2024 Dakar Rally: 11-strong Mission 1000 to test alt-power

Eleven vehicles will début the Dakar Rally‘s Mission 1000 category in 2024, a new programme intended to showcase and test rally raid machines powered by electric, hydrogen, or hybrid technology. Although it is not supposed to be a competition, there will still be a motorsport aspect as their times in each stage rewards them with points.

Mission 1000 will mostly follow the main Rally, entering ten of twelve stages and running a separate 100-kilometre course from everyone else each day.

A base time is set for each stage, which they must try to beat. If their time is ten percent over the benchmark, they will be classified as “Eco Mode” and receive zero points. Being within five percent is “Normal Mode” and grants five points, while being faster by ten percent is “Sport Mode” and provides ten. Points are deducted if they fail to complete the leg.

Ten bonus points can be earned via a “Launch Control” challenge, which is basically a 100-meter drag race, with the fastest car and bike being rewarded. An additional five points is provided for the winner of a fan vote dubbed “Fan Boost” (no similarity to the now-dropped Formula E concept by the same name beyond the voting mechanism); two votes will take place.

With these in mind, the most successful vehicle-Sport Mode all ten days, winning Launch Control and both fan votes-would earn a maximum of 120 points.

Six electric bikes are taking part from three teams. The Italian Tacita Motorcycles, competing under the Tacita Formula Corsa banner, will field two Tacita Discanto bikes for former FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion Oscar Polli and Dakar veteran Silvayn Espinasse. Arctic Leopard has three Arctic Leopard E-XE 880s for Willy Jobard, Su Wenmin, and Jack Cai; Jobard and Su have Dakar experience while Cai is the CEO of the company. Fran Pallas, himself a Dakar alumnus, represents Green Power Race.

While the two-wheelers are electric, their five four-wheeled counterparts are hydrogen based such as Rainbow Truck Team‘s Volkswagen Amarok built by E•Lions and the HySE-X1 side-by-side vehicle produced as point of a joint project between Japanese giants Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha with Toyota support. The HySE-X1 was prepared by Overdrive Racing, who competes in the main Dakar Rally; Overdrive member Guillaume de Mévius serves as the car’s test driver.

Les Tigres du Désert and AVID Racing will also have hydrogen SSVs. The former, a project between friends and Airbus employees Jean-Michel Paulhe and Gauthier Gibert, consists of a Can-Am Maverick with a hybrid engine that runs on biofuel made from waste. The Yamaha-focused AVID Racing, previously entered the World Rally-Raid Championship’s Sonora Rally in 2023 with Camelia Liparoti, a Dakar competitor and Yamaha Motor Europe racing director who returns to the team for Mission 1000 in partnership with CAT Racing.

KH-7 Epsilon Team will race a MAN TGA 26.480 6×6 truck that runs on hydrogen and hydrotreated vegetable oil. The truck previously competed at the 2023 Dakar Rally in its own “Challenge New Energy” category after being barred from the traditional Truck class.

2024 Dakar Rally Mission 1000 entry list

Cars

Bikes