 | |
| Category | Rally raid |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe and Africa (1979–2007) South America (2009–2019) Saudi Arabia & Middle East (2020–present) |
| Inaugural season | 1979 |
| Drivers' champion |  Nasser Al-Attiyah (Cars) Luciano Benavides (Bikes) Vaidotas Žala (Trucks) Pau Navarro (Challenger (T3)) Brock Heger (SSV (T4))Karolis Raišys (Classics)Jordi Juvanteny (Mission 1000) |
| Official website | dakar.com |
 Current season | |
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TheDakar Rally (French:Le Rallye Dakar) or simply "The Dakar" (Le Dakar), formerly known as theParis–Dakar Rally (Le Rallye Paris-Dakar), is an annualrally raid organised by theAmaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is anoff-roadendurance event traversing terrain much tougher than conventionalrallying, and the vehicles used are typically trueoff-road vehicles andmotorcycles, rather than modified on-road vehicles. Most of the competitive special sections are off-road, crossing dunes, mud,camel grass, rocks, anderg. Stages vary from short distances up to 800–900 kilometres (500–560 mi) per day. Driver fatigue, lack of skill, and the rough terrain usually result in accidents and serious injuries.
The event began in 1978 as a rally from Paris,France, toDakar,Senegal. Between 1992 and 2007 some editions did not start in Paris or did not arrive in Dakar, but the rally kept its name. Security threats inMauritania led to the cancellation of the2008 rally, and from 2009 to 2019 the rally was held inSouth America.[1][2][3] Since 2020, the rally has been held inSaudi Arabia. The rally is open to amateurs and professionals, with professionals typically making up about eighty percent of participants.
The Mediterranean Rally (also known asAlgiers-Cape Town Rally) was a trans-Africa rally run in 5 editions between 1951 and 1961.[4] It evolved from the original mixed road and off-road rally to a fully off-road endurance event, during the pioneer years of trans-Africa rallies.
The race originated in December 1977, a year afterThierry Sabine got lost in theTénéré desert whilst competing in the 1975 "Rallye Côte-Côte" between Abidjan and Nice[5] and decided that the desert would be a good location for a regular rally, on the lines of the1974 London–Sahara–Munich World Cup Rally, the first automobile race to cross theSahara Desert twice.[6][7]
In 1971, ex-Cream drummerGinger Baker used the unprovenRange Rover to drive fromAlgeria toLagos, Nigeria to set up a recording studio and jam withFela Kuti. Predating the Paris-Dakar Rally the subsequent documentary is replete with such terrain, and documents the vehicle's endurance.[8]
182 vehicles took the start of theinaugural rally in Paris, with 74 surviving the 10,000-kilometre (6,200 mi) trip to theSenegalese capital ofDakar.Cyril Neveu was the event's first winner, riding aYamaha motorcycle. The event rapidly grew in popularity, with 216 vehicles taking the start in1980 and 291 in1981.[9] Theprivateer spirit of early racers tackling the event with limited resources encouraged such entrants as Thierry de Montcorgé in a Rolls-Royce andFormula 1 driverJacky Ickx with actorClaude Brasseur in aCitroën CX, in the 1981 race won by two-time winnerHubert Auriol.[6]
In1982, there were 382 racers, more than double the number that took the start in 1979. Neveu won the event for a third time, this time riding aHonda motorcycle, while victory in the car class went to the Marreau brothers, driving a privately enteredRenault 20. Auriol captured his second bikes class victory in 1983, the first year that Japanese manufacturerMitsubishi competed in the rally, beginning an association that would last until 2009.
At the behest of 1983 car class winner Jacky Ickx,Porsche entered the Dakar in1984, with the total number of entries now at 427.[9] The German marque won the event at their first attempt courtesy ofRené Metge, who had previously won in the car category in 1981, whilst Ickx finished sixth.Gaston Rahier meanwhile continued BMW's success in the motorcycle category with back-to-back wins in 1984 and1985, the year of Mitsubishi's first victory of 12 in the car category,Patrick Zaniroli [fr] taking the spoils. The1986 event, won by Metge and Neveu, was marred by the death of event founder Sabine in a helicopter crash, his father Gilbert taking over organisation of the rally.
The1987 rally marked the start of an era of increased official factory participation in the car category, as French manufacturerPeugeot arrived and won the event with formerWorld Rally championAri Vatanen. The 1987 event was also notable for a ferocious head-to-head duel between Neveu and Auriol in the motorcycle category, the former taking his fifth victory after Auriol was forced to drop out of the rally after breaking both ankles in a fall.[9] The1988 event reached its zenith in terms of entry numbers, with 603 starters. Vatanen's title defence was derailed when his Peugeot was stolen from the service area atBamako. Though it was later found, Vatanen was subsequently disqualified from the event, victory instead going to compatriot and teammateJuha Kankkunen.[9]
Peugeot and Vatanen returned to winning ways in1989 and1990, the latter marking Peugeot's final year of rally competition before switching to theWorld Sportscar Championship. Sister brandCitroën took Peugeot's place, Vatanen taking a third consecutive victory in1991. The 1991 event also sawStéphane Peterhansel take his first title in the motorcycle category with Yamaha, marking the beginning of an era of domination by the Frenchman.
