Dakar Rally

Dakar Rally
Category	Rally raid
Region	Europe and Africa (1979–2007); South America (2009–2019); Saudi Arabia & Middle East (2020–present)
Inaugural season	1979
Drivers' champion	Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Cars); Daniel Sanders (Bikes); Martin Macík (Trucks); Nicolas Cavigliasso (Challenger (T3)); Brock Heger (SSV (T4)); Carlos Santaolalla (Classics); Jordi Juvanteny (Mission 1000)
Official website	Dakar.com
	Current season

The Paris – Dakar route for the 1981 edition.

Thierry Sabine, founder of the Dakar Rally, pictured in 1986.

1981 Dakar competitor Rolls-Royce Corniche.

Countries the rally has been through from 1979 to 2007. Orange countries were only travelled through in the 1992 race to Cape Town; that year, participants used maritime transport to get from the Republic of the Congo to Angola, bypassing Zaire.

Countries through which the Dakar Rally has been from 2009 to 2018 since it was moved from the previous Paris-Dakar route due to security concerns. Cities included are major start/end points.

Tracks through the Sahara desert in Mauritania.

Cars on display in 1993 in Paris.

A support truck during the 2004 Dakar.

2011 Dakar Rally personal main prize (trucks T4).

The Dakar Rally (French: Le Rallye Dakar) or simply "The Dakar" (Le Dakar), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (Le Rallye Paris-Dakar), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than conventional rallying, and the vehicles used are typically true off-road vehicles and motorcycles, rather than modified on-road vehicles. Most of the competitive special sections are off-road, crossing dunes, mud, camel grass, rocks, and erg. Stages vary from short distances up to 800–900 kilometres (500–560 mi) per day. The rough terrain, driver fatigue, and lack of skill usually results in accidents and serious injuries.

The event began in 1978 as a rally from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal. Between 1992 and 2007 some editions did not start in Paris or did not arrive in Dakar, but the rally kept its name. Security threats in Mauritania led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, and from 2009 to 2019 the rally was held in South America. Since 2020, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia. The rally is open to amateurs and professionals, with professionals typically making up about eighty percent of participants.