History of Dakar Rally, one of the world's most iconic racing events

The Dakar Rally has always been one of the most popular races in the history of motorsport, standing alongside iconic events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500, Rallye Monte-Carlo and Formula One Monaco Grand Prix.

Few competitions, however, have changed as dramatically as the Dakar. What began as an extraordinary journey from Europe across Africa eventually moved to South America and then Saudi Arabia, while the machinery evolved from lightly modified production cars and motorcycles into highly specialized rally-raid vehicles backed by some of the world’s biggest manufacturers.

Through all those changes, one thing has remained the same. The Dakar is a race where outright speed is only part of the challenge. Navigation, reliability, endurance and the ability to survive days of difficult terrain are just as important.

Dakar Rally at a glance

Fact	Dakar Rally
Founder	Thierry Sabine
First edition	1978-1979
Original concept	Europe-to-Africa rally finishing in Dakar, Senegal
African era	1979-2007
2008 edition	Cancelled
South American era	2009-2019
Saudi Arabian era	2020-present
Organizer	Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO)
Record overall winner	Stéphane Peterhansel – 14 victories
Record car-category winner	Stéphane Peterhansel – 8 victories
2026 car winner	Nasser Al-Attiyah – Dacia Sandrider

How the Paris-Dakar Rally began

Thierry Sabine’s idea was born in the Ténéré Desert

The story of the Dakar is inseparable from French adventurer Thierry Sabine. His idea for a new intercontinental rally originated in 1977 while he was taking part in the Abidjan-Nice race.

Sabine became lost in the Ténéré Desert in the Sahara. The experience could easily have ended in tragedy, but it also convinced him that the vast African landscape could provide the setting for a completely different kind of motorsport event.

The concept was simple in spirit but enormous in scale: competitors would leave Europe and race across difficult African terrain toward Dakar, Senegal. Professional racers would compete alongside adventurous amateurs, with motorcycles, cars and trucks all facing the same unforgiving environment.

The first Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979

The first rally started in Paris on December 26, 1978, and finished in Dakar on January 14, 1979. A total of 182 vehicles started the journey, while only 74 reached the finish after approximately 10,000 kilometres through France and Africa.

Motorcycle rider Cyril Neveu was the first overall winner on a Yamaha. The best-placed car crew finished fourth overall, with Alain Genestier, Joseph Terbiaut and Jean Lemordant driving a Range Rover V8.

The diversity of vehicles was one of the most memorable features of the early Dakar. The entry list included machines that would be almost unimaginable in a modern top-level rally raid, from Renaults and Fiats to Toyota BJ models and Lada Nivas.

The Marreau brothers became famous representatives of that adventurous period. Claude Marreau and Bernard Marreau finished second among the cars in the inaugural rally with a Renault 4 Sinpar before later winning the Dakar in 1982 with a Renault 20 Turbo.

The African era of the Dakar Rally

The early Paris-Dakar quickly grew from an ambitious adventure into one of the world’s best-known motorsport events.

Participation increased rapidly during the 1980s. By 1988, the Dakar reached a peak entry of more than 600 vehicles. The rally was still open to private adventurers, but its growing international reputation increasingly attracted factory-supported teams, major manufacturers and famous drivers from other branches of motorsport.

Jacky Ickx brings Formula One fame to Dakar

One of the biggest names to embrace the Dakar was Jacky Ickx.

The Belgian had already enjoyed an extraordinary career in Formula One and endurance racing before turning his attention to Africa. His first Dakar attempt came in 1981 with a Citroën CX, but he and co-driver Claude Brasseur retired.

A year later, Ickx finished fifth with Mercedes. In 1983, he and Brasseur went one step further and won the Dakar in a Mercedes-Benz 280 GE.

Ickx continued returning to the event and became one of several world-class circuit and rally drivers who demonstrated how seriously the Dakar was beginning to be taken outside traditional off-road racing.

Porsche wins on its Dakar debut

Porsche entered the Dakar with a factory effort in 1984 and immediately won the car category. René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne drove the four-wheel-drive Porsche 911 to victory, while Ickx also competed for Porsche and finished sixth.

The project was more than an unusual diversion for the German manufacturer. The Dakar became an extreme development ground for four-wheel drive, and Porsche returned with the spectacular 959, which Metge and Lemoyne drove to victory in 1986.

Peugeot and Ari Vatanen dominate the late 1980s

A new era began in 1987 when Peugeot launched a major factory-backed Dakar programme built around the experience gained with its Group B rally cars.

