Posted on 01/07/2007 7:37:17 AM PST by Fierce Allegiance
The Dakar is a race, the toughest rally in the World: over two weeks of hard work and thousands of kilometres over various tracks. Each year since 1979, crews including men and women, enjoy an intense rivalry in the middle of the desert. The final result always rewards an incredible winner. Indeed, more than elsewhere, success on a Dakar comes from a synthesis between performance, determination and regularity.
Beyond the borders of victory, the real essence of a Dakar is the challenge. A competitor battles both with the others but also with himself, in a context where humility is just as important as going beyond oneself. With objectives that match their capabilities, the candidates in this adventure have in common this search for balance.
As a link between two continents, the Dakar takes off to meet African countries with a specific attraction for the desert. As the traditional city to host the finish, Senegal’s capital is historically and sentimentally linked to the rally. However the competitor’s will to discover new places has regularly brought the Dakar organizers to change the race course, with for example finishes in Cape town (1992), Cairo (2000) or Sharm-el-Sheik (2003). Out of a total of 53 African nations, the Dakar has visited 21.
In 2007, the rally will start for the second time of its history in Portugal. The race will then head through Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.
African countries visited by the Dakar (.pdf) With 475 vehicles in the race at the start (232 bikes, 174 cars and 69 trucks, a total of 775 people), the 2006 Dakar registered a record participation. Eventually, 93 bikers, 66 cars and 35 trucks managed to finish the 28th Dakar, Luc Alphand in a car and Marc Coma on two-wheels both clinching their first ever overall successes. Vladimir Chagin, behind the steering-wheel of his Kamaz truck, claimed his fifth crown.
Year Motorbike Car Truck 2006 Coma (KTM) Alphand/Picard (MIT) Tchaguine/Yakoubov/Savostine (KAM) 2005 Despres (KTM) Peterhansel/Cottret (MIT) Kabirov/Belyaev/Mokeev (KAM) 2004 Roma (KTM) Peterhansel/Cottret (MIT) Tchaguine/Yakoubov/Savostine (KAM) 2003 Sainct (KTM) Masuoka/Schulz (MIT) Tchaguine/Yakoubov/Savostine (KAM) 2002 Meoni (KTM) Masuoka/Maimon (MIT) Tchaguine/Mardeev/Savostine (KAM) 2001 Meoni (KTM) Kleinschmidt/Schulz (MIT) Loprais/Kalina (TAT) 2000 Sainct (BMW) Schlesser/Magne (SCH) Tchaguine/Yakoubov/Savostine (KAM) 1999 Sainct (BMW) Schlesser/Monnet (SCH) Loprais/Kalina/Stachura (TAT) 1998 Peterhansel (YAM) Fontenay/Picard (MIT) Loprais/Stachura/Cermak (TAT) 1997 Peterhansel (YAM) Shinozuka/Magne (MIT) Reif/Deinhofer (HIN) 1996 Orioli (YAM) Lartigue/Prin (CIT) Moskovskikh/Kouzmine (KAM) 1995 Peterhansel (YAM) Lartigue/Prin (CIT) Loprais/Kalina/Stachura (TAT) 1994 Orioli (CAG) Lartigue/Prin (CIT) Loprais/Kalina/Stachura (TAT) 1993 Peterhansel (YAM) Saby/Serieys (MIT) Perlini/Albieio/Vinante (PER) 1992 Peterhansel (YAM) Auriol/Monnet (MIT) Perlini/Albieio/Vinante (PER) 1991 Peterhansel (YAM) Vatanen/Berglund (PEU) Houssat/De Saulieu/Bottaro (FRA) 1990 Orioli (CAG) Vatanen/Berglund (PEU) Villa/Delfino/Vinante (PER) 1989 Lalay (HON) Vatanen/Berglund (PEU) 1988 Orioli (HON) Kankkunen/Piironen (PEU) Loprais/Stachura/Ingmuck (TAT) 1987 Neveu (HON) Vatanen/Giroux (PEU) De Rooy/Geusens/Van (DAF) 1986 Neveu (HON) Metge/Lemoyne (POR) Vismara/Minelli (MER) 1985 Rahier (BMW) Zaniroli/Da Silva (MIT) Capito/Capito (MER) 1984 Rahier (BMW) Metge/Lemoyne (POR) Lalleu/Durce (MER) 1983 Auriol (BMW) Ickx/Brasseur (MER) Groine/De Saulieu/Malferiol (MER) 1982 Neveu (HON) Marreau/Marreau (REN) Groine/De Saulieu/Malferiol (MER) 1981 Auriol (BMW) Metge/Giroux (RAN) Villette/gabrielle/Voillerau (ALM) 1980 Neveu (YAM) Kotulinsky/Luffelman (VW) Ataquat/Boukrif/Kaola (SON) 1979 Neveu (YAM) One man is better than the rest. The Dakar history book reveals to whoever wants to read it, the domination of one man on the event: Stéphane Peterhansel. A six-time winner on a bike, the Frenchman has added two titles to his collection after switching to four wheels. Before him, among the men who have written the Dakar legend, only Hubert Auriol, known as "the African", had won the rally in two different categories, with a total of three crowns. The bike fanatics certainly also have in mind the likes of Cyril Neveu, winner of the first two Dakars behind the handle-bars of his Yamaha 500 XT, and then three other editions on a Honda. Richard Sainct (3 victories) and Fabrizio Meoni (2 victories), who were both victims of their passion for the desert in the same period of time, have also a privileged place in the memories of the rally.
