The Dakar Rally or simply "The Dakar", formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally", is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. The rally is an off-road endurance event. The terrain that the competitors traverse is much tougher than that used in 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 among others. The distances of each stage covered 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 Amaury Sport Organisation is a private company, founded in 1992, that is part of the privately-owned French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury (EPA). ASO organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events over 250 days of competition per year, with 90 events in 30 countries. The president of ASO is Jean-Etienne Amaury, the son of Philippe Amaury and Marie-Odile Amaury, and grandson of EPA founder, Émilien Amaury.
The 2008 Dakar Rally would have been the 30th running of the annual off-road race. The rally was to start in Lisbon, Portugal on 5 January 2008, running through Europe and Africa until the finish in Dakar, Senegal on 20 January. The event was postponed and moved one day before the intended start date, due to concerns over a possible terrorist attack aimed at the competitors.
The 2010 Dakar Rally was the 32nd running of the event. It was held in South America for the second successive time, and ran from 1 to 16 January. The Amaury Sport Organisation and the governments of Argentina and Chile agreed to a return to South America for the event in February 2009.
The 2011 Dakar Rally was the 33rd running of the event. It was held in Argentina and Chile for the third successive time, and ran from 1 to 16 January. The Amaury Sport Organisation and the governments of Argentina and Chile agreed to a return to South America for the event on 23 March 2010.
The 2013 Dakar Rally was the 35th running of the event and the fifth successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Lima, Peru on 5 January and finished in Santiago, Chile on 19 January after fourteen stages of competition. 448 vehicles in four classes of competition started the event, which comprised a total distance of over 8,500 kilometres. The motorcycle category was won by French rider Cyril Despres for a fifth time, riding a KTM; Marcos Patronelli took his second win in the quad competition riding a Yamaha; Stéphane Peterhansel captured his eleventh Dakar victory in the car category alongside co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret at the wheel of a Mini; and Eduard Nikolaev's maiden victory re-captured the truck category title for Kamaz.
Joan Barreda Bort is a Spanish rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally.
The 2014 Dakar Rally was the 36th running of the event and the sixth successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Rosario, Argentina on January 5 and finished in Valparaíso, Chile on January 18 after 13 stages of competition. Marc Coma won his fourth title in the motorcycle category riding a KTM; Ignacio Casale took his maiden title in the quad category on a Yamaha; Nani Roma clinched victory in the car category for the first time, ten years after his sole motorcycle title, driving a Mini; and Andrey Karginov took his first truck category title for Kamaz.
The 2015 Dakar Rally was the 37th running of the event and the seventh successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 4, then ran through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, before returning to Buenos Aires on January 17 after 13 stages of competition, for a total distance of 9,000 km (5,600 mi). For the first time, organizers reserved separate rest days for different categories so that at least two classes raced on each day.
Can-Am is a Canadian subsidiary of Bombardier Recreational Products, once part of Bombardier Inc. Its products include ATVs, motorcycles, and side-by-side vehicles. It was founded in 1942 as L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée by Joseph-Armand Bombardier in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada.
The 2016 Dakar Rally was the 38th edition of the event and the eighth successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 2, then ran through Argentina and Bolivia.
In relation to motorsport, Group T4 is a set of technical specifications for modified production cross-country side-by-side vehicles used in off-road Cross-Country Rallying. The group is governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and defined in appendix J, article 286a of its International Sporting Code. The vehicles are modified for competition purposes from vehicles manufactured in numbers greater than 250 in a 12 month period. They must be road legal, but typically differ from the 'cars' defined in Group T1 and Group T2 by a much lower minimum weight (900 kg) and no requirement for parts such as a windscreen or windows. The vehicles must be powered by one engine and without driving aids such as traction control or ABS. Though the vehicles do not need to be homologated, a reference vehicle needs to be provided to the FIA for approval.
Dakar 18 is a racing video game simulation developed by Portuguese studio Bigmoon Entertainment and published by Deep Silver for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. It is based on the annual rally raid organized by the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O). It was the first officially licensed Dakar Rally game since Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally in 2003.
The 2020 Dakar Rally was the 42nd edition of the event and the first edition held in Saudi Arabia. The event started in Jeddah on 5 January and finished in Al-Qiddiya on 17 January after 12 stages of the competition.
The 2021 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 43rd edition of the Dakar Rally. The event was held for 14 days, starting from 3 January and ended 15 January 2021. It was the second time Saudi Arabia had hosted the event, with support from the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. The race started and ended in Jeddah, allowing the competitors to venture through the desert and alongside the Red Sea. The route consists of one prologue stage and 12 normal stages, with one rest day in Ha'il on 9 January. The rally was originally intended to run through 2–3 additional countries, with Egypt and Jordan being rumoured likely candidates. However, due to travel and border restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the route stayed entirely within Saudi Arabian territory.
The 2022 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 44th edition of the Dakar Rally organized by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The event took place between 1–14 January 2022. This was the third time Saudi Arabia had hosted the event, with support from the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. The race started in Ha'il and ended in Jeddah, going through canyons and cliffs in the Neom region, passing by the Red Sea coastline, into the stretches of dunes surrounding Riyadh, with a lot more action on sand dunes in the Empty Quarter. The route consisted of one prologue stage and 12 normal stages, with one rest day in Riyadh on 8 January.
The 2023 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 45th edition of the Dakar Rally organized by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The event takes place between 31 December 2022 and 15 January 2023. This is the fourth time Saudi Arabia has hosted the event. For the second year running, the event is also the first round of the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship.
The 2024 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia. It was the 46th edition of the Dakar Rally, organized by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), and the 5th time Saudi Arabia has hosted the event.
The 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship is the fourth season of the annual competition for rally raid events sanctioned by both the FIA and FIM. The Amaury Sport Organization is in the fourth of a five-year contract to promote the championship. The season started with the 2025 Dakar Rally, which was won in cars by Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk and by Daniel Sanders on bikes.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi 
Timo Gottschalk 
Daniel Sanders 
Nicolás Cavigliasso 
Brock Heger 
Martin Macík 
Carlos Santaolalla