For the1992 event, the finish line moved toCape Town, South Africa in a bid to combat a declining number of competitors, whereGPS technology was used for the first time.[9] Auriol became the first person to win in multiple classes after taking Mitsubishi's second victory in the car class, while Peterhansel successfully defended his motorcycle category title. The1993 rally entry list slumped to 153 competitors, around half of the preceding year's figure and around a quarter of that of 1988. The event was the last to be organised by Gilbert Sabine and theAmaury Sport Organisation took over the following year. With the finish line now back in its traditional location of Dakar,Bruno Saby won a third title for Mitsubishi and Peterhansel took a third straight success in the motorcycle category.
The1994 event returned to Paris after reaching Dakar, resulting in a particularly grueling event.Pierre Lartigue took Citroën's second win in acrimonious circumstances, as Mitsubishi's leading drivers were forced to withdraw from exhaustion after traversing some particularly demanding sand dunes in the Mauritanian desert that the Citroën crews had opted to skip.[10] Peterhansel's did not compete due to a disagreement between Yamaha and the race organizers over the regulations.Edi Orioli claimed a third title in the bikes category.[9] The1995 and1996 events begin in the Spanish city ofGranada, with Lartigue racking up wins for Citroën in both years. Peterhansel returned to take a fourth bikes category win in 1995, but lost to Orioli in 1996 because of refuelling problems.[9]
The1997 rally ran exclusively in Africa for the first time, with the route running from Dakar toAgadez,Niger and back to Dakar. Citroën's withdrawal due to a rule change paved the way for Mitsubishi to take a fourth victory. Japan'sKenjiro Shinozuka became the first non-European to win the event. Peterhansel equalled Neveu's record of five motorcycle category wins in 1997, before going one better in1998, when the event returned to its traditional Paris-Dakar route. 1998, Dakar veteranJean-Pierre Fontenay [fr] posted another win for Mitsubishi in the car class.
1999 started in Granada and was a maiden success for formerFormula One and sports car driverJean-Louis Schlesser, who had been constructing his own buggies since 1992. With the help ofRenault backing, Schlesser overcame the works Mitsubishi andNissan crews to win, whilst Peterhansel's decision to switch to the car category allowedRichard Sainct to take BMW's first title in the bikes category since 1985. Schlesser and Sainct both successfully defended their titles in2000, traversing the route from Dakar to theEgyptian capital ofCairo.
2001 was the final time that the rally used the familiar Paris-Dakar route, and was notable for Mitsubishi'sJutta Kleinschmidt, as she was the first woman to win the rally – albeit only after Schlesser was penalised one hour for unsportsmanlike conduct.[11]Fabrizio Meoni took the first Dakar win for Austrian manufacturerKTM, beginning a winning streak that lasted through 2019. The2002 began in the French town ofArras and long-time Dakar participantHiroshi Masuoka won the event for Mitsubishi (Masouka had led for much of the previous year's rally.) The2003 rally featured an unorthodox route fromMarseille toSharm El Sheikh. Masuoka defend his title after teammate and long-time leader Peterhansel was plagued by mechanical problems in the penultimate stage.[12] Sainct meanwhile took honours in the motorcycle category, the third title for both him and KTM.
By2004, the entry list had increased to 595, up from 358 in 2001, with a record 688 competitors starting in2005.[9] Alongside Mitsubishi and Nissan,Volkswagen now boasted a full factory effort, while Schlesser'sFord-powered buggies andBMWs of the GermanX-raid team proved thorns in the side of the big budget works teams. The 2004 route was fromClermont-Ferrand to Dakar, and was the year Peterhansel emulated Hubert Auriol's feat of winning the rally on both two wheels and four. The Frenchman defended his title in 2005, when the rally began for the first time inBarcelona. In the bikes category, KTM continued their success withNani Roma in 2004, who switched to the car category the following year, andCyril Despres in 2005.
The2006 event moved toLisbon. Nissan pulled out having failed to provide effective opposition to Mitsubishi, who took a sixth consecutive victory, this time with former skiing championLuc Alphand after Peterhansel committed a series of errors late in the rally.[13] Peterhansel made amends in2007, however, taking his third title in the car category for Mitsubishi after a close contest with Alphand after the increasingly competitive Volkswagens retired with mechanical problems. In what would be the final African event of the Dakar, Despres took his second title in the bikes category, having conceded victory in 2006 toMarc Coma after suffering an injury.
The2008 event, due to start in Lisbon, was cancelled on 4 January 2008 amid fears of attacks in Mauritania following the2007 killing of four French tourists.[14] Chile and Argentina offered to host subsequent events,[15][16] which were later accepted by the ASO for the2009 event.[17]
Later in the year the ASO created a new event, the2008 Central Europe Rally, to fill the void created by the cancellation of 2008 edition of the Dakar.[14] The ASO legally deferred all entries for 2008 Dakar to this event which served as the legal 2008 edition of the Dakar inHungary andRomania. It was intended to be part of a series known as theDakar Series.[18][19]
The2009 event, the first held in South America with a respectable 501 competitors, saw Volkswagen take its first win in the Dakar as a works entrant courtesy ofGiniel de Villiers. Initially, teammate and former WRC championCarlos Sainz led the race comfortably until crashing out,[20] but went on to win the event in2010. After a poor showing in 2009, Mitsubishi withdrew from the competition and left Volkswagen as the sole works entrant. The German marque won the race for a third time in2011, this time withNasser Al-Attiyah, before they withdrew to focus on their upcoming WRC entry and leaving the Dakar with no factory participants in the car class. In the bikes, Despres and Coma stretched KTM's incredible unbroken run of success. Both tied on three victories apiece after Coma's third win in 2011.
