The Dakar Rally returns to Saudi Arabia for its 43rd run, but the 2021 edition brings us an entirely different route to last year's challenge, which both starts and finishes in Jeddah. Follow our guide as we explain where to find a Dakar Rally live stream and watch all the key moments from the race online wherever you are in the world right now.
The Dakar is renowned for being the world's toughest and most dangerous off-road endurance race, and this year's rally 4,767km of deserts, sand dunes, winding roads, stony tracks and navigational hazards aplenty, split across 12 timed stages, including a marathon stage and two loop stages.
The 2021 Dakar Rally is a 12-stage event that takes place from Sunday, January 3 and finishes on Friday, January 15. Full Dakar Rally live stream and TV channel details can be found below - watch you preferred race coverage wherever you are in the world right now with the help of a speedy VPN.
The starting position for Stage 1 was determined by the outcome of the pre-race Prologue stage on January 2 and, just like last year, the roadbooks for each stage of the race will only be handed out 10 minutes before the daily racing starts.
At 813km, Stage 4 is the longest individual leg of the race, but the marathon stage, which spans Stages 7 and 8 immediately after the rest day on January 9, will be a much bigger challenge, featuring nearly 1,500km of hills, stony plateaus and a mix of winding and fast sections, as well as some of the best views in the country.
Carlos Sainz (the father of F1 star Carlos Sainz Jr.) was the hero of last year's race, winning the Dakar Rally for the third time in the Cars Class. As ever, there are different competitions for different categories, but a Class for Classic cars has been introduced for this year's event, along with the regulars: bikes, quads, cars, SSV/UTV, and trucks.
Whether you’re a petrolhead or just want to kick off 2021 with something a bit different, we’ll show you how to watch a Dakar Rally live stream online from anywhere in the world.
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How to watch a Dakar Rally live stream from outside your country
We've recommended some of the best places to live stream the Dakar Rally below. But you might run into a problem trying to tune in if you're abroad right now - even if you're fully registered and in all likelihood paying a subscription fee.
This is because of something called geo-blocking - best thought of as a kind of digital border - but it's not nearly as scary as it sounds. We can help you get back to your preferred Dakar Rally live stream in no time at all.
Simply follow our VPN advice below and you'll soon be up and running with a great bit of software that allows you to relocate your device back to your country of residence - thereby regaining access to all the streaming services and content you normally enjoy at home.
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