The Dakar Rally

The race originated in December 1977, a year after Thierry Sabine got lost in the Ténéré desert whilst competing in the 1975 "Rallye Côte-Côte" between Abidjan and Nice, and decided the desert would be a good location for a regular rally, on the lines of the 1974 London–Sahara–Munich World Cup Rally — the first automobile race to cross the Sahara Desert twice.

A predecessor event, the Mediterranean Rally (also known as the Algiers–Cape Town Rally), was a trans-Africa rally run in five editions between 1951 and 1961, evolving from a mixed road and off-road rally to a fully off-road endurance event.

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 was the event's first winner, riding a Yamaha motorcycle. The event grew rapidly: 216 vehicles started in 1980 and 291 in 1981. Early entrants included Jacky Ickx with actor Claude Brasseur in a Citroën CX, and Thierry de Montcorgé in a Rolls-Royce; the 1981 race was won by two-time winner Hubert Auriol.

In 1982 there were 382 racers and Neveu won for a third time, now riding a Honda motorcycle, while victory in the car class went to the Marreau brothers in a privately entered Renault 20. Auriol captured his second bikes class victory in 1983, the first year that Mitsubishi competed, beginning an association that lasted until 2009.

Porsche entered at the behest of 1983 car class winner Jacky Ickx in 1984 and won at their first attempt courtesy of René Metge. Gaston Rahier took back-to-back motorcycle wins for BMW in 1984 and 1985. In 1985, Patrick Zaniroli took Mitsubishi's first of 12 victories in the car category. The 1986 event, won by Metge and Neveu, was marred by the death of event founder Sabine in a helicopter crash; his father Gilbert took over organisation.

The 1987 rally marked the start of increased factory participation as French manufacturer Peugeot arrived and won with former World Rally champion Ari Vatanen. The 1988 event reached a record 603 starters. Vatanen's title defence was derailed when his Peugeot was stolen from the service area at Bamako, and victory went to teammate Juha Kankkunen. Peugeot and Vatanen returned to winning ways in 1989 and 1990. Sister brand Citroën then took over, with Vatanen taking a third consecutive win in 1991.

The 1991 event also saw Stéphane Peterhansel take his first title in the motorcycle category with Yamaha, beginning an era of domination by the Frenchman. The 1992 event finished in Cape Town, South Africa, where GPS technology was used for the first time; Auriol became the first person to win in multiple classes after taking Mitsubishi's second victory in the car class. The 1993 entry list slumped to 153 competitors, and the Amaury Sport Organisation took over from Gilbert Sabine as organiser.

The 1997 rally ran exclusively in Africa for the first time (Dakar–Agadez–Dakar). Japan's Kenjiro Shinozuka became the first non-European to win the event for Mitsubishi. Peterhansel equalled Neveu's record of five motorcycle victories in 1997, then surpassed it with a sixth in 1998.

In 1999, former Formula One and sports car driver Jean-Louis Schlesser, constructing his own Renault-backed buggies since 1992, overcame the works Mitsubishi and Nissan crews to win. Schlesser successfully defended in 2000 on the Dakar–Cairo route. Jutta Kleinschmidt became the first woman to win the rally in 2001 — albeit only after Schlesser was penalised one hour for unsportsmanlike conduct. KTM took their first Dakar win through Fabrizio Meoni in 2001, beginning a winning streak in the motorcycle class that lasted through 2019.

By 2004, the entry list had grown to 595, up from 358 in 2001, with a record 688 competitors starting in 2005. In 2004, Peterhansel emulated Auriol's feat of winning the rally on both two wheels and four. Volkswagen now fielded a full factory effort alongside Mitsubishi and Nissan. In 2006, former skiing champion Luc Alphand won for Mitsubishi after Peterhansel committed errors late in the rally.

The 2008 event, due to start in Lisbon, was cancelled on 4 January 2008 amid fears of attacks in Mauritania following the 2007 killing of four French tourists. The ASO instead created the 2008 Central Europe Rally in Hungary and Romania as the legal 2008 edition. Chile and Argentina hosted the event from 2009.

In 2009, Volkswagen took their first win as a works entrant courtesy of Giniel de Villiers. Former WRC champion Carlos Sainz won in 2010. Nasser Al-Attiyah won for Volkswagen in 2011 before the manufacturer withdrew. The X-raid team, now using Minis, then came to the fore: Peterhansel secured his fourth car-category win in 2012 and his tenth in total. By 2013, Peterhansel's total rose to eleven; Cyril Despres racked up five KTM wins in the motorcycle class through 2013. Peugeot returned for 2015 with a diesel two-wheel-drive contender; Peterhansel took his sixth car win for Peugeot in 2016.

In 2019 — the first Dakar held in a single country (Peru) — Toyota won for the first time with Nasser Al-Attiyah, his third victory with three different manufacturers. Australian Toby Price took his first Dakar victory for KTM in the motorcycle class in 2019.

Following deteriorating relationships with South American governments, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented planned expansion to other Middle Eastern countries from 2021.

The five competitive groups are motorcycles, quads, cars (buggies to small SUVs), UTVs, and trucks. As of 2011, the engine displacement limit for all motorbikes is 450cc, either single or twin cylinder. The "Original by Motul" subcategory (formerly "Malle Moto") requires riders to compete without any outside assistance. Quads were dropped from the Dakar in 2025 due to declining manufacturer support. The car class comprises vehicles under 3,500 kg; the truck class, first run as a separate category in 1980, covers vehicles over 3,500 kg. The truck event was not run in 1989 after vehicles with twin engines generating over 1,000 hp were deemed too dangerous following a fatal accident in 1988. Kamaz has dominated the truck category since the turn of the century.

The UTV category was introduced in 2017. A Dakar Classic class for cars and trucks manufactured before 2000 was introduced in 2021. Mission 1000, a category for alternative power sources including electric, hydrogen, and hybrid vehicles, was introduced in 2024 as part of the ASO's "Dakar Future" program.

76 people in total, including 31 competitors, have died in the Dakar Rally. The 1986 event saw the death of founder Thierry Sabine in a helicopter crash, along with singer-songwriter Daniel Balavoine, helicopter pilot François-Xavier Bagnoud, journalist Nathalie Odent, and Jean-Paul Lefur. Six people were killed during the 1988 race, including three participants and three local residents. In 2005, Spanish motorcyclist José Manuel Pérez and two-time winner Fabrizio Meoni died within two days of each other. In 2006, Australian KTM motorcyclist Andy Caldecott died from neck injuries in a crash during stage 9. In 2020, Portuguese motorcycle rider Paulo Gonçalves died after suffering a heart attack following a crash on stage seven.

When held in Africa, the rally was criticised for its impact on local communities, including dust, livestock deaths, and collisions injuring or killing local residents. The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano called the 1988 race a "vulgar display of power and wealth". Critics also raised environmental concerns; damage to archaeological sites in Chile was cited in 2014. The move to Saudi Arabia for 2020 was criticised by human rights organisations as sportswashing.

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