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In the2012 rally, theX-raid team came to the fore, now usingMinis in lieu of BMWs. Peterhansel had joined the team in 2010 after Mitsubishi's departure, but had been unable to challenge the Volkswagen drivers. Following Volkswagen's withdrawal, Peterhansel was able to secure his fourth win in the car category and his tenth in total, his main opposition coming from within his own team. Peterhansel successfully defended his title in2013 as the Damen Jefferies buggies of Sainz and Al-Attiyah failed to last the distance. Despres also racked up a further two wins for KTM in the bikes class in 2012 and 2013, bringing his tally to five, aided by Coma's absence due to injury in the latter year. Coma struck back on his return to the Dakar in2014, taking a comfortable fourth title and a 13th in succession for KTM, whilstNani Roma emulated Auriol and Peterhansel by taking his maiden title in the cars class a decade on from his victory on two wheels – albeit only after team orders by X-raid slowed Peterhansel.[21]
Peugeot returned for the2015 event with an all-new, diesel-powered, two-wheel drive contender, but failed to make an impact as X-raid's Minis once more dominated. Al-Attiyah won the event in his second year for the team, while Coma racked up a fifth title in the bikes after the defection of long-time rival Despres to the car class and Peugeot. Peugeot did however see success in2016 with Peterhansel behind the wheel, racking up his 6th win in the car category, and again in 2017 and 2018 until Peugeot decide to officially leave the competition. In2019, which was the first Dakar Rally to be held in just one country (Peru),Toyota won for the first time withNasser Al-Attiyah (in his third victory with three different manufacturers). The bike category saw the KTM works team rider, Australian Toby Price, take his first Dakar victory, winning his second title in 2019.Sam Sunderland andMatthias Walkner won the 2017 and 2018 edition also for the team from Mattighofen (18 overall victories as in 2019).
Following the ASO's increasingly deteriorating relationships with South American governments, which culminated in the controversial 2019 disqualification of Bolivian quad rider Juan Carlos Salvatierra,[22] the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2020.
Further editions were planned to also feature other Middle Eastern countries starting from 2021, as the contract with the country was only exclusive for the first year. However, the effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic prevented such an expansion from happening.[23]
The five competitive groups in the Dakar are themotorcycles,quads, thecars class (which ranges frombuggies to smallSUVs),UTVs, and thetrucks class. Many vehicle manufacturers use the rally's harsh environment as both a testing ground and an opportunity to show off their vehicles' durability even though most vehicles are heavily modified from their production specification or purpose-built.
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For the 2005 rally regulations introduced a limit of 450cc for twin cylinder motorbikes. Single cylinder motorbikes were still open class with no capacity limit.[24]
As of 2011, the engine displacement limit for all motorbikes competing in the Dakar Rally is 450cc. Engines may be either single or twin cylinder. Riders are divided into two groups, RallyGP and Rally2.[25]
A subcategory is the "Original byMotul" category (formerly named "Malle Moto" due to the only piece of luggage competitors were allowed to take with them was a "malle", the French term for asteamer trunk), which refers to motorbikes and quads competing without any kind of assistance. The organization provides assistance for this category with 4 people dedicated to the transportation of the competitors' gear betweenbivouac sites plus any additional equipment or belongings. This includes: 1 trunk, 1 set of wheels, 1 sleeping tent, 1 travel bag, 1 set of tyres, free use of the generators, compressors and tool-boxes, and easy access to race information.[26] Since these competitors are not allowed to receive any outside support, each rider must service their own vehicle. It is often called the category for the toughest of the tough, and one for the Dakar purists.[27]
KTM has dominated the motorcycle class in recent years, althoughHonda,Yamaha,Sherco, Hero,Husqvarna, andGas Gas also compete currently.BMW andCagiva have also enjoyed success in the past.
Prior to 2009, Quads were a subdivision of the motorbike category, but they were granted their own separate classification in 2009 and are designated Group 3 in the current regulations. They are divided into two subgroups – Group 3.1, which features two-wheel drive quads with a single cylinder engine with a maximum displacement of 750cc, and Group 3.2, which permits four-wheel drive quads with a maximum engine displacement of 900cc, in either single or twin cylinder layout.[25]
Yamaha went unbeaten in the Quad category as an official class, with their main opposition coming courtesy of Honda andCan-Am.
