prodrive team after he won the previous two editions of the car class (out of five in its history) with the official Toyota team. In Prodrive, the production arm of the Hunter BRX, Al-Attiyah will have as a partner his biggest rival in recent years, the Frenchman Sebastien Loeb. Both are candidates to win. As for the Portuguese, 23 pilots are registered in different categories. Bikers Ruy Gonçalves (Cherco) and Joaquim Rodriguez Jr. (Hero) deserve special mention for their participation in the official teams of the brand. João António Costa and Luis Miguel Calván are driving the UMM national jeep in the historical vehicle category, which takes place as part of the main race. This “echelon” includes cars that made racing history in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.