History Dakar Rally

1 history

1.1 peugeot-citroën domination
1.2 mitsubishi in ascendancy
1.3 security concerns
1.4 south america

history

the race originated in december 1978, year after thierry sabine got lost in ténéré desert whilst competing in abidjan-nice rally , decided desert location regular rally. 182 vehicles took start of inaugural rally in paris, 74 surviving 10,000-kilometre (6,200 mi) trip senegalese capital of dakar. cyril neveu holds distinction of being event s first winner, riding yamaha motorcycle. event rapidly grew in popularity, 216 vehicles taking start in 1980 , 291 in 1981. neveu won event second time in 1980, hubert auriol taking honours in 1981 bmw. stage, rally had begun attract participation of famous names elsewhere in motorsport, such henri pescarolo , jacky ickx.

now boasting 382 competitors, more double amount took start in 1979, neveu won event third time in 1982, time riding honda motorcycle, while victory in car class went marreau brothers, driving privately entered renault 20, buccaneering exploits seemed capture spirit of years of rally. auriol captured second bikes class victory in 1983, first year japanese manufacturer mitsubishi competed in rally, beginning association last way until 2009.

at behest of 1983 car class winner jacky ickx, porsche entered dakar in 1984, total number of entries @ 427. german marque won event @ first attempt courtesy of rené metge, had won in car category in 1981, whilst ickx finished sixth. gaston rahier meanwhile continued bmw s success in motorcycle category back-to-back wins in 1984 , 1985, year of mitsubishi s first victory of 12 in car category, patrick zaniroli taking spoils. 1986 event, won metge , neveu, marred death of event founder sabine in helicopter crash, father gilbert taking on organisation of rally.

peugeot-citroën domination

the 1987 rally marked start of era of increased official factory participation in car category, french manufacturer peugeot arrived , won event former world rally champion ari vatanen. 1987 event notable ferocious head-to-head duel between neveu , auriol in motorcycle category, former taking fifth victory after auriol forced drop out of rally after breaking both ankles in fall. 1988 event reached zenith in terms of entry numbers, 603 starters. vatanen s title defence derailed when peugeot stolen service area @ bamako. though later found, vatanen subsequently disqualified event, victory instead going compatriot , teammate juha kankkunen.

peugeot , vatanen returned winning ways in 1989 , 1990, latter marking peugeot s final year of rally competition before switching world sportscar championship. sister brand citroën took peugeot s place, vatanen taking third consecutive victory in 1991. 1991 event saw stéphane peterhansel take first title in motorcycle category yamaha, marking beginning of era of domination frenchman.

for 1992 event, finish line moved cape town, south africa in bid combat declining number of competitors, gps technology used first time. auriol became first person win in multiple classes after taking mitsubishi s second victory in car class, while peterhansel defended motorcycle category title. 1993 rally entry list slumped 153 competitors, around half of preceding year s figure , around quarter of of 1988. event last organised gilbert sabine , amaury sport organisation took on following year. finish line in traditional location of dakar, bruno saby won third title mitsubishi , peterhansel took third straight success in motorcycle category.

the 1994 event returned paris after reaching dakar, resulting in particularly grueling event. pierre lartigue took citroën s second win in acrimonious circumstances, mitsubishi s leading drivers forced withdraw exhaustion after traversing particularly demanding sand dunes in mauritanian desert citroen crews had opted skip. peterhansel s did not compete due disagreement between yamaha , race organizers on regulations. edi orioli claimed third title in bikes category. 1995 , 1996 events begin in spanish city of granada, lartigue racking wins citroen in both years. peterhansel returned take fourth bikes category win in 1995, lost orioli in 1996 because of refuelling problems.

mitsubishi in ascendancy

the 1997 rally ran exclusively in africa first time, route running dakar agadez, niger , dakar. citroen s withdrawal due rule change paved way mitsubishi take fourth victory. japan s kenjiro shinozuka became first non-european win event. peterhansel equalled neveu s record of 5 motorcycle category wins in 1997, before going 1 better in 1998, when event returned traditional paris-dakar route. 1998, dakar veteran jean-pierre fontenay posted win mitsubishi in car class.

