As revealed in Motorsport Monday at the end of August last year, Renault’s Romanian subsidiary Dacia, known for their durable cheap ‘n cheerful cars, has formally announced its participation in the 2025 Dakar Rally and the full FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
The brand aims to tackle the world’s most challenging bits of Mother Earth with the introduction of its challenger, the Sandrider.
With a strong parent in Renault, who has been deeply involved in all levels of motorsport from Formula One to club racing since the dawn of the motor car and all the expertise they have gathered along with the well-known motorsport firm Prodrive, the Sandrider has been inspired by the 2022 Manifesto concept car and specifically developed for rally-raids. The prototype, designed to be light and agile will compete in the Ultimate T1+ category and will become the most powerful vehicle in Dacia’s history.
Power comes from a Nissan 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo engine with a direct injection engine producing 360 horsepower at 5,000 rpm. The engine runs on synthetic fuel, which is a combination of renewable hydrogen and sequestered CO2. A six-speed sequential transmission sends the power to all four wheels. The car runs on 17-inch aluminium wheels fitted with BF Goodrich’s 37-inch tyre.
Aerodynamics play a crucial role in rally-raid and it is a key area of the Sandrider’s development, with engineers achieving a 10 percent reduction in drag and a 40 percent decrease in lift compared to comparable prototypes (read: Hunter). The emphasis on heat management in extreme conditions led to the integration of anti-infrared pigments in the carbon body panels filed as a patented process.
The Sandrider is set to undergo extensive development in various countries before making its motorsport debut at the Rallye du Maroc, the final round of the W2RC from 5 to 11 October. Dacia’s official W2RC team, the Dacia Sandriders, will participate in their first Dakar Rally and other legs of the World Rally-Raid Championship in 2025.
The team has a stellar driver line-up of experienced and talented drivers headed by Sébastien Loeb, a nine-time World Rally Championship winner with co-driver Fabian Lurquin along for the ride again. The duo finished third in this year’s Dakar Rally.
Nasser Al-Attiyah, a five-time Dakar winner and double W2RC Champion will resume battle with Loeb, but will have to mind his p’s and q’s if things don’t go his way come January.
Cristina Gutiérrez co-driver Pablo Moreno – who won the Challenger class in this year’s Dakar Rally, the Spanish lady-racer becoming only the second woman to win a Dakar title – bring their experience to the team.
