The rubber is about to hit the road. The first experiments, carried out in January 2024, yielded a treasure trove of data and encouraged some of the minds working at the frontier of tech to double down on their research, while others received a morale boost. Meanwhile, future candidates have been fine-tuning their vehicles behind the scenes. The second edition of the Mission 1000 challenge will pit five vehicles equipped with three technologies against the tough Dakar terrains, which will push them to their limits and beyond, as any good laboratory is supposed to do.
SEGWAY SEGUES FROM CAPITAL CITIES TO SAUDI TRACKS
The Chinese manufacturer’s fully electric personal transporters, scooters and motor scooters are a regular sight in big cities. As its next challenge, it set out to tame the sands of the Dakar, assembling a team of 50 people to design the X1000. Three units of its electric motorbike, which can hit 140 km/h, will be entrusted to expert off-road racers. The young Argentinian Benjamín Pascual, 19, will get a few pointers from his father Pablo, the sporting manager of the group, who has entered the Dakar nine times. The other two members of the Segway triumvirate are the Chinese rider Jianhao Xu, who has won every single national moto-cross championship since 2010, and his brother in arms Jie Yang, also a key player on the Far Eastern scene.
HYSE: H₂ – OH!
In one of the most ambitious crossovers in the history of motor sports, five Japanese manufacturers determined to crack the code for the large-scale commercialisation of hydrogen-powered engines decided to pool and share their expertise. The HySe project brought Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Toyota engineers together under one roof to develop the engine for its buggy and commissioned the Overdrive Racing team manager, Jean-Marc Fortin, to build the chassis. The original version already turned heads in 2024, but the X2 model has an increased fuel capacity of 7.5 kg of hydrogen, giving it a range of up to 150 kilometres in the most gruelling conditions and allowing its driver to surf the dunes confidently. Yoshio Ikemachi will be entering his ninth Dakar, his first in an electric car.
KH7: A HYDROGEN-POWERED HYBRID
The only truck on the start list of Mission 1000 in 2024 and 2025 produced an impeccable performance to win the challenge last season. The 12-tonne MAN truck is equipped with tech developed by the mechanics and engineers at Evarm, a company that specialises in converting petrol- or diesel-powered vehicles to run on natural gas or hydrogen. Building on their experience from last January, the racers Jordi Juvanteny and José Luís Criado (with a combined 65 Dakar starts) and the engineer Xavi Ribas are determined to smash through the 1,000 hp barrier.