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. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal. Security threats in Mauritania led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, and events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. Since 2020, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia. The event is open to amateur and professional entries, professionals typically making up about eighty percent of the participants.
Jean Henri Todt is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver. He was previously director of Peugeot Talbot Sport and then Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal, before being appointed chief executive officer of Ferrari from 2004 to 2008. From 2009 to 2021 he served as the ninth president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
Endurance racing is a form of motorsport racing which is meant to test the durability of equipment and endurance of participants. Teams of multiple drivers attempt to cover a large distance in a single event, with participants given a break with the ability to change during the race. Endurance races can be run either to cover a set distance in laps as quickly as possible, or to cover as much distance as possible over a preset amount of time.
Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela is a Chilean former racing driver. As of 2024, he is the only Chilean to have participated in a Formula One World Championship. He made his Formula One debut on 15 March 1981, and ultimately contested 37 races scoring a total of three championship points. After Formula One, Salazar has participated in numerous motorsport disciplines, including the Chilean national rally championship, Formula 3000, IndyCar, and the World Sportscar Championship.
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race. The ACO also lobbies on behalf of French drivers on such issues as road building and maintenance, the availability of driving schools and road safety classes, and the incorporation of technical innovations into new vehicles. It also runs a roadside assistance service for its members.
The Mercedes-Benz CLR was a prototype race car developed by Mercedes-Benz in collaboration with in-house tuning division AMG and motorsports specialists HWA GmbH. Designed to meet Le Mans Grand Touring Prototype (LMGTP) regulations, the CLRs were intended to compete in sports car events during 1999, most notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans which Mercedes had last won in 1989. It was the third iteration in Mercedes' 1990s sports cars, succeeding the Mercedes-Benz CLK LM, which in turn was born of the CLK GTR. Similar to its predecessors, CLR retained elements of Mercedes-Benz's production cars, including a V8 engine loosely based on the Mercedes M119 as well as a front fascia, headlamps, and grille inspired by the then new Mercedes flagship CL Class.
David Donohue is an American race car driver formerly active in the Grand-Am's Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class for Action Express Racing and participant in the Pikes Peak races.
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud was a French racing driver, noted for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 and 1980.
The 75th 24 Hours of Le Mans was a 24-hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring cars, which took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, near Le Mans, France, from 16 to 17 June 2007. It was the 75th edition of the event, as organised by the automotive group, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) since 1923. Unlike other events, it was not a part of any endurance motor racing championship. A test day was held two weeks prior to the race on 3 June. The event was attended by 250,952 spectators.
Vanina Ickx is a Belgian racing driver.
The 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 76th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place on 14–15 June 2008 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The test day was on June 1. The race was attended by 258,000 spectators. The Audi team's progress and victory was documented in the 2008 film Truth in 24.
Yojiro Terada is a Japanese racing driver from Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. He is known for holding the record for the second most participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans without an overall win, having run on 29 occasions since 1974. He is also third behind Henri Pescarolo and Bob Wollek for the drivers with the most participations. He scored class victories at the event in 1983, 1988, 1990 and 1996, while his best overall finish was seventh in 1995.
The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, an endurance auto race run over 24 hours. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) over 13–14 June 2009 and was started by Fiat and Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo at 15:00 local time. A test day was initially scheduled for 31 May that year, but was canceled by the ACO due to economic concerns. The race was attended by 234,800 spectators.
The 2009 Dakar Rally was the 31st running of the Dakar Rally. In addition to motorcycle, automobile, and truck categories, a separate quad class was added for the first time. The race began on 3 January 2009, and took place across Argentina and Chile. The rally was for the first time to take place outside of Europe and Africa as the location was changed by organizers due to concerns about possible terrorist attacks that resulted in the moving of the 2008 edition from the traditional route to Senegal to Hungary and Romania in the spring.
Karim Ojjeh is a Syrian businessman and racing driver. He is the younger brother of Mansour Ojjeh and son of Akram Ojjeh. He is a director of TAG Finance S.A. In his spare time he races in the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercontinental Le Mans Cup which began in 2010 and is the first endurance series of world championship status since the demise of the World Sportscar Championship at the end of 1992. The World Endurance Championship name was previously used by the FIA from 1981 to 1985.
The 2016–17 Asian Le Mans Series was the fifth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series, the European Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship. The four event season begun at the Zhuhai International Circuit on 30 October 2016 and ended at Sepang International Circuit in Selangor on 22 January 2017.
The 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans was an automobile endurance race for teams of three drivers each racing Prototype and Grand Touring cars held from 15 to 16 June 2024 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, near Le Mans, France. It was the 92nd edition of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's 24-hour race and the fourth round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
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