Dakar Rally 2020: Race Dates, Schedule, Live Stream and TV Info

The historic 2020 Dakar Rally will be the first to take place on the Asian continent, kicking off in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

The past 11 editions of the race have been held in South America, while the original race was held in Europe and Africa. Saudi Arabia will be the host for at least the next five years.

This year's event will take place from Sunday until January 17, starting in Jeddah and finishing in Qiddiya. Red Bull TV will provide full coverage of every stage.

Here's a look at the full route:

Crews will travel more than 7,500 kilometers over 12 stages. There will be one rest day, on Saturday in Riyadh.

Stage 9 is the longest, a gruelling 886 kilometers between Wadi Al Dawasir and Haradh. Stage 7 from Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir, immediately after the rest day, features a race-high 546 kilometers of specials.

The first Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia features a star-studded lineup, especially in the cars division. Nasser Al-Attiyah will defend his title, but will face tremendous competition in the form of 13-time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel.

Ricardo Mazalan/Associated Press

The Frenchman has six titles on the bike and seven in cars, with his most recent coming in 2017. He drove for Mini in 2019, winning two stages but not finishing the race. He will be without his regular co-pilot, wife Andrea Peterhansel, however, with doctors not allowing her to race because of health reasons, per Reuters.

KTM have dominated the bikes category, winning every single Dakar held in South America. Defending champion Toby Price is once again among the favourites and already looking forward to the race:

Matthias Walkner has been the most consistent competitor recently, with three straight top-two finishes, and is another to keep an eye on.

Eduard Nikolaev is the logical favourite in the trucks category after winning the past three editions of the race. A five-time winner―once as a co-driver―the Russian is just 35 and expected to continue his domination for a long time.

Compatriot Dmitry Sotnikov has finished in second place in two of the past three editions, further highlighting the Kamaz dominance.