23/12/2019
The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised
by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal,
but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, races since 2009 have been
held in South America.[1][2][3] The race is open to amateur and professional entries, amateurs typically making up
about eighty percent of the participants.
The race is an off-road endurance event. The terrain that the competitors traverse is much tougher than that used
in conventional rallying, and the vehicles used are true off-road vehicles rather than modified on-road vehicles.
Most of the competitive special sections are off-road, crossing dunes, mud, camel grass, rocks, and erg among others.
The distances of each stage covered vary from short distances up to 800–900 kilometres (500–560 mi) per day.
The race originated in December 1977, a year after Thierry Sabine got lost in the Ténéré desert whilst competing
in the Abidjan-Nice rally and decided that the desert would be a good location for a regular rally.[4] 182 vehicles
took the start of the inaugural rally in Paris, with 74 surviving the 10,000-kilometre (6,200 mi) trip to the
Senegalese capital of Dakar. Cyril Neveu holds the distinction of being the event's first winner, riding a Yamaha
motorcycle. The event rapidly grew in popularity, with 216 vehicles taking the start in 1980 and 291 in 1981.[5]
Neveu won the event for a second time in 1980, Hubert Auriol taking honours in 1981 for BMW. By this stage, the
rally had already begun to attract the participation of famous names from elsewhere in motorsport, such as Henri
Pescarolo and Jacky Ickx.
Now boasting 382 competitors, more than double the amount that took the start in 1979, Neveu won the event for a
third time in 1982, this time riding a Honda motorcycle, while victory in the car class went to the Marreau brothers,
driving a privately entered Renault 20, whose buccaneering exploits seemed to perfectly capture the spirit of the
early years of the rally. Auriol captured his second bikes class victory in 1983, the first year that Japanese
manufacturer Mitsubishi competed in the rally, beginning an association that would last all the way until 2009.
At the behest of 1983 car class winner Jacky Ickx, Porsche entered the Dakar in 1984, with the total number of
entries now at 427.[5] The German marque won the event at their first attempt courtesy of René 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 and 1985, the year of Mitsubishi's first victory
of 12 in the car category, Patrick Zaniroli taking the spoils. The 1986 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.