1999 started in granada , maiden success erstwhile formula 1 , sports car driver jean-louis schlesser, had been constructing own buggies since 1992. of renault backing, schlesser overcame works mitsubishi , nissan crews win, whilst peterhansel s decision switch car category allowed richard sainct take bmw s first title in bikes category since 1985. schlesser , sainct both defended titles in 2000, traversing route dakar egyptian capital of cairo.

2001 final time rally used familiar paris-dakar route, , notable mitsubishi s jutta kleinschmidt, first woman win rally - albeit after schlesser penalised 1 hour unsportsmanlike conduct. fabrizio meoni took first dakar win austrian manufacturer ktm, beginning winning streak has lasted until present day. 2002 began in french town of arras , long-time dakar participant hiroshi masuoka won event mitsubishi (masouka had led of previous year s rally.) 2003 rally featured unorthodox route marseille sharm el sheikh. masuoka defend title after teammate , long-time leader peterhansel plagued mechanical problems in penultimate stage. sainct meanwhile took honours in motorcycle category, third title both him , ktm.

security concerns

the mid-2000s saw dakar rally reach height of popularity. entry list 2004 increased 595, 358 in 2001, record 688 competitors starting in 2005. alongside mitsubishi , nissan, volkswagen boasted full factory effort, while schlesser s ford-powered buggies , bmws of german x-raid team proved thorns in side of big budget works teams. 2004 route clermont-ferrand dakar, , year peterhansel emulated hubert auriol s feat of winning rally on both 2 wheels , four. frenchman defended title in 2005, when rally began first time in barcelona. in bikes category, ktm continued success nani roma in 2004, switched car category following year, , cyril despres in 2005.

the 2006 event moved lisbon. nissan pulled out having failed provide effective opposition mitsubishi, took sixth consecutive victory, time former skiing champion luc alphand after peterhansel committed series of errors late in rally. peterhansel made amends in 2007, however, taking third title in car category mitsubishi after close contest alphand after increasingly competitive volkswagens retired mechanical problems. in final african event of dakar, despres took second title in bikes category, having conceded victory in 2006 marc coma after suffering injury.

the 2008 event, due depart lisbon per previous 2 years, cancelled on 4 january 2008 amid fears of terrorist attacks in mauritania, causing serious doubts on future of rally. chile , argentina offered host subsequent events, offer later accepted aso. aso decided establish dakar series competition, first event 2008 central europe rally, located in hungary , romania, acted replacement cancelled 2008 edition of dakar.

south america

the 2009 event, first held in south america respectable entry of 501, saw volkswagen take first win in dakar works entrant courtesy of giniel de villiers. teammate , former wrc champion carlos sainz had been leading comfortably until crashing out, seized opportunity win event in 2010. after poor showing in 2009, mitsubishi withdrew competition , left volkswagen sole works entrant. german marque duly won race third time in 2011, time nasser al-attiyah, before withdrew focus on upcoming wrc entry , leaving dakar no factory participants in car class. in bikes, despres , coma stretched ktm s incredible unbroken run of success. both tied on 3 victories apiece after coma s third win in 2011.

in 2012 rally, x-raid team came fore, using minis in lieu of bmws. peterhansel had joined team in 2010 after mitsubishi s departure, had been unable challenge volkswagen drivers. following volkswagen s withdrawal, peterhansel able secure fourth win in car category , tenth in total, main opposition coming within own team. peterhansel defended title in 2013 damen jefferies buggies of sainz , al-attiyah failed last distance. despres racked further 2 wins ktm in bikes class in 2012 , 2013, bringing tally five, aided coma s absence due injury in latter year. coma struck on return dakar in 2014, taking comfortable fourth title , 13th in succession ktm, whilst nani roma emulated auriol , peterhansel taking maiden title in cars class decade on victory on 2 wheels - albeit after team orders x-raid slowed down peterhansel.

peugeot returned 2015 event all-new, diesel-powered, two-wheel drive contender, failed make impact x-raid s minis once more dominated. al-attiyah won event in second year team, while coma racked fifth title in bikes after defection of long-time rival despres car class , peugeot. peugeot did see success in 2016 peterhansel behind wheel, racking 6th win in car category. bike category saw ktm works team rider, australian toby price, take first dakar victor.