Two Luxembourg brothers to race through desert in Saudi Arabia

Charles and Grégoire Munster will race in the famous Dakar Rally in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, which starts on Saturday.

The two brothers are set to race in rally cars across the 8,000km route in the Great Arabian Desert in the competition that is spread over 13 stages and consists of some 323 competitors. The race takes around two weeks to complete.

Charles Munster competed in the Safari Rally in Kenya in 2024 © Photo credit: AFP

The brothers will compete separately in two different rally cars. Charles will compete in a racing class for smaller buggys and will be joined by Xavier Panseri who will navigate the 24-year-old. Grégoire on the other hand, will be taking the role of navigator or co-driver, alongside driver Jourdan Serderidis in a Ford Raptor.

Charles, who used to race on-road, entered his first off-road race in 2024.

“I’ve always enjoyed riding enduro motorbikes, and exploring unknown terrain appealed to me straight away,” he told the Luxemburger Wort.

He secured a place at Saturday’s Dakar Rally after riding well in off-road races in Portugal and Morocco, but is still entering the race hesitantly.

“These will be very long days that I’m not yet used to,” he said. “As I don’t know exactly what to expect, I’m trying to approach it without any pressure. I want to ride my own race.”

Charles Munster (left) at the Rally Luxembourg 2024 in Hosingen © Photo credit: Alexander Daleiden

His brother Grégoire recently finished in third place when he was co-driver in the East African Safari Classic a month ago. After this he was offered the same role in the Dakar Rally.

“That won’t be an easy task,” he said, explaining that there are many checkpoints to pass and that it is important not to get lost in the desert dunes.

Grégoire Munster. © Photo credit: Getty Images

But the 27-year-old’s schedule does not finish there. If the Saudi race goes well he will be begin preparing for a rally in Monte Carlo straight after.

“It will be quite a challenge to switch directly from the arrival of the Dakar Rally to the Monte-Carlo rally,” he said.

(This story was originally published in the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using AI, edited by Kate Oglesby)