The Dakar Rally is considered to be the most difficult, unpredictable and unforgiving race in the world, and said to be the ultimate off-road endurance race. As the race is such an endurance test it has been compared with climbing Mount Everest and sailing around the world.
Dating back from 1977, where it all began when Thierry Sabine got lost riding through the Libyan Desert during a rally, the Frenchman decided to create the ultimate rally event that would attract fellow extremists like himself to embark on a journey and face all the obstacles that lay ahead.
The Dakar Rally has produced some phenomenal races and stand out legends, as the course terrain is extremely tough and takes a lot of skill and concentration to conquer. The race is split into several stages, so the competitors have to prepare their vehicles for heavy off-road conditions, as they encounter sand dunes, rocks, mud and plenty of unexpected drama.
The tough terrain and difficult conditions can cause for a lot of damage and easily ruin both the vehicle and the driver if not careful. The Dakar rally has been known to produce some of the biggest crashes in motorsport, as each year a number of vehicles and bikes are ruined.
In 1978 the first successful Dakar Rally was held, the race was split into multiple stages, covering a distance of almost 10,000 –kilometres, starting in Paris to the final destination in Dakar. The very first race was won by Cyril Neveu with his Yamaha 500 XT.
The Rally exploded on the motoring scene as it gave car companies a good opportunity to truly test their vehicles and didn’t take long before sponsors came flying in. The race is competed in four different categories – cars, trucks, quads and motorbikes.
665 competitors from 53 different nationalities took place in this year’s Dakar Rally with 414 vehicles at the starting line, which consisted of 164 Motorbikes, 48 quad bikes, 138 cars and 64 trucks. South Africa continues to represent in the Dakar Rally with a selection of seriously skilled motorists.
Team Rhide South Africa is the off-road team consisting of 2 quad riders. The Imperial Toyota South Africa Dakar team flies our flag high with a highly advanced Toyota Hilux. Driver Giniel de Villiers is accompanied by the Veteran German navigator Dirk von Zitzewwitz.
Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar won the car category for 2015 in his Mini while Giniel de Villiers booked second place trailing 35 minutes and 34 seconds behind. Marc Coma from Spain won the bike division. Click here to view the complete route for 2015 and a breakdown of the stages.
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