The latest Dakar rally, held in Saudi Arabia from 31 December to 15 January 2023, allowed so many people from the Middle East region to access the pinnacle of off-road racing as spectators.
Keen not to miss out, Mark Powell headed off with his trusty desert prepared Nissan Patrol Y61 on a 2,150 km round trip to meet up with the Dakar competitors and support personnel for the final few days in the famous Rub Al Khali or ‘empty quarter’.
Finding the race routes can be quite difficult as these are kept secret, but where there’s a will, there’s a way!
There were many stories from the trip, but the one thing that resonates. If you want to go on a trip such as this, your vehicle must be prepared for off-roading as you can get stuck in the most innocuous areas and if you don’t have the right tools, you will be stranded.
One such case was a 4X4 that was stuck in powder sand. Fortunately, Mark was close by and successfully recovered the truck using a combination of recovery and kinetic energy ropes as can be seen in the video.
Enjoy some of the images from this adventure. 😉