» DAKAR OVERVIEW

The Dakar Rally: What is it? - by Mark Kariya

Mention "Dakar" to the average American, and you’re likely to be met with a blank stare. (Yeah, we know-world geography isn’t a strong point among average Americans, but that’s another matter.) In fact, Americans are probably more familiar with places like Durban or Darwin or Dublin than the capital of Senegal. Much of the rest of the world, however, is quite familiar with this seaside city in western Africa, especially when it comes to foreign fans of desert racing. Dakar is, of course, the terminus of what is the undisputed king of multi-day desert rallies: the Dakar Rally. While not the oldest, it has become the most famous of what Europeans call “marathon raids” or "rally raids," beginning with a few days of pageantry and racing in Europe and ending nearly three weeks later in Africa. It all began in 1977 when, after getting lost in the deserts of Libya while racing in a "rally" and becoming enchanted by their stark beauty, Frenchman Thierry Sabine imagined putting on an event through that type of terrain. It would begin in Paris and end in Dakar, the capital of the former French colony (which gained independence in 1960).

Cyril Neveu won the first edition in 1979. Each year since followed a different route; for example, the silver anniversary race in 2003 saw the start in Marseilles, France, and the finish in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt-the course never came near Senegal. Even before the Dakar Rallye began, a few Europeans had ventured to the United States to compete in various off-road races, especially the Baja 1000, and fallen in love with the wide-open spaces. However, there simply wasn’t enough open land in Europe to do that type of racing. Africa, on the other hand, did have plenty of desert terrain available and being closer to Europe, it was far more convenient and more affordable to travel to. The fact that France and other European countries had strong ties to many of their former colonies in Africa certainly didn’t hurt.

Being an endurance type of event, it was only natural for rallies to adopt the rules for that sort of game, which in Europe was the enduro, though with modifications. Essentially, it works like this: A “prologue” at the beginning of the competition is a short race that simply determines the starting order for the real racing; competitors are flagged off at the start at timed intervals, usually one minute apart. The racing takes place in “stages.” Each day may consist of “special” stages where each racer completes an unknown course as quickly as he can and “liaison” or “transport” stages where the objective is simply to complete the distance. While there is ample time allowed to complete liaisons, there is a time penalty for completing them too slowly.

In the Dakar Rallye, competitors face daunting mileage; a day may have only two stages, but they can total 700 miles, 200 of which is transport. It’s not unusual for the day to begin at 5:00 or even 4:30 A.M., and while the leaders will finish late in the afternoon, slower competitors will sometimes roll into the finish just as the leaders are starting the next day! Obviously, they’ll get no rest, and their machines will receive minimal maintenance. Sleep deprivation is a very real challenge during the three weeks of the race.

Unlike American off-road racing, rally competitors must navigate the proscribed course without arrows, ribbons, paint, lime or other special markings. They must follow “road books” and GPS receivers. The road books contain mileage at landmarks, and the organizer provides GPS coordinates of points along the course, including checkpoints and refueling stops (which may be a couple hundred miles apart, hence the need for fuel tanks capable of holding a dozen gallons or so). Due to the remoteness and vastness of the land, each machine must carry emergency drinking water and an emergency locator beacon. Should use of the beacon become necessary to signal for help generally due to serious injury that entrant may not continue. Mechanical breakdowns will find competitors seeking assistance from those trailing them, as that sort of help is permitted.

Those with factory support and those who have contracted with support services have mechanics who perform maintenance at night while the riders sleep. Huge trucks (imagine something like a six-wheel-drive box van with flotation tires about four feet tall) carry spare parts and travel along the race route; in fact, the organizers even have a class for them. Those without support get by as best they can with minimal maintenance and sleep. Giant cargo planes help transport the organizers, much equipment, journalists and other personnel. The air strips where they land are often barely improved but become the center of activity, drawing curious locals to view the traveling circus. Medics have both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft at their disposal.

Finishing something like the Dakar Rally is a tremendous accomplishment and something dreamed of by many. It takes a huge commitment of time and money just to enter, not to mention preparing and maintaining the machine plus taking care of all the other essentials. But taking part in it is often a life-changing experience, according to those who’ve experienced it once and wish to again.

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