Former World Rally champion Ari Vatanen immediately won with the Peugeot 205 T16 Grand Raid.

In 1988, another World Rally champion, Juha Kankkunen, won for Peugeot after Vatanen’s car was stolen during the rally in one of the strangest episodes in Dakar history.

Vatanen returned to the top in 1989 and 1990 with the Peugeot 405 T16. After Peugeot withdrew, the Finn continued with Citroën and won again in 1991 with the ZX Rallye Raid.

Four Dakar victories established Vatanen as one of the defining drivers of the event’s African era.

Mitsubishi becomes a Dakar powerhouse

While Peugeot and Citroën were major forces at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, Mitsubishi eventually became one of the manufacturers most closely associated with Dakar success.

The Pajero first won the event in 1985 with Patrick Zaniroli and Jean Da Silva. Mitsubishi later built a remarkable record with drivers including Kenjiro Shinozuka, Jutta Kleinschmidt, Hiroshi Masuoka, Luc Alphand and Stéphane Peterhansel.

From 2001 through 2007, Mitsubishi won the car category seven consecutive times, one of the strongest periods of manufacturer dominance in Dakar history.

Why the 2008 Dakar Rally was cancelled

The Dakar’s long African chapter came to an abrupt end before the start of the 2008 event.

Four French tourists had been killed in Mauritania shortly before the rally, while Mauritanian soldiers had also been killed in a separate attack. French authorities advised against travelling through the country, and organizers faced direct security concerns involving the route.

With competitors already gathered in Lisbon, ASO cancelled the rally on the eve of the planned start.

It was an extraordinary moment for an event that had survived wars, political instability, accidents and some of the most difficult conditions in motorsport. More importantly, the cancellation forced organizers to reconsider where the Dakar could be held in the future.

Dakar moves to South America

After the cancellation of the 2008 rally, Dakar returned in 2009 in a completely new part of the world.

Argentina and Chile hosted the first South American edition, beginning an 11-year period in which the rally travelled through countries including Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay.

The landscape had changed, but the Dakar formula remained recognizable. Competitors still faced long stages, navigation challenges, deserts, dunes, high altitude and the constant possibility that one mechanical problem could destroy weeks or months of preparation.

Volkswagen and Carlos Sainz

Volkswagen became the dominant manufacturer during the opening years of the South American Dakar.

Giniel de Villiers won the first South American edition in 2009 with the Race Touareg, while Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz won in 2010.

For Sainz, already one of the greatest World Rally Championship drivers of his generation, the victory marked the beginning of an extraordinary Dakar career rather than its climax.

Mini and Stéphane Peterhansel

If there is one competitor whose career connects almost every major Dakar era, it is Stéphane Peterhansel.

Peterhansel initially dominated Dakar on two wheels, winning six motorcycle editions with Yamaha between 1991 and 1998. He later switched to cars and proved equally successful.

His first car victory came in 2004 with Mitsubishi. Further wins followed with the Japanese manufacturer in 2005 and 2007.

In South America, Peterhansel added victories for Mini in 2012 and 2013 before joining Peugeot’s return to Dakar.

Peugeot returns to Dakar

Peugeot returned with an ambitious factory programme and assembled an extraordinary group of drivers that included Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz, Cyril Despres and Sébastien Loeb.

Peterhansel won in 2016 with the Peugeot 2008 DKR and again in 2017 with the 3008 DKR. Carlos Sainz then gave Peugeot another victory in 2018 with the 3008 DKR Maxi.

The programme demonstrated how different the modern Dakar had become from the loosely organized adventure of the late 1970s. Manufacturers now arrived with sophisticated engineering operations, extensive testing programmes and some of the most accomplished drivers in world motorsport.

Nasser Al-Attiyah emerges as a Dakar great

Nasser Al-Attiyah had already won the Dakar with Volkswagen in 2011 and Mini in 2015 when he joined Toyota’s push for overall victory.

In 2019, Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel won in a Toyota Hilux. It was Toyota’s first Dakar victory and Al-Attiyah’s third.

At the time, three wins already placed him among the event’s major drivers. What followed in Saudi Arabia would elevate him much further up the Dakar record book.

Dakar moves to Saudi Arabia in 2020

The South American era ended after the 2019 rally. For 2020, Dakar moved again, this time to Saudi Arabia.

The relocation provided another major change of scenery, with vast deserts, rocky tracks, dunes and long stages across the Arabian Peninsula. By 2026, Saudi Arabia had hosted seven consecutive editions.

Carlos Sainz wins the first Saudi Dakar

Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz won the first Saudi Arabian edition in 2020 with a Mini John Cooper Works Buggy.

