Service Teams
The Real Way to Dakar is a demanding competition that challenges both service teams and participants. The route will pass through a wide range of terrain – from the breathtaking dunes of the Sahara through camel grass and to the rocky climbs in the Moroccan and Mauritanian mountains – and although the service route will be on tarmac for the most part, you should prepare for rough conditions, bad roads and challenging terrain.
WHAT TO PREPARE FOR
We recommend that you as a minimum bring a 4×4 vehicle as this gives you the opportunity to go through most terrains. A regular van could also be an option, but there are stretches where the road is very rough and camps with a sandy terrain.
Every night the organisation will hand out coordinates for the service route that you can then load into your GPS to get your route for the next campsite.
When traveling from camp to camp you will cross through towns and villages with options of buying water, food and fuel. When using local gas stations we recommend that you check the quality of the fuel before fuelling your vehicle.
CAMPS
As we are traveling in some of the most remote areas in north-western Africa, we alternate between camps in existing campsites and wild camps which means that you need to bring your own tent and sleeping equipment.
In wild camps there will be no infrastructure for power supply, water, sanitary facilities etc. You must manage everything by yourself and with your service team.
When in camp there will be access to sanitary facilities and in some of the camps even power supply for light, charging etc. As a service team, you may want to provide your team with the option of charging their devices. In some of the camps there are a limited number of rooms or cabins for rent on a first come first served basis. You will have to make arrangements and pay for these yourself.
FOOD
Dinner is included in your sign-up fee and we hope that you will join us every night for a community style dinner. This will give you a chance to check in with everyone else, exchange stories of the challenges you’ve faced during the day and, most importantly, to get a good meal that will keep you going all the way to Dakar.
Most service teams choose to take care of breakfast and water for their participants while the participants themselves takes care of food during the day in the track. Regardless of how you choose to structure it, it is important that you as a service team align expectations with the participants of your team.
Planning on participating?
If you are planning to sign in your Service Team to the next version of The Real Way to Dakar, we will be happy to feature you on our Service Team-site.
The purpose of the site is for participants, who does not yet have a service team, to find a team that matches their needs.
If you want to be featured on the site, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for a more in-depth chat on what it means to be a part of The Real Way to Dakar rally family.
Check out our participant info to find answers to other questions
Ready to register?
We made registering for The Real Way to Dakar easy. Just choose the category you want to participate in, create a user with your name and email and pay the fee. Once you’ve payed you have secured your ticket to the Real Way to Dakar.
When we get closer to the rally we’ll send you an information sheet for you to fill out all relevant data.
Sign up for the Service Team category
Once you press ‘sign up now’ you will be able to choose both distance and category.
The Real Way to Dakar
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