Rally Raid
The Dakar Rally is an event of legends – and here are a few of them
Four decades of the Dakar Rally have given us more stories than you can imagine – and quite a few that you can't. See if you agree with our picks here.
The Dakar didn't have humble beginnings – in fact, it was an epic from the start.
The whole thing began because a French guy got lost in the desert and had so much fun that he wanted other people to get lost in the desert too. And it turned out he was so good at selling that idea to those other people, that almost 400 people showed up the day after Christmas in 1978, to start the journey from Paris to Dakar, the capital of Senegal – 6,000km (including a significant stretch of water) away.
Over the years, the legend of the event grew – and so did the legends that came out of it. Both the people and the stories. While there's too many to tell, here are some of our favourites.
Buy a bike, get a 'sponsorship'
Back in the early days of the event, factory teams weren't really a thing – it was more for amateurs. But Yamaha made a pretty good offer: buy one of their bikes and they'll do the event service for free. It was a good deal – keeping your ride running is one of the hardest parts of cross-country rally and if your bike was running at the end of the rally, well, you still had a bike. Dozens signed up. Quite a few of them finished.
The time the Prime Minister's son got lost
Yes, you've probably already heard it, but we can't ignore this well-loved Dakar legend. Mark Thatcher, the son of the then-UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, signed up for the event – and upon starting, got lost for four days in the desert. The Prime Minister called up a few fellow heads of state and miraculously he was soon found. What went wrong? When they got lost, somebody said they'd been spotted 10km one cardinal direction, when in reality, it was 10km in the absolute opposite direction.
The first real sandstorm
In today's Dakar, a sandstorm might mean you lose a few hours, or a day. Back in 1983, the first time the event entered the magnificent Tenere section of the Sahara, a sandstorm hit that put some racers fourentiredays behind. As the stories reached back to mainland Europe, it only served to enrich the mystery and enchantment of this motor-powered adventure in the sand.
Cyril Despres has had his ups and downs at the Dakar
© Marcelo Maragni/Webventure
The time the rally ran out of gas
In 2005, one special took the competitors through some of the softest sand the rally had ever seen – so soft that the motorcycles were burning through gas too quickly to make it past the finish. That turned out to be the case for many of the cars and trucks and in the end, the rally formed a bivouac in the middle of the desert and camped out for the night, as the stage was suspended. Cyril Despres, then on a KTM motorcycle, was among them. Onsite, he said: "We’re limited to 20 litres of fuel, but with 20, we won’t make it through – the sand is too soft. Now we're at kilometre 400, there are 260km to go and we’re consuming 50L every 100km. So we won’t go all the way."
Nasser Al-Attiyah's Volkswagen in 2011
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
The most epic fight ever: Nasser and Sainz in 2011
In 2011, two great drivers – Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz – were both were gunning for the win. The way cross-country rally works means that cars start on the course every three to five minutes, which means head-to-head racing is a rarity. But on a critical Stage 11, Sainz and Nasser were wheel-to-wheel for a solid 5km. With both men famed for pushing hard and fast, it was a sight to behold. Nasser won the stage and the rally.
14-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel
© Flavien Duhamel / Red Bull Content Pool
Winning without winning: Stéphane Peterhansel takes Dakar 2007
As you know by now, the Dakar is an event of endurance and strategy. It rewards speed but also consistency – and 14-time winner, 'Mr Dakar', Stéphane Peterhansel is known for his consistency. The fast-but-not-too-fast driver took top honours in 2011, without winning a single stage outright. That means on no single day was he the fastest driver in the rally – it was his consistency that allowed him to take home the trophy.
The legendary stories of 2022: still being made!
Halfway through the 2022 Dakar, a few things are clear: stages aren't as terribly long as they have been in the past, but navigation is harder than ever.
Leading the event in the cars is Nasser Al-Attiyah, and in the bikes, Sam Sunderland – with Matthias Walkner and Daniel Sanders nipping at his heels.
See Sam Sunderland ride to top of the Burj Khalifa!
The stories that will become legend are still being written. From the incredibly difficult navigation of Stage 1 to the head-to-head race of Sébastien Loeb and Al-Attiyah in Stage 4, there's been plenty of drama.
But we'll only need the whole story once the event is over. Tune in to Dakar Daily on Red Bull TV, check out Red Bull Rally on YouTube and follow on Twitter @redbullmotors to dig into the dirt on the 2022 Dakar!