It was Sainz’s third Dakar victory after his earlier wins with Volkswagen in 2010 and Peugeot in 2018. Few drivers have adapted so successfully to different generations of rally-raid machinery.

Peterhansel claims a record 14th Dakar victory

Stéphane Peterhansel returned to the top in 2021 with Édouard Boulanger in a Mini.

The victory was his 14th Dakar title across motorcycles and cars: six on two wheels and eight on four.

It also gave Peterhansel a unique distinction. He had now won Dakar in Africa, South America and Asia, across a career spanning completely different generations of the event.

Toyota and Al-Attiyah dominate

Nasser Al-Attiyah responded by winning consecutive editions for Toyota in 2022 and 2023.

Those victories took him to five overall car wins and confirmed that the Qatari belonged alongside Peterhansel, Vatanen and Sainz among the most successful car drivers in Dakar history.

Toyota’s Hilux had also become one of the defining rally-raid cars of the modern era, combining factory development with a large presence among private and semi-works teams.

Audi makes Dakar history in 2024

One of the most technically ambitious projects in modern Dakar history came from Audi.

The German manufacturer developed the RS Q e-tron around an electric drivetrain concept with an onboard energy converter, using the Dakar as a proving ground for alternative powertrain technology under extreme conditions.

In 2024, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz brought the project its biggest success by winning the Dakar.

It was Sainz’s fourth victory, achieved with a fourth different manufacturer after Volkswagen, Peugeot and Mini. The result also made the Audi project the first electric-powered vehicle concept to win the Dakar.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi wins at home in 2025

The 2025 rally produced one of the most significant home victories of the Saudi era.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk won the car category in a Toyota Hilux after a close contest with Henk Lategan.

Al-Rajhi became the first Saudi driver to win the Dakar, doing so on his 11th participation and in front of his home crowd.

Al-Attiyah gives Dacia its first Dakar victory in 2026

The following year added another manufacturer to the Dakar winners’ list.

Nasser Al-Attiyah and Belgian navigator Fabian Lurquin won the 2026 Dakar in a Dacia Sandrider. It was Al-Attiyah’s sixth overall car victory, Lurquin’s first and Dacia’s first Dakar win.

The result left Al-Attiyah second only to Peterhansel’s eight car-category victories.

Al-Attiyah also reached 50 Dakar car-stage victories during the 2026 event, drawing level with Ari Vatanen and Peterhansel at the top of the car-stage record.

Dakar and the World Rally-Raid Championship

The Dakar remains an event with its own identity and history, but its place within international motorsport changed again in 2022.

The FIA granted cross-country rallying full World Championship status and created the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, commonly known as W2RC. Amaury Sport Organisation became the championship promoter, with the Dakar serving as its opening round and cornerstone event.

The championship connects Dakar with other major rally-raid events during the season and gives drivers, navigators and manufacturers the opportunity to compete for year-long FIA world titles.

For Dakar itself, the change reflects how far the competition has travelled from the first Paris-to-Senegal adventure. It remains open to the spirit of exploration and endurance, but the front of the field is now part of a highly developed world championship involving professional teams, advanced engineering and major manufacturers.

The greatest Dakar Rally drivers

Stéphane Peterhansel

It is difficult to argue against Stéphane Peterhansel as the most successful Dakar competitor of all time.

His six motorcycle wins alone would have made him one of the event’s greats. He then moved to cars and collected another eight victories with Mitsubishi, Mini and Peugeot.

Fourteen overall victories across motorcycles and cars, achieved over three continents, earned him the nickname “Mr Dakar.”

More impressive than the number itself is the period over which Peterhansel remained competitive. His first victory came on a Yamaha in 1991. Thirty years later, he won again in a Mini in Saudi Arabia.

Nasser Al-Attiyah

Nasser Al-Attiyah has become the dominant Dakar car driver of the post-2010 generation.

His six victories came with four different winning combinations of manufacturers and eras: Volkswagen in 2011, Mini in 2015, Toyota in 2019, 2022 and 2023, and Dacia in 2026.

His ability to combine outright speed with exceptional dune driving has made him particularly formidable during the Saudi period.

With six car victories and 50 car-stage wins by the end of Dakar 2026, Al-Attiyah is now one of the central figures in any discussion about Dakar records.

Ari Vatanen

Ari Vatanen’s Dakar career represents the period when World Rally Championship stars increasingly brought their skills to rally raid.

The Finn won four times, in 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991, driving for Peugeot and Citroën.

