 Marcos (right) with his brother Alejandro at the 2010 Dakar Rally | |||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | February 1, 1980 Las Flores, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 80 kg (176 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Motorsport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Rally raid | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Marcos Patronelli (born 1 February 1980) is an Argentine rally raid driver (quad), three-times winner the Dakar Rally (quads). [1] Brother of the two-times winner Alejandro Patronelli.
| Year | Category | Bike | Rank | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Quad | Can-Am Renegade 800 | 2nd | 3 |
| 2010 | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 1st | 5 | |
| 2011 | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Ret. | 0 | |
| 2012 | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 2nd | 3 | |
| 2013 | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 1st | 4 | |
| 2014 | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Ret. | 1 | |
| 2016 | Yamaha Raptor 700 | 1st | 3 |
The 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, but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. Since 2020, the race has been entirely in Saudi Arabia. The rally is open to amateur and professional entries, amateurs typically making up about eighty percent of the participants.
Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter. He was the 2006 Production World Rally Champion, 2014 and 2015 WRC-2 champion, a 13-time Middle East Rally Champion, four times winner of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, and a triple 2011, 2015 and 2019 Dakar Rally winner. His three victories in the Dakar Rally make him the only Middle Easterner and West Asian to win the competition more than once.
Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon rallies like the Dakar Rally; with other cross-country rally events lasting 4–5 days. With skill in navigation being key, the driving skill and endurance of riders, drivers, co-drivers, and machines are put to the test. The total distance covered can be anywhere between 600 km to over 5,000 km with terrain ranging from sandy dunes, forest roads, mountain roads, and dry river beds; among others.
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 cancellation of the 2008 Dakar Rally.
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 2012 Dakar Rally was the 34th running of the event. It was held in South America for the fourth successive time.
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.
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.
Ignacio Nicolás Casale Catraccia is a four-wheeler motorcycle rider who won three times in the quad bike category of Dakar Rally. He moved to the UTV category after his second victory on the Dakar Rally in 2018.
The FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship is the premier championship of Rally raid racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), since 1999 . Asides the main championship, there are World Cups for the following categories: Quads, Women, Junior, and over 450 cc.
Rafał Krzysztof Sonik is a Polish quad rally driver. He is the second Polish driver to win the Dakar Rally (2015). Before that, he had claimed the second and twice the third place. He won the FIM World Cup three times, and is a five-time Polish Champion winner in endurance racing.
Ayrat Ilgizarovich Mardeev is a Russian rally raid truck driver. He won his first Dakar Rally title in 2015 driving a Kamaz.
The 2015 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship season was the 13th season of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.
Merzouga Rally is a rally raid that takes place in Morocco every year since 2010 at the beginning of October in the big dunes of Merzouga. It’s a five-day race plus prologue and a marathon stage in the desert. The stages are varied and around 200-300km long. Navigation is the key and the competitors use the GPS Unik2, the same used on the Dakar Rally. Safety is important as well with the competitors using the Iritrack, the tracking system studied for the African rallies. Plus a professional medical staff with 4x4 ambulances and doctors on bike and quad along the track and heli-ambulance service. To meet the needs of the professional riders but also the necessities of amateurs, the Merzouga Rally features the division of the route in 2 categories: PRO: open to pro riders and those competitors ready for an ultimate challenge EXPERT: a technical and navigated route but less extreme stages as the Expert riders will cover the 75% of the complete route of the Pro riders. The Merzouga Raid: Ideal for those who face the desert for the first time. At their own pace, riding on the same route of the rally in small groups with an expert guide. The vehicles will be equipped with world track, the satellite system that allow to follow the vehicles on track in real time.. Merzouga Rally took originally place in October and then was organized in April: the 2020 edition will start on the May 23rd, with the final stage scheduled on May 29th.
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.
Matthias Walkner is an Austrian rally raid biker and former motocross rider, official driver of the team Red Bull KTM Factory for the Dakar Rally.
Alejandro Patronelli is an Argentine rally raid driver (quad), two-times winner the Dakar Rally (quads). Brother of the three-times winner Marcos Patronelli.
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.
Josef Macháček is a Czech four-wheeler motorcycle rider and rally raid driver. He won the 2009 Dakar Rally in the quad category, the first rider to do so.
The 2021 FIM Bajas World Cup season is the 10th season of the FIM Bajas World Cup; an international rally raid competition for motorbikes, quads and SSV.
