Drivers in Yanbu are preparing for the start of the preliminary stage of the race, which has a distance of 11km For the latest updates, follow us on Twitter @ArabNewsSport JEDDAH: The world’s best rally drivers started arriving in Yanbu on Thursday for the 45th edition the Dakar Rally. The premier rally’s Stage One, which starts Dec. 31 and ends on Jan. 15, will involve 453 vehicles in various categories of the race. Drivers in Yanbu are preparing for the start of the preliminary stage of the race, which has a distance of 11km. The official competitions will start on January 1, 2023, with a circular stage around the city of Yanbu on the coast of the Red Sea, passing through AlUla, Hail, Al-Dawadmi, Riyadh, Haradh, Rub’ Al-Khali, Shaybah, Al-Hofuf, all the way to Dammam, which will be the closing point. The stage the longest in terms of the special stages subject to timing since 2014. On Thursday, all vehicles racing in the rally were subject to technical examinations in order to ensure that they comply with the laws of the race and safety standards. This year’s version of the Dakar Rally will include 820 drivers and navigators representing 68 different countries, with a total of 455 vehicles in various categories of the race, including 125 motorcycles, 73 cars, 56 trucks and 47 light desert vehicles. Quads as well as cars and trucks in the Classic category will also make an appearance. For the fourth consecutive year, the Dakar Rally will be held in Saudi Arabia. The winners of the 2022 edition were Nasser Al-Attiyah (cars), Sam Sunderland (motorcycles), Alexandre Giroud (quads), Francisco Lopez Contardo (light prototypes) and the Kamaz-Master team (trucks).