Quads were dropped from the Dakar in 2025 due to declining manufacturer support.[28]
The car class is made up of vehicles weighing less than 3,500 kg (7,716 lb), which are subdivided into several categories. T1 is made up of "Improved Cross-Country Vehicles", subdivided according to engine type (petrol or diesel) and drive type (two-wheel or four-wheel drive), while T2 is made up of "Cross-Country Series Production Vehicles", which are subdivided into petrol and diesel categories. There is also an "Open" category catering for vehicles conforming toSCORE International regulations.[29]
Mini have been the most successful marque in the car category in recent years, thanks to the efforts of the non-factoryX-raid team, with limited involvement currently coming fromToyota,Ford andHaval. Several constructors also produce bespoke buggies for the event, most notably SMG and Damen Jefferies.
Mitsubishi is historically the most successful manufacturer in the car class, withVolkswagen,Citroën,Peugeot andPorsche having all tasted success in the past with factory teams.Jean-Louis Schlesser has also won the event twice with hisRenault-supported buggies. Factory teams fromNissan andSEAT have also won stages, as hasBMW, courtesy of theX-raid team.
The Truck class, first run as a separate category in 1980, is made up of vehicles weighing more than 3,500 kg (7,716 lb). Trucks participating in the competition are subdivided into "Series Production" trucks (T4.1) and "Modified" trucks (T4.2), whilst Group T4.3 (formerly known as T5) trucks arerally support trucks – meaning they travel from bivouac to bivouac to support the competition vehicles.[29] These were introduced to the rally in 1998. The truck event was not run in 1989 after it was decided the vehicles, by this stage with twin engines generating in excess of 1000 horsepower, were too dangerous following the death of aDAF crew member in an accident during the 1988 rally.[9]
Kamaz has dominated the truck category since the turn of the century, although it has come under increasing pressure from rivals such asIveco,MAN,Renault, andTatra, which enjoyed much success in the 1990s.Hino,DAF,Perlini, andMercedes-Benz have also been among the winners in the past.
Theutility task vehicle (UTV) category was introduced in 2017. Before this, UTVs ran under the car category as the T3 class. The class rapidly gained in popularity, and in 2021 the class was further subdivided into separate T3 light prototypes category, and T4 SSVs, which are based on production vehicles.[30]
A new Dakar Classic class was introduced in 2021 for cars and trucks manufactured before 2000, or new vehicles built to original pre-2000 specification. For the fifth edition in 2025, rules allowed another five years where 2005 became the latest specification year for the class, effectively making the rule 20 years for classification as classics.[31]
These vehicles share the same bivouac and the organization but run in a parallel, yet different route, suitable for historic vehicles. The scoreboard is not based on fastest time, but rather onregularity rally point scoring system. The class feature a reduced entry fee, yet the same rules and fees apply for the assistance.[32]
Source:[33]
| Year | Route | Classics | Mission 1000 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver Co-driver | Make & model | Driver Co-driver | Make & model | ||
| 2026 | Yanbu–Yanbu | Karolis Raišys Christophe Marques | Land Rover Series III 109 | Jordi Juvanteny José Luis Criado Xavier Ribas | MAN TGA |
| 2025 | Bisha–Shubaytah | Carlos Santaolalla Jan Rosa i Viñas | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Jordi Juvanteny José Luis Criado Xavier Ribas | MAN TGA 26.480 |
| 2024 | Al-'Ula–Yanbu | Carlos Santaolalla Jan Rosa i Viñas | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Jordi Juvanteny José Luis Criado Xavier Ribas | MAN TGA 26.480 |
| 2023 | nearYanbu–Dammam | Juan MoreraLidia Ruba | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Not held | |
| 2022 | Ḥaʼil–Jeddah | Serge MognoFlorent Drulhon | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | ||
| 2021 | Jeddah–Ḥaʼil | Marc DoutonEmilien Etienne | Sunhill Buggy | ||
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | Truck | Crew | Truck | Crew | Truck | |
| 1980 |  Miloud Ataouat Hadj Daou Boukrif Mahiedine Kaloua | Sonacome | Bernard Heu Daniel Delobel Gilbert Versino | MAN | Mokran Bouzid Daid Mekhelef | Sonacome |
| 1981 | Adrien Villette Henri Gabrelle Alain Voillereau | ALM-ACMAT | Jacques Briy Jean Salou Gustave Peu | Ford | Georges Groine Thierry de Saulieu Bernard Malferiol | Mercedes-Benz |
| 1982 | Georges Groine Thierry de Saulieu Bernard Malferiol | Mercedes-Benz | Pierre Laleu Bernard Langlois | Mercedes-Benz |  Jan de Rooy Gérard Straetmans | DAF |
| 1983 | Georges Groine Thierry de Saulieu Bernard Malferiol | Mercedes-Benz |  Hasse Henriksson Sture Bernhardsson John Granäng | Volvo C303 | Jan de Rooy Joop Roggeband Yvo Geusens | DAF |
| 1984 | Pierre Laleu Daniel Durce Patrick Venturini | Mercedes-Benz |  Paolo Bonera Valerio Grassi Paolo Travaglia | Mercedes-Benz | Henri Gabrelle Alain Voillereau Adolf Dirl | MAN |
| 1985 | Karl Friedrich CapitoJost Capito Klaus Schweikarl | Mercedes-Benz | Jan de Rooy Thierry de Saulieu Martinus Ketelaars | DAF | Karl Wilhelm Strohmann Volker Capito Heinz Schnepf | Mercedes-Benz |
