Dakar 26: Team VÖLKEL Sends Its Vehicles on the Journey to Saudi Arabia
Dakar 2026 is getting closer. While our business year is slowly drawing to a close, the adventure is already beginning for our rally vehicles. On Thursday, November 27, the first major milestone of the new Dakar season was scheduled for Team VÖLKEL: the technical scrutineering in Santa Susanna near Barcelona, followed by the loading of the vehicles in the port of Barcelona.
Nothing happens without this procedure, because only vehicles with a passed check and an official certificate are allowed onto the ship heading for Saudi Arabia.
From Remscheid to Spain: The Start of Dakar Preparation
The adventure for our vehicles began a day earlier. The three G-Classes and the two Mercedes-Benz 6x6 Service Trucks from Team VÖLKEL set off for Spain in good time so that all slots for the scrutineering could be adhered to.
Compared to what awaits them in Saudi Arabia, the journey to Santa Susanna is relaxed. Organizationally, however, it is already the first stress test. Timing, papers, driver teams, spare parts, tools, personal equipment – everything must be right. With hundreds of participants being processed in a tight time window, there is little room for error.
Technical Scrutineering in Santa Susanna: Safety Check for the Desert
The technical scrutineering is the moment when a vehicle officially becomes a Dakar vehicle. The organizers check whether everything complies with the current safety and regulatory requirements. This includes:
Roll cages and safety cells
Seats, harnesses, HANS device attachment
Fire extinguishing systems and emergency stop
Electrics, fuel systems, and lines
Navigation, tracking, and safety equipment
The goal is clear: the vehicles must withstand even the toughest stresses and protect the crew in an emergency.
All of Team VÖLKEL's vehicles passed the inspection without major problems and received the crucial certificate. Without this document, no vehicle gets on the ship.
Five Vehicles in the Check: 3 G-Classes and Two 6x6 Service Trucks
For Dakar 2026, Team VÖLKEL is bringing the following line-up to the start:
Three Mercedes G-Class vehicles as rally cars
One Lada rally vehicle (more details to follow)
Two Mercedes-Benz 6x6 service trucks serving as mobile workshops and the logistical backbone
The G-Class vehicles are ideal for the classic stages: robust, reliable, and equipped with enough reserves for dunes, gravel, and rocky terrain.
The Lada completes the line-up as another rally vehicle — compact, lightweight, and long known as a straightforward workhorse.
Equally important are the two 6x6 trucks. They carry everything needed in day-to-day rally operations: spare parts, tools, tires, oils, filters, workshop equipment, communication and data technology, as well as the personal gear of drivers and mechanics — and of course the general logistics and camp support, without which nothing would function in the bivouac.
From Santa Susanna to the Port of Barcelona: Boarding for the Dakar
After the successful scrutineering, all vehicles continued to the port of Barcelona. There, the Dakar caravan is assembled and prepared for transport to Saudi Arabia. The process is clearly structured:
Arrival at the port within the designated time slot
Document check by the organization and the shipping company
Assignment of vehicles to decks and loading zones
Loading onto the ship bound for Yanbu
All VÖLKEL vehicles are now lashed on board and are on their way to Saudi Arabia.
Destination Yanbu: The Dakar 2026
Dakar 2026 is once again taking place in Saudi Arabia. The start and finish are in Yanbu on the Red Sea. The route is a large loop through the country and covers around 8,000 kilometers, including almost 5,000 kilometers of timed special stages in the Classic classification.
The more compact route makes the procedures somewhat more predictable for service teams. This does not make the rally easier, but logistically a little clearer.
After participating in the Dakar Classic 2024 and 2025, Team VÖLKEL now brings solid desert experience with them. The Classic classification focuses less on full throttle and more on precision, navigation, and technical reliability over many days.
Why Preparation is So Crucial
Even though the actual rally only starts in January, a large part of the work is done beforehand. Examples:
Technical weaknesses must be identified and rectified early.
Safety standards are strict, and the organization will not let any vehicle start that does not meet all requirements.
Errors in logistics, papers, or loading can delay the entire project.
Material planning, team organization, and bivouac strategy must be precisely in place.
Especially teams without huge factory team budgets have to work particularly meticulously here. The fact that everything went smoothly for VÖLKEL through the scrutineering shows how well the preparation went.
What Happens Next
The vehicles are underway to Yanbu. The sequence of the next few weeks:
End of December: Arrival of the ships and handover of the vehicles in the port of Yanbu
Final technical checks on site
Final scrutineering directly before the Prologue
Start of the Dakar 2026 on January 3rd in Yanbu
Until then, travel planning, material management, and stage strategy continue in the background.
Conclusion: We Have Reached the First Milestone
With the technical scrutineering in Santa Susanna and the successful loading in Barcelona, Team VÖLKEL has completed an important step on the way to Dakar 26.
The G-Classes and the two 6x6 Service Trucks are on their way to Saudi Arabia. The next reunion will be at the end of December in Yanbu – shortly before the world's toughest desert rally officially begins for the team.