The days of Ari Vatanen and precisely his four victories behind the steering-wheel of a 205 and then 405 Peugeot, has made the Finn into an icon of the rally. A WRC champion in 1982, Vatanen made the most of his aggressive driving on rally-raid events. It was on circuits, including Formula one tracks, that Jean-Louis Schlesser learned his driving skills. In his very own blue buggies, the Frenchman won the event twice but never managed to catch up with the most impressive of the pioneers, René Metge, winner of three editions. Jutta Kleinschmidt, who, like many others, had a first taste of the Dakar riding a bike as an amateur, remains today the only woman to have won the event and that was in a car in 2001.
In the truck category, the current domination of the Kamaz trucks with their leader Vladimir Tchaguine (5 victories) appears to be a chase for Karel Loprais’ record. Indeed the Czech driver has the most impressive CV: Six Dakar wins between 1988 and 2001.
NASCAR is to auto racing what the WWF is to wrestling.
There are about 185 cars racing IIRC. About 30% are out already, and they just barely got past Morroco, and into the dunes.
NOw, that's racing!
What channel will this be covered on?
Last year I believe it was OLN, which is now called Versus.
Yes, it's on Versus. They are covering it WAY better than years past, with the European feed, just like SPEED used to do.
It's on 6:30 pretty much every night.
Check out some of the video links, cool stuff!
It's exciting stuff. I love road rally races. I'll be tuning in for the VS. broadcasts.
Going out to eat tonight, but I will record it! Thanks!
After 10 stages of racing, and only one fatality on the Dakar Rally, American Robby Gordon is running 8th overall with one stage win in the cars, and Chris Blaise is in a very impressive 4th place overall on the bikes.
Go Robby!
I recorded it for the first time last night and watched it after I got the little one in bed. Great stuff!
As a side note, my wife was in the other room but picked right up on the accent of her fellow South African, Giniel de Villiers.
So if it starts in Portugal, how do they drive across the Straits of Gilbraltar?
I thought about tht possibility. There was a really good SA bike rider who retired last year, Alfie Cox.
I love the SA accent. I know you know what I mean.
BTW, could you imagine racing one of those trucks? I drove trucks before college, but couldn't imagine running 120 mph through the desert, etc, and getting one totally airborne like they do.
Ferry. The race is broken up into liason (non-timed portages, if you will) and timed specials. They are only on the road 8-18 hours a day. It's not as if they drop a green flag in Lisbon and the first one to Dakar wins. ts much more heavily organized.
All cars must be road-legal and registered for travel on all the roads in each country they visit.
Sorry, I'm used to NASCAR and Indy where the green flag drops and you race until something blows, you end up in a fireball, or someone gets the checkered flag.
I understand. This is nearly 6,000 miles, though, spread out over about 16 days.
The webiste linked upthread is pretty good, nt greatthough, at explaining it.
If you get a chance, try to check out some of the coverage on Versus (used ot be OLN) at 6:30 Eastern time each night. It's usually prety impressive.
I've heard of Alfie Cox. He used to race at Kyalami which is just a few km. from my sister-in-law's house.
As an interesting side note, my wife is related by marriage to Paddy Driver, who is a retired bike and Grand Prix driver. I believe he used to race Nortons.
I know what you mean about the accent. Too bad the Mrs. has lost hers!
Driving one of those trucks must be unbelievable!
I've never driven a truck that size, but can you imagine the beating a driver's body must take?
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