Vendetta Racing, the UAE’s largest privately-owned motorcycle racing team, has confirmed it will send six riders to contest the 2020 Dakar Rally, which will take place in Saudi Arabia for the very first time.
Alan Boyter, Vendetta Racing’s founder and manager said the opportunity of seeing riders compete under the Vendetta banner at the world’s most famous and demanding rally raid was too good to pass up.
“The Dakar Rally is one of the biggest challenges, not only in motor sport but in world sport,” said Boyter, a former runner-up in the UAE Sportsbike Championship and veteran of four Abu Dhabi Desert Challenges. “Until now racing the Dakar has been out of our reach, but with the news that the rally is leaving South America after eleven years for a new era in Saudi Arabia, we realised we couldn’t let this chance pass us by.”
The rally, which was inaugurated in 1978, will get underway from Saudi Arabia’s second largest city, Jeddah on January 5, 2020.
“Vendetta is committed to entering the strongest regional team into this event and our preparations are well underway,” said Boyter, who named well-known local riders David McBride and Dave Mabbs as their core riders for the event, with the other four positions to be confirmed.
“As you can imagine, the logistics for an event like this are immense,” he said. “This is not a cheap undertaking and we will be looking for sponsors and support . Our riders will also embark on training programmes in order to withstand the physical punishment of racing 9000km through some of the world’s toughest terrain.
Despite the challenges Vendetta is well-placed to assemble a force to be reckoned with. The team boasts a wealth of desert racing experience. Its current riders have participated in a combined 41 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenges. Vendetta has sent bikes out for the five-day, 2,000km race through the dunes of Abu Dhabi’s Rub Al Khali, or Empty Quarter, since 2013.
Riders from Vendetta have also completed a number of overseas events, including the Africa Eco Race, which follows the spirit of the original Paris-Dakar Rally route, most rounds of the FIM Cross Country World Championship including Qatar, Chile and Morocco and all the local Baja events. Prior to racing off road events, Vendetta competed in a host of track and road-based events, including the famous Isle of Man TT road race.
Vendetta Racing will chart its progress towards Dakar 2020 through its website and regular blog at: https://www.vendettaracinguae.com/dakar as well as via the Vendetta Racing Facebook and Instagram pages.
Potential sponsors and interested parties can also contact the team via the website.
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