| 1986 | Giacomo Vismara Giulio Minelli | Mercedes-Benz | Hans Heyer Aldo Winkler | MAN | Salvador Cañellas Domenech Ferran | Pegaso |
| 1987 | Jan de Rooy Yvo Geusens Theo van de Rijt | DAF |  Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Jaroslav Krpec | Tatra | Jiří Moskal Jaroslav Joklík Pavel Záleský | LIAZ |
| 1988 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Tomáš Mück | Tatra | Jiří Moskal František Vojtíšek Pavel Záleský | LIAZ | Lutz Bernau Egmont Bartmann Andreas Kluge | Tatra |
| 1989 | Category not held | |||||
| 1990 | Giorgio Villa Giorgio Delfino Claudio Vinante | Perlini | Jacques Houssat Thierry De Saulieu Danilo Bottaro | Perlini | Zdeněk Kahánek Jaroslav Krpec Jiří Havlík | Tatra |
| 1991 | Jacques Houssat Thierry de Saulieu Danilo Bottaro | Perlini |  Vladimir Goltsov Firdaus Kabirov Valery Koblukov | Kamaz |  Joel Tammeka Juhan Anupõld Enno Piirsalu | Kamaz |
| 1992 | Francesco Perlini Giorgio Albiero Claudio Vinante | Perlini | Jacques Houssat Thierry de Saulieu Danilo Bottaro | Perlini | Karel Loprais Josef Kalina Radomír Stachura | Tatra |
| 1993 | Francesco Perlini Giorgio Albiero Claudio Vinante | Perlini | Jacques Houssat Patrick Sarliève Livio Diamante | Perlini | Gilbert Versino Raphaël Gimbre Christian Versino | Mercedes-Benz |
| 1994 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Josef Kalina | Tatra |  Yoshimasa Sugawara Hideki Shibata | Hino | Jacques Marvy M. Pons J.P. Dujon | Perlini |
| 1995 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Josef Kalina | Tatra | Yoshimasa Sugawara Hideki Shibata | Hino | Vlastimil Buchtyár Milan Kořený Jaroslav Krpec | Tatra |
| 1996 | Viktor Moskovskikh Anatoly Kuzmin Nail Bagavetdinov | Kamaz | Karel Loprais Tomáš Tomeček Radomír Stachura | Tatra | Ladislav Fajtl Jiří JanoušekFrantišek Wurst | Tatra |
| 1997 |  Peter Reif Johann Deinhofer Roth | Hino | Yoshimasa Sugawara Naoko Matsumoto Katsumi Hamura | Hino | Joseph Petit Jean-Christophe Wagner Takeshi Hashimoto | Hino |
| 1998 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Jan Čermák | Tatra | Yoshimasa Sugawara Naoko Matsumoto Takashi Ushioda | Hino | Milan Kořený Jaroslav Lamač Martin Kahánek | Tatra |
| 1999 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Josef Kalina | Tatra | Viktor MoskovskikhVladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov | Kamaz |  André de Azevedo Tomáš TomečekLeilane Neubarth | Tatra |
| 2000 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Petr Gilar | Tatra | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Vladimir Goloub | Kamaz |
| 2001 | Karel Loprais Josef Kalina Petr Hamerla | Tatra | Yoshimasa Sugawara Seiichi Suzuki Teruhito Sugawara | Hino | Peter Reif Gunther Pichlbauer Holger Hermann Roth | MAN |
| 2002 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | Karel Loprais Josef Kalina Petr Hamerla | Tatra | Yoshimasa Sugawara Naoko Matsumoto Seiichi Suzuki | Hino |
| 2003 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | André de Azevedo Tomáš Tomeček Jaromír Martinec | Tatra | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Ilgizar Mardeev | Kamaz |
| 2004 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Dzhamil Kamalov | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Arno Slaats | DAF |
| 2005 | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz | Yoshimasa Sugawara Katsumi Hamura | Hino | Giacomo Vismara Mario Cambiaghi Claudio Bellina | Mercedes-Benz |
| 2006 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | Hans Stacey Charly Gotlib Bernard der Kinderen | MAN | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz |
| 2007 | Hans Stacey Charly Gotlib Bernard der Kinderen | MAN | Ilgizar Mardeev Aydar BelyaevEduard Nikolaev | Kamaz | Aleš Loprais Petr Gilar | Tatra |
| 2008 | Cancelled[18] | |||||
| 2009 | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz | Vladimir Chagin Sergey SavostinEduard Nikolaev | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Marcel van Melis | GINAF |
| 2010 | Vladimir Chagin Sergey SavostinEduard Nikolaev | Kamaz | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz | Marcel van Vliet Herman Vaanholt Gerard van Veenendaal | GINAF |
| 2011 | Vladimir Chagin Sergey Savostin Ildar Shaysultanov | Kamaz | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz | Eduard Nikolaev Viatcheslav Mizyukaev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz |
| 2012 | Gerard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Dariusz Rodewald | Iveco | Hans Stacey Hans van Goor Bernard der Kinderen | Iveco |  Artur Ardavichus Alexey Kuzmich Nurlan Turlubaev | Kamaz |
| 2013 | Eduard Nikolaev Sergey Savostin Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Anton Mirniy | Kamaz | Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin | Kamaz |
| 2014 | Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald | Iveco | Eduard Nikolaev Sergey Savostin Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz |
| 2015 | Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dmitriy Svistunov | Kamaz | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Leonov | Kamaz |
| 2016 | Gerard de Rooy Moisès Torrallardona Darek Rodewald | Iveco | Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dmitriy Svistunov | Kamaz | Federico Villagra Jorge Pérez Companc Andrés Memi | Iveco |
