During those two weeks riders will spend a lot of time tackling – and getting lost in – thousands of square miles of sand dunes, as well as tackling mountains, canyons and high-speed tracks. The organisers also include plenty of navigation puzzles, so this isn’t purely a test of brute strength and speed.
Petrucci is looking forward to the challenge, which will be so different from MotoGP.
“MotoGP and the Dakar are the opposites of the motorcycling world,” he adds. “In MotoGP we spend a lot of time looking at the computer. In rallies you don’t have any computers, you just stay on the bike and you have to solve the problems yourself, with your talent, your capabilities and your body. It’s a big challenge and it’s very exciting. My target for this time is just to try and finish the race.
“When we first talked about doing the Dakar I didn’t have a clue what a roadbook was, how a rally race worked in detail and how to ride in sand. To better prepare myself I went for an intensive roadbook course with [KTM team manager Jordi] Viladoms and I have already done a lot of training with my fellow KTM adventurers.”
Petrucci will contest his first Dakar for Tech3, the French team with which he rode his final MotoGP season, but he is part of the larger KTM effort. This includes the Red Bull factory line-up of reigning champion Kevin Benavides, 2016 and 2019 winner Toby Price and 2018 winner Matthias Walkner, plus Gas Gas factory rider and 2017 winner Sam Sunderland and Husqvarna factory rider Skyler Howes.