His spectacular driving style and the famous Peugeot 205 and 405 T16 rally-raid cars helped define one of Dakar’s most memorable eras.

Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz arrived at Dakar after an already legendary World Rally Championship career, but he created a second major motorsport legacy in rally raid.

He won in 2010 with Volkswagen, 2018 with Peugeot, 2020 with Mini and 2024 with Audi.

Winning four Dakars with four different manufacturers demonstrates not only speed but an extraordinary ability to adapt to different vehicles, regulations and versions of the event.

Other multiple Dakar winners

The Dakar record book contains numerous drivers whose achievements would dominate the history of almost any other event.

René Metge won three times, including victories for Porsche with the 911 and 959. Pierre Lartigue won three consecutive editions for Citroën from 1994 to 1996. Jean-Louis Schlesser won in 1999 and 2000 with his distinctive buggies.

Hiroshi Masuoka won consecutive Dakars for Mitsubishi in 2002 and 2003, while Luc Alphand completed his remarkable transition from World Cup skiing champion to Dakar winner by taking victory with Mitsubishi in 2006.

Cyril Despres deserves special recognition as one of the great motorcycle competitors. He won the Dakar five times on two wheels before switching to cars.

Jutta Kleinschmidt: the first woman to win the Dakar Rally

Jutta Kleinschmidt made history in 2001 when she became the first woman to win the Dakar overall.

The German had first appeared in the Dakar on a motorcycle and later moved to cars. She had already become the first woman to win a Dakar stage before taking the biggest victory of her career.

Driving a Mitsubishi Pajero with Andreas Schulz, Kleinschmidt won the 2001 event after more than 6,000 competitive kilometres.

Her victory remains one of the most important milestones in Dakar history and one of the most significant overall victories by a woman in international motorsport.

Why finishing the Dakar is an achievement in itself

The winners inevitably receive most of the attention, but Dakar has always been about much more than the fight at the front.

Thousands of competitors have entered knowing they had little realistic chance of overall victory. For many, simply reaching the finish is the goal.

Long days in the vehicle, difficult navigation, mechanical repairs, extreme heat, cold desert nights, dunes, rocks, dust and physical exhaustion turn Dakar into a test that can overwhelm even experienced professional racers.

That has always been part of the attraction. The event grew from Thierry Sabine’s idea of an adventure that would test people as much as their machines.

For an amateur competitor, reaching the final podium after surviving thousands of kilometres can mean as much as winning another race would mean to a professional driver.

The dangers of the Dakar Rally

The same conditions that created the Dakar legend have also made it one of motorsport’s most dangerous major events.

Competitors have lost their lives during the rally, as have spectators, journalists, members of support crews and other people associated with the event. The exact historical total varies depending on which incidents and categories are included, so a single cumulative figure can be misleading.

The first Dakar itself suffered tragedy when French motorcycle rider Patrice Dodin died following an accident during the 1979 event.

Dakar founder Thierry Sabine was also among the victims of one of the rally’s most famous tragedies. Sabine, singer Daniel Balavoine and three others were killed when their helicopter crashed in Mali during the 1986 Dakar.

Safety standards, medical response, navigation technology and vehicle construction have changed considerably since the early years, but Dakar remains inherently dangerous. Competitors race at high speed across remote terrain where conditions can change rapidly and help may be far away.

That risk should not be romanticized, but it is impossible to tell the history of Dakar without acknowledging the people who lost their lives during the event.

Dakar Rally records

Record	Holder	Total
Most overall Dakar victories	Stéphane Peterhansel	14
Most car-category victories	Stéphane Peterhansel	8
Most motorcycle victories	Stéphane Peterhansel	6
Second-most car-category victories	Nasser Al-Attiyah	6
Four-time car winners	Ari Vatanen, Carlos Sainz	4 each
Most car-stage victories	Stéphane Peterhansel, Ari Vatanen, Nasser Al-Attiyah	50 each
First woman to win overall	Jutta Kleinschmidt	2001
First Saudi winner	Yazeed Al-Rajhi	2025

