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The 31st edition of the Dakar, the initial one in Latin-America, is currently over and has witnessed the victories of Marc Coma in the bike category, Josef Machacek from the quad category, Giniel De Villiers at the automobile class and Firdaus Kabirov in the truck class. In general, 113 bikers, 13 quad riders, 91 car teams and 54 truck groups completed the rally-raid, which was especially marked with the outstanding enthusiasm the Dakar created amongst the audiences in Argentina and in Chile. For the first time, the start didn’t take place in France, however at Grenada in Spain. Hubert Auriol became the boss of the Dakar on the floor, where he observed another fine performance from Stéphane Peterhansel in recording a third consecutive victory. More than 600 vehicles began out of Versailles. Peugeot, that had made a powerful debut the preceding year, set out to protect its name. But Ari Vatanen, with led the rally in Bamako, was in the centre of a shock when his 405 Turbo 16 was murdered and then discovered too late to last. The lion brand triumphed yet, courtesy of the compatriot Juha Kankunnen. The experience started back in 1977, when Thierry Sabine got lost on his motorcycle in the Libyan desert during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. Saved in the Mountains in extremis, he returned into France still in thrall for the landscape and promising himself he’d discuss his fascination as many individuals as possible. He jumped to think of a path starting in Europe, continued to Algiers and crossing Agadez before eventually finishing at Dakar. The founder coined a motto for his inspiration:"A challenge for people who go. A dream for people who remain behind" Courtesy of his great conviction and that modicum of insanity odd to all great ideas, the strategy immediately became a fact. Since that time, the Paris-Dakar, a exceptional event triggered by the spirit of adventure, available to all cyclists and carrying a message of friendship between many men, hasn’t failed to challengesurprise and excite. Over the span of nearly thirty years, it’s generated countless sporting and human stories.

To mark the new millennium, the Dakar chosen for a course using an endless flavour: the end was at the foot of the Gizeh Pyramids, in which the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt lie. Jean-Louis Schlesser, that remains the only person towin that the Dakar on a buggy, retained his title, as did Richard Sainct from the bike category. For this special edition, a crossing of the African continent, from the north to the southernmost tip, was the task facing the competitors. The Paris – Cape rally contained 22 stages and passed through 10 states on a road stretching 12,427 kilometers! Hubert Auriol won navigator Philippe Monnet to become the first driver to claim success in the bike and car categories. Jutta Kleinschmidt, first noticed from the Dakar two years before on a bike, had already become the first female phase winner in 1998 in a Schlesser buggy. This past year, she became the first woman to win the general event, now at the wheel of a Mitsubishi. A young motorcyclist wearing a blue bandana, first seen to the rally three decades earlier, rode his Yamaha to victory: the Stéphane Peterhansel era had begun. On four wheels, meanwhile, the Finn Ari Vatanen clocked his fourth title in the category, an album that still stands today. Thierry Sabine’s gamble took form on 26 December 1978, as 182 vehicles turned up at the Place du Trocadéro to get a 10,000-kilometre travel into the unknown, destination Dakar. The experience between two worlds sought by the event’s creator unfolded in the African continent. Among the 74 trail-blazers who made it to the Senegalese capital, Cyril Neveu, at the handlebars of some Yamaha 500 XT, composed the opening entrance on the honours list of the best rally in the world. At the finish, the all-terrain activity hero Stéphane Peterhansel took his total amount of Dakar victories to nine. After six wins a bike, he jumped to reveal corresponding expectancy on four wheels, outdoing not his team-mate Luc Alphand but in addition his Volkswagen rivals, Carlos Sainz and Giniel De Villiers. For the second South American version of the Dakar, 88 bicycles, 14 quads, 57 cars and 28 trucks managed to come back to Buenos Aires following a 9,000-km trip. Cyril Despres picked up a third title in the bicycle race, whilst Argentinean Marcos Patronelli was victorious in the quad category. In the car race, Carlos Sainz succeeded in the end of a ferocious and uncompromising struggle with Nasser Al Attiyah. At the finishing line, the 2 drivers were separated by the tiniest gap in the history of this rally: 2’12". The race has been considerably more rested for Vladimir Chagin, that couldn’t quit collecting records as the event went : he’s currently tied together with Karel Loprais about six names at the truck group and pushed his total of point victories up to 56!

Following the murder of four French citizens and three Mauritanian soldiers in the prior days prior to the beginning and answering the strong criticism of this French Ministry for Foreign affairs to not visit Mauritania, the 2008 edition of the rally had been cancelled. Terrorist acts determined by the French authorities threatened the rally directly. On the eve of this start, Etienne Lavigne was forced to announce the cancellation of the 2008 version. The opponents gathered in Lisbon for scrutineering had to deal with the shock and saluted the responsible decision of the organisers. Three weeks after (Friday the 1st of February) a terror attack in the center of Nouakchott affirmed the judiciousness of applying the precaution principle. Thierry Sabine, French singer Daniel Balavoine, journalist Nathaly Odent, pilot François Xavier-Bagnoud and radio technician Jean-Paul Le Fur all met their deaths at a helicopter crash. Thierry Sabine’s ashes were scattered in the town as well as his dad Gilbert, aided by Patrick Verdoy, took on the helm. The race went on but no one’s heart was really in it.

The motorcyclist Cyril Despres dedicated his victory to Richard Sainct, who had died a couple of weeks earlier during the Pharaohs Rally, and to Fabrizio Meoni. His two team-mates at KTM compensated because of their enthusiasm for the desert with their own lives, as did Juan-Manuel Perez, the victim of a deadly fall. The first trip to the Tenere desert was as astounding as it was frightful. The opponents found themselves dropped in an interminable sandstorm that induced no less than 40 motorists to lose their claws. Individuals who strayed furthest needed to spend up to four days getting back on track. The legend of the Dakar has been underway. The Paris-Dakar quickly won over the general public, fascinated from these ordinary adventurers exposing the desert using limited funds. Hubert Auriol, already known"the African", won his first Dakar.