ARABIAN ALL-NIGHTERS

The Dakar is the toughest rally on Earth, and these are the mechanics who make it happen. Piers Ward joins them on the job

- Piers Ward

It's 3 January 2023, and we're in the middle of the Arabian Desert (an area of 900,000 square miles, which is actually bigger than Saudi Arabia itself) and experiencing the sort of weather that you would normally expect of a winter's day in Bognor Regis.

A Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+ has just returned from a 416-mile stage, having been driven across the kind of terrain that gives NVH engineers nightmares and with another 356 miles planned for tomorrow. And before it leaves the bivouac at 7.30 tomorrow morning, a 90-point checklist needs ticking off by a team of mechanics who have themselves driven 250 miles across the desert from the previous night's bivouac.

It has rained heavily for 24 hours and the temperature is struggling to reach 5deg C. There is shelter, in the form of a large tent, but the rain is creating small rivers under the tarpaulin as the men fight with slippery tools and reluctant parts.

This is the Dakar Rally, and these are its unsung heroes.

Take Willem 'Mack' Botha. He left his wife and kids on Christmas Day, flying from his native South Africa up to Saudi so that all three works Hiluxes would be ready for the first stage on 31 December.

Surprisingly, they weren't sent in assembled form. Instead, they were stripped to ship, elements like the bodywork and suspension being taken off so that they could fit in the cargo hold of a passenger plane. Along with two boxes of parts, all this came through the air. Meanwhile, the rest of the team's kit, running to 16 tonnes in total, plus the support trucks, was sent on a boat. 

The team then set to putting it all together, building the three cars (including the favourite to win this year, driven by Nasser Al-Attiyah) and making sure all the parts and vehicles are ready for the gruelling 5000-plus miles to come.