Dakar Rally car winners: 1979-2026

Year	Driver	Co-driver	Car
2026	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Fabian Lurquin	Dacia Sandrider
2025	Yazeed Al-Rajhi	Timo Gottschalk	Toyota Hilux
2024	Carlos Sainz	Lucas Cruz	Audi RS Q e-tron
2023	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Mathieu Baumel	Toyota GR DKR Hilux
2022	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Mathieu Baumel	Toyota GR DKR Hilux
2021	Stéphane Peterhansel	Édouard Boulanger	Mini JCW Buggy
2020	Carlos Sainz	Lucas Cruz	Mini JCW Buggy
2019	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Mathieu Baumel	Toyota Hilux
2018	Carlos Sainz	Lucas Cruz	Peugeot 3008 DKR Maxi
2017	Stéphane Peterhansel	Jean-Paul Cottret	Peugeot 3008 DKR
2016	Stéphane Peterhansel	Jean-Paul Cottret	Peugeot 2008 DKR
2015	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Mathieu Baumel	Mini All4 Racing
2014	Nani Roma	Michel Périn	Mini All4 Racing
2013	Stéphane Peterhansel	Jean-Paul Cottret	Mini All4 Racing
2012	Stéphane Peterhansel	Jean-Paul Cottret	Mini All4 Racing
2011	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Timo Gottschalk	Volkswagen Race Touareg 3
2010	Carlos Sainz	Lucas Cruz	Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
2009	Giniel de Villiers	Dirk von Zitzewitz	Volkswagen Race Touareg
2008	Event cancelled
2007	Stéphane Peterhansel	Jean-Paul Cottret	Mitsubishi Pajero
2006	Luc Alphand	Gilles Picard	Mitsubishi Pajero
2005	Stéphane Peterhansel	Jean-Paul Cottret	Mitsubishi Pajero
2004	Stéphane Peterhansel	Jean-Paul Cottret	Mitsubishi Pajero
2003	Hiroshi Masuoka	Andreas Schulz	Mitsubishi Pajero
2002	Hiroshi Masuoka	Pascal Maimon	Mitsubishi Pajero
2001	Jutta Kleinschmidt	Andreas Schulz	Mitsubishi Pajero
2000	Jean-Louis Schlesser	Henri Magne	Schlesser-Renault
1999	Jean-Louis Schlesser	Philippe Monnet	Schlesser-Renault
1998	Jean-Pierre Fontenay	Gilles Picard	Mitsubishi Pajero
1997	Kenjiro Shinozuka	Henri Magne	Mitsubishi Pajero
1996	Pierre Lartigue	Michel Périn	Citroën ZX Rallye Raid
1995	Pierre Lartigue	Michel Périn	Citroën ZX Rallye Raid
1994	Pierre Lartigue	Michel Périn	Citroën ZX Rallye Raid
1993	Bruno Saby	Dominique Serieys	Mitsubishi Pajero
1992	Hubert Auriol	Philippe Monnet	Mitsubishi Pajero
1991	Ari Vatanen	Bruno Berglund	Citroën ZX Rallye Raid
1990	Ari Vatanen	Bruno Berglund	Peugeot 405 T16
1989	Ari Vatanen	Bruno Berglund	Peugeot 405 T16
1988	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Piironen	Peugeot 205 T16 Grand Raid
1987	Ari Vatanen	Bernard Giroux	Peugeot 205 T16 Grand Raid
1986	René Metge	Dominique Lemoyne	Porsche 959
1985	Patrick Zaniroli	Jean Da Silva	Mitsubishi Pajero
1984	René Metge	Dominique Lemoyne	Porsche 911 4×4
1983	Jacky Ickx	Claude Brasseur	Mercedes-Benz 280 GE
1982	Claude Marreau	Bernard Marreau	Renault 20 Turbo
1981	René Metge	Bernard Giroux	Range Rover
1980	Freddy Kottulinsky	Gerd Löffelmann	Volkswagen Iltis
1979	Alain Genestier	Joseph Terbiaut / Jean Lemordant	Range Rover

How the Dakar Rally has changed since 1979

The Dakar of today would be almost unrecognizable to many of the competitors who lined up in Paris in December 1978.

The route no longer connects Paris and Dakar. The event has crossed three continents. Navigation systems, safety equipment, vehicle technology and team operations have evolved enormously, while factory teams now arrive with engineering resources that early private competitors could scarcely have imagined.

Even the championship around the rally has changed, with Dakar now forming the opening round of the World Rally-Raid Championship.

But the central challenge remains remarkably familiar.

A Dakar winner still needs speed, navigation, reliability, patience and the ability to avoid the mistake that ends the rally. An amateur finisher still has to overcome thousands of kilometres of some of the toughest terrain in motorsport.

That combination of professional competition and personal adventure is why the Dakar has survived so many changes since Thierry Sabine first imagined a race across the desert. The location has changed, the vehicles have changed and generations of champions have come and gone, but finishing the Dakar remains one of motorsport’s great achievements.