Dakar Rally Betting 2024

As the world eagerly anticipates the fifth consecutive year of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, the thrill of Dakar Rally betting intensifies. From January 6 to 19, enthusiasts will be captivated by the 2024 Dakar Rally.

Reflecting on its origins, the first Dakar Rally embarked on its journey in 1979, spanning from Paris to Dakar in Senegal. This iconic rally traversed Europe and Africa from 1979 to 2007, explored South America from 2009 to 2019, and found its current home in Saudi Arabia from 2020 onwards.

Last year’s champion was 53-year-old Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar. It was his fifth career victory, but he has achieved high results in almost every rally he has participated in. He finished tenth on his debut in 2004, failed to finish in 2005-06, and finished sixth in 2007, his lowest finish in the rest of his career.

Since 2010, Nasser Al-Attiyah has failed to finish the course three times – in 2012, 2013, and 2017 – five times in second place and once in third. History shows that if a rider reaches the finish, he should finish in the top three.

Therefore, it is no wonder he is one of the favorites again this year. However, it should be noted that Nasser Al-Attiyah will no longer participate in the 2024 Dakar Rally with the Toyota team, which he has represented since 2017, but is leaving Toyota to join the new Prodrive team.

Key Highlights:

1. Betting Tips:
   • Focus on fundamental choices and H2H bets.
   • Assess machinery changes and debutants.
   • Concentrate on specific classes for valuable bets.
2. Dakar 2024 Route:
   • 60% new route; 48-hour marathon stage.
   • Analyze the remaining 40% unchanged route.
3. Participants:
   • 400+ registrations; motorbike category has 136 entries.
   • Participant numbers may change due to financial issues.
4. Favorites:
   • Nasser Al-Attiyah eyes a third title.
   • Young talent Seth Quintero and contenders like Lucas Moraes and Sebastien Loeb.
   • Carlos Sainz and Stephane Peterhansel aim for top three.
5. Motorbike Category:
   • Kevin Benavides, Toby Price, Sam Sunderland, and Pablo Quintanilla are top contenders.
6. Challenges:
   • Dakar analysis is complex; significant time investment required.
7. Betting Strategy:
   • Choose bets based on preference and available information.
   • Focus on specific classes for higher value bets.

This article will focus on the upcoming race, which receives much attention worldwide for its spectacular scenery, intrigue, unbridled emotion, and unexpected results every year.

In preparation for the 2024 Dakar Rally, taking a good look at the betting offers is advisable. In addition to the fundamental choices on who will be the winner of a particular class, H2H bets also get a lot of attention. These are bets where you bet on one of the riders who will finish higher.

Betting companies usually offer to bet on the leaders, who will perform better, how many stages they will win, etc. To prepare for the Dakar Rally, consider:

• Familiarity with the new track;
• Cars and machinery – see if the favorites have changed their machinery for this year; maybe someone has made a risky decision. For example, Nasser Al-Attiyah gave up Toyota’s stability and switched teams.
• Moving to another class – if you were near the leaders in one class, it doesn’t mean those making their debut in a new class will immediately be fighting for the top places.
• Debutants – look at the debutants, what they have achieved in other championships, and what team and machinery they are debuting in Dakar with.

Also, remember that you don’t have to concentrate on all the Dakar betting offers – pick what you like best and what you find the most information about. If you focus only on a particular class, you will likely find bets with more value.

Sports betting enthusiasts might also be interested in our recent article that covers NBA Playoffs odds.

Although Saudi Arabia will hold Dakar for the fifth time, it is essential to note that the route will have changed. This is important when analyzing the results of the last rally, as it will no longer be possible to compare the drivers’ performances.

Compared to the previous year’s rally, as much as 60% of the route will be new this year. In total, the rally will consist of a prologue and 12 stages. One of the stages will feature a novelty – a 48-hour marathon covering over 600 km. No doubt, this stage will add even more intrigue and unexpected results.

For a complete analysis of the upcoming Dakar Rally, we can look at the remaining 40% of the route, which is unchanged from last year.

Look at who did best in those stages and previous years. Analyzing Dakar is not easy, as many different factors are involved, so you must put in a lot of time to find worthwhile bets.

The total number of registrations for the Dakar Rally 2024 is over 400. The motorbike category has the highest number of entries – 136. Ten participants have registered in the four-wheeler category, 73 in the cars category, 43 in the T3, 36 in the T4, and 47 in the trucks categories.

The Dakar Rally has a separate category for classic cars, with 65 entries in the traditional car category and 15 in the classic truck category.

It is important to note that the number of participants at the start line may change. Only some crews are financially secure when they receive their entry number. If they do not find a primary sponsor, they usually postpone their race participation.

There may also be other reasons for refusing participation, such as faulty equipment, health problems, etc. As a result, the number of participants on 5 January will likely be slightly lower.

As for the favorites for the Dakar Rally, the Nasser above Al-Attiyah, who has been the champion for the last two years, must be mentioned. Interestingly, the last time Pierre Lartigue of France won the title thrice in a row was in 1994-96.

Since then, there have been six consecutive double wins but no third title. History shows that the Qatari will have a tough time, but he should not be written off.

In the car class, it is the American Seth Quintero, who is only 21 years old. The young talent finished second in the Light Prototype category at last year’s Dakar, and this year, he will debut in the main class representing Nasser Al-Attiyah’s former Toyota team.

It will be exciting to see how the transition from T3 to T1 goes, but Seth Quintero is one to watch.

Along with Seth Quintero, Brazilian Lucas Moraes will be on the Toyota Gazoo team. The 32-year-old finished third last year, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in the top three again this year. Of course, he doesn’t have a long history like the other riders, but Toyota has high hopes for the Brazilian.

Frenchman Sebastien Loeb is one of the riders with the most ambitions to become Dakar champion this year finally. Since 2017, he has finished second three times and third once. He has been second for the last two years, making the nine-time WRC champion one of this year’s main favorites.

Do not forget multiple champions Carlos Sainz and Stephane Peterhansel, constantly targeting the top three places.

Spain’s Carlos Sainz has been champion three times and runner-up twice, while the Frenchman has dominated in previous years, winning seven times between 2004 and 2017 and finishing second and third once each. Since then, he has only been champion in 2021 and finished third in 2020.

There have been six different champions in the Dakar motorcycle race category since 2015, with Argentina’s Kevin Benavides winning the last two out of three times. Australia’s Toby Price last won in 2019 but remained third in 2020. Together with Kevin Benavides, they will ride in the same team.

Sam Sunderland can also be mentioned – he was first champion in 2017 and has since finished third twice and again in 2022. Pablo Quintanilla came second in 2020 and 2022. The 37-year-old from Chile has ambitions to become champion for the first time, as he also won third place in 2016.