Could you do a Dakar on a WRC car?

[warp9engage]

With the Dakar rally currently in progress, something had been popping into my head and I've gotten curious. I would like to ask a question to GTPlanet (because I like this community) which is: could you do a Dakar rally on a WRC machine? You know, maybe with Safari type specs?

Leave your thoughts below.

P.S - Couldn't find a thread on this exact topic on the search, however, should I have missed it, please provide me with a link and I apologize for posting a wrong thread. Thank you.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Dakar thread?

In answer to your question; I guess so.

 

[JC_Dude]

I don't think they'd be able to get through the dunes.

 

[TheElbows]

Could you? Maybe. You'd need a lot more spare parts and a full race carrier to go with it, a lot of added nav. equipment. Much more robust stuff, and a proper set-up. A heap-load more spare tires/wheels and much more comfortable seats.

In short, I'd say no...but guys do it on motorcycles, so sure.

 

[Legro]

Sure, why not. Nothing says that it isn't possible to complete a Dakar Rally in a World Rally Car. It's just very likely that it wouldn't be even nearly as competitive as the high profile Dakar entries in the car's regular WRC specifications.

 

[mustafur]

No chance, because of dunes/deep mud etc, they would need to be at a ride height not possible on those machines, im sure you could modify one to make it compliant though, however the engines in WRC cars are a notch above whats in dakar although they would lack the monster torque the raid machines have.

Raid machines are around 500kg heavier then WRC cars simply due to tools and heavy duty frames, wheels etc.
Dakar isn't like a WRC rally where they check the stages inside and out to make sure the car can do them.

 

[Tired Tyres]

Yes you could. Porsche did it years ago with 911's. They just jacked up the suspension.

 

[G_Parrilla]

In a normal WRC spec, I don't think so. Maybe in a "special" spec, like in the old Safari Rally, but more extreme.

 

[Kingofweasles]

In a normal WRC spec, I don't think so. Maybe in a "special" spec, like in the old Safari Rally, but more extreme.View attachment 505452 View attachment 505453 View attachment 505454

I was just about to talk about how the cars that ran in the old Safari Rally were almost Rally Raid-ready (Peugeot using the 205 Turbo 16 Group B car as the base for it's Dakar Rally variant), but I don't know if the newer cars could handle the South American route recent Dakars have run even with modifications.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

As others said a direct from WRC to Dakar wouldn't work and would fail, I mean Robby Gordon and a couple others thought their SCORE baja trucks (which are tougher than rally cars) would do just fine some years ago. Dakar proved tougher than Baja

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Under their skin, WRC cars are finely-tuned bespoke racing cars that are designed to take punishment. Rally Finland is frequently known as the "Grand Prix on gravel", which is an apt nickname. But they are by no means suitable to do the Dakar.

 

[FoRiZon]

Many chances the WRC cars are gonna stuck on a sand dune due to its ground clearance.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Many chances the WRC cars are gonna stuck on a sand dune due to its ground clearance.

Well and the clearance for the type of tires you need to drive on dunes in the first place compared to the off road tires they use in the WRC to begin with are quite different with a lift not being enough. Since the dune tires are paddle like in nature this is also an issue for direct WRC to Dakar.

 

[RACECAR]

could you do a Dakar rally with a WRC machine?

FTFY

Honestly, I'm not so sure today's WRC car could handle the Dakar rally's conditions. Its not just the dunes and deep swamp territory, there is also the huge elevation changes that last I check, are far higher then what the WRC schedule offers.

 

[Ettick]

WRC is no longer an endurance series like it used to be. The cars aren't meant to run for hours on end anymore. So I think you'd encounter reliability issues along the way, regardless of whether or not the car could actually make it through the stages.