| 2017 | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Akhmadeev Igor Leonov | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Moisès Torrallardona Darek Rodewald | Iveco |
| 2018 | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz |  Siarhei Viazovich Pavel Haranin Andrei Zhyhulin | MAZ | Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dmitriy Svistunov | Kamaz |
| 2019 | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Dmitry Sotnikov Dmitry Nikitin Ilnur Mustafin | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Moisès Torrallardona Darek Rodewald | Iveco |
| 2020 | Andrey KarginovAndrey MokeevIgor Leonov | Kamaz | Anton Shibalov Dmitry Nikitin Ivan Tatarinov | Kamaz | Siarhei Viazovich Pavel Haranin Anton Zaparoshchanka | MAZ |
| 2021 | Dmitry SotnikovRuslan AkhamadeevIlgiz Akhmetzianov | Kamaz | Anton Shibalov Dmitri Nikitin Ivan Tatarinov | Kamaz | Airat Mardeev Dmitry Svistunov Akhmet Galiautdinov | Kamaz |
| 2022 |  Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Akhamadeev Ilgiz Akhmetzianov | Kamaz | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Anton Shibalov Dmitri Nikitin Ivan Tatarinov | Kamaz |
| 2023 | Janus van KasterenDarek RodewaldMarcel Snijders | Iveco | Martin MacíkFrantišek TomášekDavid Švanda | Iveco | Martin van den BrinkErik KofmanRijk Mouw | Iveco |
| 2024 | Martin MacíkFrantišek TomášekDavid Švanda | Iveco | Aleš Loprais Jaroslav Valtr Jr Jiří Stross | Praga | Mitchel van den Brink Jarno van de Pol Moises Torrallardona | Iveco |
| 2025 | Martin MacíkFrantišek TomášekDavid Švanda | Iveco | Mitchel van den Brink Moises Torrallardona Jarno van de Pol | Iveco | Aleš Loprais David Kripal Darek Rodewald | Iveco |
| 2026 | Vaidotas Žala Paulo FiuzaMax Van Grol | Iveco | Aleš Loprais David Kripal Jiri Stross | Iveco | Mitchel van den Brink Bart Van Heun Jarno van de Pol | Iveco |
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | Make | Crew | Make | Crew | Make | |
| 2021 | Josef MacháčekPavel Vyoral | Can-Am | Camelia LiparotiAnnett Fischer | Yamaha | Philippe PinchedezVincent Ferri | Pinch Racing |
| 2022 |  Francisco Lopez ContardoJuan Pablo Latrach Vinagre | Can-Am | Sebastian Eriksson Wouter Rosegaar | Can-Am | Cristina Gutiérrez Francois Cazalet | OT3 |
| 2023 | Austin JonesGustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am | Seth QuinteroDennis Zenz | Can-Am | Guillaume De MéviusFrançois Cazalet | OT3 |
| 2024 | Cristina Gutiérrez Pablo Moreno Huete | Taurus | Mitch Guthrie Kellon Walch | Taurus | Rokas Baciuška Oriol Vidal Montijano | Can-Am |
| 2025 | Nicolás Cavigliasso Valentina Pertegarini | Taurus | Gonçalo Guerreiro Cadu Sachs | Taurus | Pau Navarro Lisandro Sisterna | Taurus |
| 2026 | Pau Navarro Jan Rosa | Taurus |  Yasir Seaidan Xavier Flick | Can-Am | Nicolás Cavigliasso Valentina Pertegarini | Taurus |
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | Car | Crew | Car | Crew | Car | |
| 2026 | Rokas Baciuška | Defender Dakar D7X-R | Sara Price | Defender Dakar D7X-R | Ronald Basso | Toyota Land Cruiser GR Sport |
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | Make | Crew | Make | Crew | Make | |
| 2021 | Marc DoutonEmilien Etienne | Sunhill Buggy | Juan DonatiuPere Serrat Puig | Mitsubishi Montero | Lilian HarichouryLuc FertinLaurent Correia | Renault Trucks |
| 2022 | Serge Mogno Florent Drulhon | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Arnaud Euvrard Adeline Euvrard | Mercedes ML | Jesus Fuster PliegoJuan Carlos Ramirez Moure | Mercedes G-320 |
| 2023 | Juan MoreraLidia Ruba | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Carlos SantaolallaAran Sol I Juanola | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Paolo BedeschiDaniele Bottallo | Toyota Land Cruiser BJ71 |
| 2024 | Carlos SantaolallaAran Sol I Juanola | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Lorenzo Traglio Rudy Briani | Nissan Pathfinder | Paolo BedeschiDaniele Bottallo | Toyota Land Cruiser BJ71 |
| 2025 | Carlos SantaolallaAran Sol I Juanola | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Lorenzo Traglio Rudy Briani | Nissan Terrano Pick-Up | Karolis Raisys Ignas Daunoravicius | Land-Rover Series III |
| 2026 | Karolis Raisys Christophe Marques | Land-Rover Series III | Ondrej Klymciw Josef Broz | Mitsubishi Pajero | Josef Unterholzner Franco Gaioni | Mitsubishi Pajero |
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | Make | Crew | Make | Crew | Make | |
| 2024 | Jordi Juvanteny José Luis Criado Xavier Ribas | MAN | Jean-Michel Paulhe Gauthier Gibert | Can-Am |  Wenmin Su | Arctic Leopard |
| 2025 | Jordi Juvanteny José Luis Criado Xavier Ribas | MAN | Yoshio Ikemachi Paulo Marques | HySE | Benjamin Pascual | Segway |
| 2026 | Jordi Juvanteny José Luis Criado Xavier Ribas | MAN | Fran Gómez Pallas | Arctic Leopard | Benjamin Pascual | Segway |
The rally is broadcast on television in more than 190 countries. A live feed of the event and a roundup of each day's race progress is made into a 26-minute programme.[34] This has been commentated on byToby Moody for ten years, and more recently byNeil Cole.[35] Since 2024 the world feed has been commentated on by Andrew Smith, Jeremy Klayman, Jack Nicholls and Hannah Walker.
