The Rally Dakar is one of the most well-known annual automobile rally races that take place over several days. It was previously known as Paris–Dakar Rally. It is a famous marathon rally that can last anywhere from 10 – 15 days. ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation), which is a part of the French media group, manages the Dakar Rally and other sporting events. The Dakar Rally raid includes a route that runs from Africa and southern parts of Europe.
This race ends in Dakar, Senegal. This rally race is open for professionals as well as non-professional racers. Approximately eighty percent of the participants are non-professional rally racers!
Most of the events of the Dakar race were held in France and Paris back in the years 1978 and 1979. At that time, it covers up to 9,300 miles or 15,000 kilometers. The conflicts with the country of Mauritania in Northwest Africa became a cause of the cancellation of the rally events in 2008. Then, from the year 2009 till 2019, all the games were held in South America. In the current year, the Amaury Sport Organisation carries the race in the northeast of Africa on the Arabian Peninsula.
What is the Rally Dakar Race, and how it works?
What comes to your mind when you hear about the longest and toughest automobile race? Your answer is correct if you are thinking about the Rally Dakar Race. The Rally Dakar race is a famous and a world-class off-road motor vehicle race whose terrain is the longest and more robust than other traditional rally races. It also includes the impossible and deadliest ground.
This race consists of 14 stages, and the contestants have to complete every step by using a map and following a specific route. As it is an off-road event, so it consists of the actual off-road vehicles instead of on-road vehicles. These off-road vehicles can manage the steep terrain of the race. People from various areas of the world participate in the competition and compete for the prizes.
How did the Dakar Rally Race start?
Rally is a motorcar competition that takes place on a specific route. The participants of the race do not know the course until the race starts. They have to follow a fixed schedule between the control points. This competition of Rally or Rallye began back in the year 1907. At that time, it was a 7,500 miles or 12,000 kilometers race from Beijing to Paris. Afterward, in 1911, the famous Monte-Carlo Rally also started. It continued for many years until the war disturbance began.
• 1978 – 2007 | the Origin of Dakar Rally Race
If we talk about the Dakar Rally race, it has its roots in the year 1978. It was the first running of the Dakar rally event. A total of 182 vehicles took part in it. The number of cars continues to increase from 216 in the year 1980 to 291 in 1981. A French rally-raid racer, Cyril Neveu, was the first person who won the Dakar Rally in the motorcycle category by riding a Yamaha motorcycle. This multi-stage race used to take place every year from 1978 to 2007. It began from the areas of France and Paris, last for approximately 16 days, and end in the Senegalese capital of Dakar.
• 2008 | Cancellation of the event
In the year 2008, the security threats in the country of Mauritania result in the cancellation of the rally event.
Watch the video below to learn all the details about Rally Dakar.
• 2009 – 2019 | Victories of the Heroes
The rally events again started in 2009 between the areas of Argentina and Bolivia and continue till 2019.
• Dakar Rally Race in the Current Year
The organizers of this race have made a five-year agreement with Saudi Arabia to get 1.4 million square miles of Desert.
What is the type of vehicles that can compete in the Dakar Rally race?
The Dakar rally race includes many off-road terrains such as mud, grass, dunes, and rocks. So, in this race, contestants can use the actual off-road vehicles instead of on-road vehicles. The reason is such type of off-road vehicles can manage the challenging land of the competition. The following are the types of cars that contestants can use in the Dakar Rally race. These include:
• Cars
The participants of this rally race use vehicles that are much more than just a car. These types of cars are swift and come with two turbo diesel engines.
• Trucks
Like the cars, the vehicles are also equipped with unique and heavy features so they can handle the strict path of the race. These trucks also contain four wheels, but they are much different than those we see on the roads.
• UTV's
These days, the players of the Dakar rally event also use UTV's as they can not only take new tires, fuel, and supplies but can also handle extreme abuse.
• Motorcycles and Quads
The contestants of the Dakar Rally race can also use bikes and quads. They are also set up in a way so they can handle longer distances.
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