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.
Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests, navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. Rallies may be short in the form of trials at a single venue, or several thousand miles long in an extreme endurance rally.
The Plymouth-Banjul Challenge is run by 'Dakar Challenge' and self described as 'The original Banger Challenge’ and previously known as the Plymouth-Dakar Challenge, is an annual car event for charity. Established in 2002, the first rally went to Dakar in 2003, and then on to Banjul from 2005. It very roughly follows the route of the more famous Dakar Rally, visiting many of the same countries.
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.
The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sedan rally racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, it was widely held by contemporaries to be the most dangerous race of any type in the world. It has since been resurrected along some of the original course as a classic speed rally.
The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula, with a course of up to about 850 or more miles. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pearlman in 1967 and is sanctioned by SCORE International. The race is the final round of a four-race annual series, which also includes the San Felipe 250, the Baja 400 and the Baja 500. The 2017 Baja 1000 marked the 50th anniversary of the race.
The Mongol Rally is an intercontinental car rally that begins in Europe and ends in Ulan-Ude, Russia. The rally originally ended in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. However, to avoid punitive costs and taxes associated with vehicle imports and disposal, the rally now passes through Mongolia and ends in Ulan-Ude. The principal launch is from Goodwood Circuit in the United Kingdom, with subsidiary starting points in the Czech Republic. There are three fundamental rules to the rally:
The Budapest-Bamako or Great African Run is a charity car race in Europe and Africa, and the largest amateur rally in the world. It is a low-budget version of the Dakar Rally, and goes from Budapest, Hungary to Bamako, Mali through the Sahara. It passes through Hungary, Austria or Slovenia, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali. The Budapest-Bamako was inspired by the Paris-Dakar Rally. There are few entry restrictions: as long as a vehicle is street legal, it can join the event.
Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a time-card enduro, whereby a number of stages are raced in a time trial against the clock.
Desert racing is the act of racing through the desert in a two- or four-wheeled off-road vehicle. Races, which generally consist of two or more loops around a course covering up to 4,660 miles (7,500 km), can take the form of Hare and Hound or Hare scramble style events, and are often laid out over a long and harsh track through relatively barren terrain.
The Indian Autorickshaw Challenge is an international autorickshaw rally. The entrants use the autorickshaw or tuk-tuk, a common vehicle of India's urban east, to cross large portions of the Indian sub-continent over a period several of days. The simple construction of the autorickshaw and the diversity of the landscape requires the participants to be resourceful and determined in order to finish the course. The event is organised by Chennai Event Management Services.
A charity rally is a charitable event in which participants usually drive, ride or otherwise participate in through the medium of motorised wheeled transportation in an event to raise money for a charitable cause.
Rally raid is a type of off-road motorsport event competed with different types of vehicles. Along with shorter baja rallies, rally raid constitutes cross-country rallying. Both the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) co-organise a common World Rally-Raid Championship featuring the same events and types of vehicles.
The National Off-Road Racing Association is a desert off-road racing association.
The Silk Way Rally is an annual rally raid held in Russia and neighbouring countries. The first Silk Way Rally was run in 2009 from Kazan, Russia, to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It is organised by the Silk Way Rally Association.
Africa Eco Race is an annual rally raid, organised in France and run in North and West Africa, launched after the cancellation of 2008 Dakar Rally, and the subsequent moving of the rally to South America.
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 Baja XL is a biennial off-road charity rally and road trip. The rally is organized by the creators of the largest amateur rally in the world (Budapest-Bamako). It is the successor of the Baja 4000, and it's a low budget, amateur version of the famous Baja 1000 and Dakar Rally. The first edition was held in January 2017. The rally started in Los Angeles, and traveled 4000 kilometers on the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. In 2018, before the second edition of the event, organizers changed the event's name from Baja 4000 to Baja XL. From Jan 29-Feb 7, 2019 the second edition was held with 120 teams entering the event.
The 2019 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies was the 27th season of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies; an annual competition for rally raid events for cars, buggies, side-by-sides, and trucks held in multiple countries.
Ricky Brabec is an American professional off-road and rally raid motorcycle racer. He is prominent for being the first American competitor to win the motorcycle division of the Dakar Rally in 2020. He won the Dakar again in 2024.
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