The rally organizers and their television crews provide 20 edit stations along the route for various countries to produce their own programmes about the rally. There are four TV helicopters, six stage cameras, and three bivouac crews to make over 1,000 hours of TV over the two-week period.[citation needed]
A 2006 television documentaryRace to Dakar described the experiences of a team, including the English actorCharley Boorman, in preparation for and entry into the 2006 Dakar Rally.[36]
| Release date | Title | Genre | Platform | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Paris-Dakar Rally Special | Rally | Famicom | ISCO | CBS/Sony Group |
| 1997 | Dakar '97 | Rally | PlayStation (console) | Elcom Co., Ltd. | Virgin Interactive Entertainment (Japan), Inc. |
| 2001 | Paris-Dakar Rally | Rally | Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 2 | Broadsword Interactive | Acclaim Entertainment |
| 2003 | Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally | Rally | PlayStation 2,Xbox,GameCube | Acclaim Studios Cheltenham | Acclaim Entertainment |
| 2018 | Dakar 18 | Rally | Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 4,Xbox One | Bigmoon Entertainment | Deep Silver |
| 2022 | Dakar Desert Rally[39] | Rally | Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Xbox One,Xbox Series X/S | Saber Interactive | Saber Interactive |
In 1982,Mark Thatcher, son of the thenBritish Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher, along with his French co-driverAnny-Charlotte Verney and their mechanic, disappeared for six days. On 9 January, the trio became separated from a convoy of vehicles after they stopped to make repairs to a faultysteering arm. They were declared missing on 12 January. After a large-scale search was instigated, anAlgerian militaryLockheed L-100 (a version of theC-130 Hercules) search plane spotted their whitePeugeot 504 some 50 kilometres (31 mi) off course. Thatcher, Verney, and the mechanic were all unharmed.
The organiser of the rally,Thierry Sabine, was killed when hisEcureuil helicopter ("Squirrel-copter") crashed at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 14 January 1986, into a dune at Mali during a sudden sand-storm. Also killed onboard was the singer-songwriterDaniel Balavoine, helicopter pilot François-Xavier Bagnoud, journalist Nathalie Odent, and Jean-Paul Lefur who was a radiophonic engineer for French radio broadcasterRTL (formerly Radio Luxembourg).[40]
Six people were killed during the 1988 race, three participants and three local residents. In one incident, Baye Sibi, a 10-year-old Malian girl, was killed by a racer while she crossed a road. A film crew's vehicle killed a mother and daughter inMauritania on the last day of the race. The race participants killed, in three separate crashes, were a Dutch navigator on theDAF Trucks team, a Frenchprivateer, and a Frenchrider. Racers were also blamed for starting awildfire that caused a panic on a train running between Dakar andBamako, where three more people were killed.[41]
In 2003, French driver Daniel Nebot both rolled and crashed his Toyota heavily at high speed killing his co-driver Bruno Cauvy.[42][43]
In 2005, Spanish motorcyclistJosé Manuel Pérez died in a Spanish hospital on Monday 10 January after crashing the week before on the 7th stage. Italian motorcyclistFabrizio Meoni, a two-time winner of the event, became the second Dakar Rally rider to die in two days, following Pérez on 11 January on stage 11. Meoni was the 11th motorcyclist and the 45th person overall to die in the history of the race. On 13 January a five-year-oldSenegalese girl was hit and killed by aservice lorry after wandering onto a main road, bringing the total deaths to five.
