The world's most dangerous sporting event.
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Image Gallery ( 22 images )The original route from Paris to Dakar was soon under pressures not previously imagined. Deaths on French roads created pressures in Europe and the political instabilities of the North African region eventually forced regular modifications to the route - early rallies passed through Algeria, but local wars popped up and had to be skirted several times. Competitors have regularly been fired upon with guns. Landmines regularly claim competitors. Terrorists planning to attack riders in the event were arrested in December, 2004.
With so many factors to consider in its immense organization, the start was eventually moved from Paris to Arras, then to Spain, and five years ago the route started in Dakar and finished in Cairo. As time has gone on, more and more transport stages (not competitive, not scored) were introduced to reduce the risks to the public but the body count continued on average this year.
This year the route was significantly reworked from its glory days racing format, though it still covered 8956 km over 16 days, with around half of it competitive racing.
The Dakar Rally began in 1978 when like all those great motor races at the beginning of motorsport history, it began in Paris, though this time it travelled all the way to Dakar in Senegal. It was a true city-to-city race in the mould of those historic turn-of-the-century events. Pitched as unquestionably the world's toughest motorsport event, it captured the imagination of the booming off-road vehicle marketplace of the seventies and prospered.
The Paris-Dakar rally soon became massive. It gathered more than its share of controversy but also grabbed the global media focus and the patronage of all serious off-road 4x4s, motorcycles and even truck manufacturers.
A win in the Paris-Dakar rally is worth lots of sales - the product has been proven under the most extreme conditions. BMW has many fine trophies yet it treasures its Paris-Dakar wins more than most. Mitsubishi's tenth win in the open section this year will forever represent the company's core values.
KTM is an Austrian off-road motorcycle manufacturer that builds premium off-road performance machinery. There is no better place to prove just how premium your product is than the Dakar - nine of the first 10 bikes at the end of the rally were KTM, including all spots on the victory dias.
Akira Kijima, Managing Director Head of Product Operations for Mitsubishi Motors and responsible for motor sport activities, said after the 2005 event: "Mitsubishi Motors' involvement in motor sport is not merely a promotional activity, but is really at the heart of the Mitsubishi Motors brand. We strive to take our cars to the limits of performance by competing in such events as the Dakar and the World Rally Championship (WRC) and feed the technology and know-how acquired directly back into all of our production cars. This ensures that our production vehicles not only have improved durability and safety, but also good road performance and driving capability.
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