Biker by Heart: All about the great Dakar Rally

It was in 1977 a French man got lost in the Tenere Desert during the Abidjan-Nice Race and realized that the desert would be a good location for a regular rally where amateurs could test their ability.

His name was Thierry Sabine.

And hence came into existence the first for the very great and very challenging races on this planet, the Dakar Rally.

Dakar Rally, formerly known as the “Paris–Dakar Rally”, is an annual rally raid where 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.

And hence came into inception the Dakar we know of today.

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 kilometers (500–560 mi) per day.

The race originated in December 1978, an 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.

The race sees tough competition among 4 major categories of Motorcycles, Cars, Trucks, Quads.

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. 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. 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.

Motorbikes

As of 2011, the engine capacity limit for all motorbikes competing in the Dakar Rally is 450cc. Engines may be either single or twin cylinder.

KTM has dominated the motorcycle class in recent years, although Honda, Yamaha, Sherco and Gas Gas also compete currently.

Cars

The car class is made up of vehicles weighing less than 3,500 kg (7,716 lb), which are subdivided into several categories.

Mini have been the most successful marque in the car category in recent years, thanks to the efforts of the non-factory X-Raid team, with limited involvement currently coming from Toyota, Ford and Haval.

Mitsubishi is historically the most successful manufacturer in the car class, with Volkswagen, Citroen, Peugeot and Porsche having all tasted success in the past with factory teams.

Criticism

When the race was held in Africa, it was subject to criticism from several sources, generally focusing on the race’s impact on the inhabitants of the African countries through which it passed.

Some African residents along the race’s course in previous years have said they saw limited benefits from the race; that race participants spent little money on the goods and services local residents can offer. The racers produced substantial amounts of dust along the course, and were blamed for hitting and killing livestock, in addition to occasionally injuring or killing people.

The Vatican City newspaper L’Osservatore Romano called the race a “vulgar display of power and wealth in places where men continue to die from hunger and thirst.” During a 2002 protest at the race’s start in Arras, France, a Green Party of France statement described the race as “colonialism that needs to be eradicated”.

The environmental impact of the race has been another area of criticism. This criticism of the race is notably the topic of the song “500 connards sur la ligne de départ” (“500 Arseholes at the Starting Line”), on the 1991 album Marchand de cailloux by French singer Renaud.

Dakar 2017 saw 2 Indian Motorcycle manufacturers competing for the glory. They were TVS-Sherco and Hero MotorCopr.