In 2006, 41-year-old AustralianKTM motorcyclistAndy Caldecott, in his third time in the Dakar, died on 9 January as a result of neck injuries sustained in a crash approximately 250 kilometres (160 mi) into stage 9, betweenNouakchott andKiffa, only a few kilometers (miles) from the location where Meoni had his fatal wreck the year before. He won the third stage of the 2006 event betweenNador andEr Rachidia only a few days before his death. The death occurred despite efforts by the event organisers to improve competitor safety, including limiting speed, mandatory rest at fuel stops, and reduced fuel tank capacity for the bike classes. On 13 January a 10-year-old boy died while crossing the course after being hit by a car driven by LatvianMāris Saukāns, while on 14 January a 12-year-old boy was killed after being hit by a support lorry.[44]
In 2007, 29-year-old South African motor racerElmer Symons died of injuries sustained in a crash during the fourth stage of the Rally. Symons crashed with his bike in the desert betweenEr Rachidia andOuarzazate, Morocco.[45] Another death occurred on 20 January, the night before the race's finish, when 42-year-old motorcyclistEric Aubijoux died suddenly. The cause of death was initially believed to be a heart attack,[46] but it was later suggested that Aubijoux had died of internal injuries sustained in a crash earlier that day while competing in the 14th stage of the race.
The2008 Dakar Rally was cancelled due to security concerns afteral-Qaeda's murder of four French tourists on Christmas Eve in December 2007 in Mauritania (a country in which the rally spent eight days), various accusations against the rally calling it "neo-colonialist", and al-Qaeda's accusations against Mauritania calling it a supporter of "crusaders, apostates and infidels". The French-basedAmaury Sport Organisation in charge of the 6,000-kilometre (3,700 mi) rally said in a statement that they had been advised by the French government to cancel the race, which had been due to begin on 5 January 2008 from Lisbon. They said direct threats had also been made against the event by al-Qaeda related organisations.[47][48]
Omar Osama bin Laden, the son ofOsama bin Laden, attracted news coverage in 2008 by promoting himself as an "ambassador of peace" and proposing a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) horse race across North Africa as a replacement to the Dakar Rally, with sponsors' money going to support child victims of war, saying"I heard the rally was stopped because of al-Qaida. I don't think they are going to stop me."[49]
On 7 January 2009, the body of 49-year-old motorcyclistPascal Terry [es] from France was found. He had been missing for three days and his body lay on a remote part of the second stage between Santa Rosa de la Pampa and Puerto Madryn.
On 4 January 2010, a woman watching the Dakar Rally was killed when a vehicle taking part in the race veered off the course and hit her during the opening stage.
On 1 January 2012, motorcyclistJorge Andrés Martínez Boero of Argentina died after suffering a cardiac arrest after a fall. He was treated by medical staff within five minutes of the accident, but died on the way to hospital.
On 7 January 2015, motorcycle rider Michal Hernik died in unknown circumstances during Stage 3 of the 2015 rally.[50]
On 12 January 2020, Portuguese motorcycle riderPaulo Gonçalves died after suffering a heart attack due to a crash on the seventh stage.[51]
On 15 January 2021, motorcyclist Pierre Cherpin of France died. The 52-year-old Frenchman fell off his motorcycle on 10 January, and a rescue team in a helicopter found him unconscious in the desert. He was rushed to a hospital in Saudi Arabia where he was treated for his injuries. He sustained serious head injuries and cracked ribs, and one of his lungs also collapsed. Cherpin underwent emergency neurosurgery and was placed in an artificial coma. Doctors were initially optimistic about his recovery path and there were no complications after the surgery. He died during the medical transfer from Jeddah to France.
Overall, 76 people, including 31 competitors, have died in the Dakar Rally.
When the race was held in Africa, it was subject to criticism from several sources, generally focusing on the race's impact on the inhabitants of the African countries through which it passed. Some African residents along the race's course in previous years have said they saw limited benefits from the race; that race participants spent little money on the goods and services local residents can offer. The racers produced substantial amounts of dust along the course, and were blamed for hitting and killing livestock, in addition to occasionally injuring or killing people.[52]
After the 1988 race, when three Africans were killed in collisions with vehicles involved in the race,PANA, a Dakar-basednews agency, wrote that the deaths were "insignificant for the [race's] organisers". TheVatican City newspaperL'Osservatore Romano called the race a "vulgar display of power and wealth in places where men continue to die from hunger and thirst."[53] During a 2002 protest at the race's start inArras, France, aGreen Party of France statement described the race as "colonialism that needs to be eradicated".[54]
The rally was criticised before 2000 for crossing through thedisputed territory ofWestern Sahara, which has been occupied byMorocco since 1975, without the approval of thePolisario Front independence movement, which considers itself the representative of the indigenousSahrawi people.[55][56] After the race officials gained formal permission from the Polisario from 2000 onwards this ceased to be an issue.[57]
The environmental impact of the race has been another area of criticism. This criticism of the race is the topic of the song "500 connards sur la ligne de départ" ("500 Arseholes at the Starting Line"), on the 1991 albumMarchand de cailloux by French singerRenaud. In 2014, the Dakar rally was criticized for damage done to archaeological sites in Chile.[58]
The move toSaudi Arabia for the 2020 Dakar Rally was under heavy criticism because of the situation ofhuman rights in Saudi Arabia and the position of women in that country.[59]
Despite the criticism from human rights organizations against the choice of host country for the 2020 season, theDakar Rally was organized in Saudi Arabia for another consecutive year. While it was being denounced as an attempt ofsportswashing by Saudi Arabia, the organizers defended the decision.[60]
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