To enhance safety in the gruelling endurance race, the team’s vehicles will feature a so-called “seat attenuator”, designed to help prevent potential injuries.
Over the years, the Dakar Rally has witnessed numerous heavy landings from jumps, which have, at times, resulted in serious injuries. This new innovation aims to address such risks moving forward.
The seat attenuator technology reduces the impact of uneven terrain by absorbing shocks as the vehicle bounces on its suspension. This helps alleviate pressure on drivers’ spines, which has caused injuries in recent years.
“There have been a number of accidents in rally raids where the cars land very heavily and that has created a number of back injuries, particularly for co-drivers but main drivers as well,” said Philip Dunabin, Prodrive’s technical director and a key partner for Dacia, as quoted by Motorsport.
“So Prodrive has worked on a system to add what is called a seat attenuator, so when the impact goes over a certain G level, the seat will then move and there is like a shock absorber system, so the seat is not completely rigidly fixed,” he explained.
“In normal duty, the seat doesn’t move at all but, when there is a really big impact, the seat can move downwards and it absorbs the impact.”
At this stage, Prodrive has no plans to make the innovation widely available, although it could be an option in the future.
“This is a development that Prodrive has worked on for this project so, for the moment, these are the only cars running this system,” Dunabin said.
From 2027 onwards, the seat attenuator is expected to become mandatory for all vehicles competing in the Dakar Rally.
This year marks Dacia’s debut in the Dakar Rally, with rally legend Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez Herrero representing the team in the iconic desert race.
The Dakar Rally will take place from 3rd to 17th January. Another rally legend, Carlos Sainz, will also be competing, driving for the first time under M-Sport Ford’s banner.
