Some people start the year with a calendar reset and a fresh inbox.
I started 2026 in Saudi Arabia, bouncing across sand tracks under brutal heat, learning to navigate like a rally crew, and watching live tracking become more than a dashboard. It became our lifeline.
This was Wialon Challenge Dakar 2026, an event organized by Wialon for its global partner community. I was there as a participant representing MaliaTec / MaliaTrack, and it turned into one of the most intense and unforgettable experiences I have had in this industry.
What is Wialon Challenge Dakar 2026?
Here is the concept in plain words:
16 participants, split into 4 teams (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue)
Each car had 1 Wialon team member + 3 Wialon partners
5 days of desert missions and scoring
The team with the most points wins
On paper, it looks structured. In reality, it feels like a mix of rally mindset, team strategy, problem-solving, and pure adrenaline.
We arrived in Jeddah on January 2, 2026, and from that moment the pace never slowed down.
Day 1: get the vehicle online or you are already behind
The first mission said everything about telematics: visibility first.
We installed trackers in the vehicles and connected them to Wialon. Hardware came from Teltonika, and connectivity was supported with Onomondo SIM cards. Then Wialon added a twist: the devices were intentionally registered elsewhere, so we had to troubleshoot fast and coordinate with support to get online.
It was stressful, and honestly, it was brilliant.
Because that is what real operations look like. Things do not always go clean. When you are migrating fleets, swapping devices, or moving accounts, the real skill is restoring visibility quickly and correctly.
The Dakar atmosphere: prologue routes and the bivouac experience
After we got the vehicles online, we pushed toward Dakar locations, including the prologue stage area. Then came one of the biggest highlights: the Dakar bivouac.
If you have never been, imagine a massive moving city in the desert that never sleeps. Teams, mechanics, parts, repairs, pressure, noise, and precision. It felt like a giant workshop blended with festival energy.
Wialon designed challenges around the bivouac too: find your way into a racing vehicle, trade souvenirs, speak to teams, do quick interviews, and connect with people you have never met, but instantly feel you have something in common with.
The rubber duck mission that got way too serious
Yes, there were rubber duckies. And yes, the hunt became competitive fast.
One of the bivouac challenges was to find hidden Wialon duckies, and the Green Team went all in. We ended up finding 13 ducks, more than the other teams combined.
It sounds funny, but it tested everything that matters in team execution:
planning under time pressure
splitting roles
staying sharp while tired
communicating without wasting time
This is the kind of “game” you remember because you feel the teamwork clicking in real time.
When the desert reminds you who is in charge
One team hit a puncture so bad the tire was basically shredded. Another team stopped to help. No drama, no ego. Just action.
That moment captured the spirit of the week. Competition was real, but support was real too.
And the funny part is that the puncture became a warm-up. Changing a wheel fast showed up later as an actual scored challenge.
“Desert or dessert”: the Michelin picnic challenge
One of the missions was called Michelin Five Stars, and it was about building the most aesthetic desert picnic using local products plus signature treats from home.
That challenge surprised me. Not because of the food, but because it turned into a display of how diverse the Wialon partner network is. Different countries, different cultures, same energy.
It also reminded me of something practical: performance does not come only from speed. It comes from preparation, logistics, and morale.
The most Dakar-like moment: navigating with an analogue roadbook
If I had to pick one mission that truly felt like Dakar, it was this.
We had to navigate using a real analogue roadbook, similar to what rally navigators use, reading terrain cues and following instructions with no comfort of digital guidance. Checkpoints had to be passed correctly and logged.
This was not easy.
It demanded patience, focus, and discipline. It also forced us to trust each other and stay calm when uncertainty hits. That is a lesson every fleet operation can relate to, even outside the desert.
SVR chase: fun, fast, and very real
The final day delivered one of the most exciting missions: an SVR chase.
One team became the target, another team pursued, tracking the vehicle live in Wialon and scanning the area in real time. It was fast, tactical, and honestly hilarious at moments.
But the reason it matters is simple: it mirrors a real-world use case that Wialon partners deliver every day, stolen vehicle recovery. Live tracking, coordination, decision-making under pressure, and speed of response.
The finish: Green Team won Wialon Challenge Dakar 2026
By the end of the week, Green Team took the win.
Our team was:
Matt Cooper (Australia)
Suhail Sherif (Tanzania)
Paulius Sabaliauskas (Lithuania)
Peter Chalhoub (Lebanon)
I am proud of the win, but more proud of how the week was built. Every day had a clear mission structure, real-time tracking, scoring, and momentum. The challenge design was not random. It was a masterclass in turning a community event into a high-performance experience.
What I took home (and why I am sharing this on MaliaTrack)
This week made something very clear: telematics is not about maps. It is about decisions.
In the desert, you feel that truth instantly:
If connectivity fails, you are blind.
If teamwork breaks, you lose time fast.
If you cannot track and react, you fall behind.
These are the same realities fleets face daily, just with different terrain.
Thank you, Wialon
To the Wialon team: thank you for the opportunity and for the trust.
Thank you for organizing something that goes beyond “partner engagement” and turns into a real shared experience, where people from different continents become a team, then become friends.
I came back to Lebanon with unforgettable memories, new connections, and a deeper respect for what this global community really means.
