Rally Raid
How Dakar really runs: Meet the crew keeping the Dakar Rally on track
Behind every team at the Dakar Rally is a small army of technicians, pilots, coordinators and drivers working 24/7 in extreme conditions. This is the story of the people you never see on screen.
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The Dakar Rally is growing bigger every year with 812 competitors from 69 countries, racing over 325 vehicles a total of 7,999km in two of the toughest weeks of their lives as they traverse the deserts and mountains of Saudi Arabia.
It’s not only the hardest rally in motorsport, it’s also the great adventure. And keeping those competitors on track and safe from harm takes a huge support crew who are all working away behind scenes. Let’s take a trip around the bivouac to look at coolest jobs at the Dakar Rally.
01
Helicopter Camera Operator
The amazing aerial tracking shots of vehicles blasting over desert dunes or weaving through mountain passes are brought to you by a skilled team of camera operators and helicopter pilots.
Cameraman Eric Visier has been shooting the Dakar Rally from the air for more than 30 years, filming amazing aerial shots across four continents, starting with the original Paris-Dakar in Europe and Africa, then in South America and now in Saudi Arabia. “I'm trained to work in extreme conditions, so we have to stay in practice and we have to be ready to fly in many different conditions.
Tracking shot: A helicopter follows Kevin Benavides into the Empty Quarter
© DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool
“What do I like most in my job in the Dakar? Flying in the desert, of course!” Eric adds. “Even after 31 Dakars, I’m still like a young boy. I really love it.”
For Eric, it’s also all about being part of a team. In his case, he works with the pilot and with a journalist. The reporter in Eric’s crew is Luc Alphand – a former Dakar winner himself and a champion skier. “Dakar is very different. It has changed, of course, but haven’t we all?”, Eric continues. “It was smaller… it was a smaller crew. There were fewer competitors. Everything changes, and Dakar has changed, hopefully, and I think in a good way.”
02
Tyre Technician
Tyred out: Mitch Guthrie Jr stops for fresh tyres
© Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool
The Dakar devours tyres. The vehicles shred so many tyres on the jagged rocks of Saudi Arabia that this year’s edition features extra service parks. The longest queue will be for fresh rubber and mousses and it’s down to people like Stéphane Boudet to manage the triage of tyres. His BF Goodrich team run a 24-hour workshop changing around 250 tyres per day – that’s 3,200 across the Dakar Rally.
The crews at work in the tyre tents work in three teams of two: that’s two techs to place the tyres on the rim which loosens them from the wheel. Two to remove the old tyres and replace them with fresh rubber and two to pump up the tyres to the right pressure. “We never see the race – only tyres,” says Stéphane.
03
Bivouac Chef
The bivouac is home to the teams, crews, journalists and support staff all of whom need to be fed three times a day to keep the whole operation in action. There’s catering on offer from the organisers, but some teams bring their own chef. “We serve about a hundred meals and 15 breakfasts,” say Team Rebellion chef Stéphane Goubin who operates out of his 3T by Stef food truck, rustling up delightful dishes to order. “We really listen to the team. Then we’ll go into town to pick up the ingredients. So sometimes we find what we need, sometimes we don't.
“But we try to make completely utopian things. Like fish. To eat in the middle of the desert. This morning I’ve made scrambled eggs with truffles.”
After a difficult first year working out of a trailer, Stéphane’s adapted his truck to operate in the extremes of the desert – just as well as the Swiss chef spends three weeks cooking, often in 28°C ambient heat, and then driving thousands of kilometres to the next bivouac. “It's great, it's about seven thousand kilometres each time to cook, make breakfast, drive and try to get some rest. I just adapt to the situation and plan ahead.”
04
Suspension Technician
Dania Akeel spraying the desert sand in Saudi Arabia on Stage of the Dakar
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Suspension-manufacturer Reiger has a dedicated service truck to repair shattered shocks for Dakarists, whether they’re running with factory outfits or as privateers.
“I get to work with all the best athletes around here,” says technician Ruben Koskamp. “A lot of teams run our dampers, so we get to see all the teams. We hear feedback from the drivers and what they experienced during the stage. In fact working closely with the people is the nicest thing.”
The Reiger service truck made its Dakar debut in 2025 and comes with four dedicated work cabinets. “It provides us a place that is nice and warm, but also really clean, dust and wind free, and we can do not only oil changes, but also bigger jobs for our customers. So we can help everyone with all problems.”
Ruben can work on anything from a simple oil change to a complete rebuild of a suspension system and he’ll often work hours into the night, long after the last Dakarists have returned to the bivouac. But despite long hours and taxing work, Ruben wouldn’t trade it for the world. “Being around people who are all willing to win is the best experience about Dakar, and that's the reason why I love coming back here.”
05
PCO Co-Ordinator
Sentinel
© RedBull.com
Race control at the Dakar – PCO – takes care of the safety and logistics of everyone involved in the rally: Dakarists, support crew and journalists. For Quentin Potherat, that’s making sure that everyone is connected to his teams in the control centre in the bivouac and a dedicated team in Paris.
The Dakar vehicles are all fitted with sophisticated tracking devices and GPS which provide them with the day’s road map and directions and also allows the 26-strong PCO team to monitor their progress.
If anyone breaks down, they can contact race control who will send help. The team in Paris can talk directly to racers in the field and help the team in Saudi Arabia prioritise support. “Have they stopped? Do they need help? Do they need to be followed all day? We ensure that everyone who gets out in the morning gets back at night,” says Quentin.
And if someone crashes on stage, it will trigger an alert to ensure help arrives swiftly. “We never know if we will have 10 alerts in a day, or no alerts or when we’ll have three or four alerts at the same time. And then dealing with helicopters in three places, handling three situations, can be difficult. But coping with the pressure and being able to come up with the right solution at the right time is just fantastic.”
Carlos Sainz has to make running repairs during the Dakar Rally
© Frederic Le Floch/DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
06
Bus Driver (media transport)
Thierry Dudouet would be the first person to tell you his job is not especially exciting, but it’s essential. He goes to work when everyone else stops, taking exhausted journalists from one bivouac to the next aboard his bus.
“During the day when everybody is focused on the race, I wait and I rest… then at night we drive to the next bivouac.”
And this is no regular bus, it’s kitted out with compartments just like a sleeper train that allow journalists to get some rest while Thierry puts in the hard kilometres driving smoothly through the night to the next stop. Hail to the bus driver.
07
Sweeper Truck Driver
The sweeper truck is almost legendary at the Dakar Rally: its job is to rescue stranded Dakarists and broken-down vehicles left behind on the course. “My job is to pick up competitors who are unfortunately in distress on the track, but also to help them, bring them water and food, get them out of trouble,” says Pascal. “Above all it’s to get everyone out of the special stage.”
For Pascal, who pilots a lifeboat through a sea of sand, it’s all about helping people. “The special thing about the support truck is the human aspect, the interaction with people who can really be in distress and need our help.”
Find out more about the sweeper in this video, shot during the 2015 Dakar:
2 min
To the rescue: The Dakar rally sweeper team
When it all goes wrong at the Dakar, meet the men who come to the rescue.
While the modern Dakar has world-class tracking technology and safety levels, Pascal has had some very moving encounters with competitors who he’s rescued and who were fearing for their lives. “A few years ago, on the Dakar Rally, competitors who gave up had no choice but to wait for the support truck, sometimes for two or three days.
“We came across a couple who had been completely lost for hours and hours. They didn't know how to get out of where they were. We picked them up, and they fell into our arms with emotion. They thought they were going to die because they were lost, they had no water, they had nothing. When we arrived to save them. It was a magical moment.”
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