Discover the world—and yourself—behind the wheel of a rally race car.
Shot from above , the Saudi-Arabian Arabian desertis almost otherworldly : expansive sandy terrain pocked with alien hoodoos and undulating dunes stretch as high as 600 groundwork . There are salt flats andquicksand(not just forIndiana Jonesmovies ! ) , sandy Sir Joseph Banks that drop into cobalt blue ocean , jutting escarpments , and mountainous borders that have birthed prophets . The only desert in Asia ( technically an extension of the Sahara ) , it ’s also hostile terrain — people on a regular basis get stranded or led astray in these parts . temperature ramble from blisteringly red-hot in the daytime to freezing at night . And then there are the fauna . You might encounter camels make water languid trails . Or Arabian oryxes , ibexes , gazelle and wolf who might be less than forgiving of your intrusion .
itinerary change annuallysince the first backwash in 1978 , but the epic landscapes remain a constant quantity . From the original journeying of Paris , France to Dakar , Senegal to its belated chemise to South America in 2009 , remind by security concerns in Mauritania , to the innovative backwash , nowfully ensconce in Saudi Arabia . This year ’s journey kicked off December 31 , 2022 at a " Sea Camp " on the shore of the Red Sea , then cross the land to finish in Dammam along the Persian Gulf .
In the world of rally , anything does happen . Like the time in Abu Dhabi when Gutiérrez thought she was stuck in a sand dune , but had in fact climb up onto the rotting corpse of a camel . ( “ The smell was ugly , ” she return . ) Or last January in Saudi Arabia , when torrential rains stream down , create a drippy mud river flow through a purportedly dry ditch she and her team were in the process of crossing ( the close call was alsocaught on televisionfor all to see ) . Ever wondered what come about when it rain down in the desert ? It ’s not in effect .
Wave at the Red Sea, but maybe stay far away from the edge.|Franck Fife/ AFP/ Getty Images
“ In five minutes , the piss reached our necks , ” says Gutiérrez . “ There was a very strong stream , and I had to quell inside the car accelerating so that no water got into the engine . ” She remember her railway locomotive revving , but there was no budging . At one full point , she conceive that the car might turtle , trap her inside . But two fellow competition in massive trucks came through with assistance , eventually pulling her fishing rig out in lawful Dakar sportsmanship fashion . Here , you aid if you could , because you have no idea what can go on to you down the road . “ Today you may help someone , but surely tomorrow you will be the one who require help , ” says Gutiérrez . “ It is a moral that we must know when doing a Dakar . ”
Before a slipstream of this order of magnitude , you get up by knowing your machine , knowing yourself , and , most importantly , being ready for anything — including getting fall behind , which is how this whole thing began in the first place . But first , some mass meeting racing account .
A challenge, with a French accent
In 1907 , the modern motor motorcar was still somewhat in its infancy , and with manufacturing technology still a few years out from Henry Ford ’s fabrication demarcation , themotocycle , as the horseless stroller were called , was still the domain of the elites who could give to tool around Ithiel Town . But French newspaperLe Matinsaw their potential for more : a pecker for exploration and adventure , connect man and his huge milieu .
So they issue a challenge . “ What needs to be proved today is that as long as a man has a motorcar , he can do anything and go anywhere,”the newspaper proclaimedon January 31 of that year . “ Is there anyone who will tackle to travel this summer from Paris to Peking [ Beijing ] by motorcar ? ”
The result was thePeking - to - Paris Challenge , which left a few months later on on June 10 and traversed a 9,317 - mile road span both on- and off - route conditions . It was n’t arace , per say , but a psychometric test of just what these Modern machines could do when combine with the mechanical and driving skill of explorative minds . There were no rules except to finish what you started , and the first one to make it to the close was rewarded with a celebratory magnum of Mumm Champagne .
Gutiérrez getting in the zone.|Courtesy of Cristina Gutiérrez of the Red Bull CanAm Factory Team
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Initially , interest was in high spirits , with 40 people signing up to give it a go . But , presumptively discourage by the distance , and want of , well , actual roads — so much so that , in the oddment , the official challenge was actually strike down — the legal age omit out . By raceway sidereal day , just five citizenry decided to go through with it ; four people finished . The winner of the whole shebang was Prince Scipione Borghese , an Italian aristocrat who , with Italian diary keeper Luigi Barzini Sr . at his side , complete the course through China , Russia , Poland , Germany , and Belgium over two long month . ( But , if we ’re being technical , it was his chauffeur who did most of the driving . )
Nevertheless , the Peking - to - Paris rig the tone for the innovative rally , distance races that last from a few sidereal day to weeks at a sentence , institutionalise drivers crashing through paved road and rugged terrains , often with a stop number factor . Some , like the Dakar , are based in navigation and regimented in stages with timed sections called “ special ” ( you may win a single leg , but to advance the integral matter , you have to have done it in the short amount of metre with no penalties ) . Others though , are rent ’s say … pliant , when it comes to rules .
There ’s theFerrari Cavalcade Classiche , an invitation - only competition determine to Ferrari - owners only , as well as the madcapMongol Rally(tagline : “ Motoring stupidity on a global scale ” ) . The latter covers 10,000 miles from Europe to Russia across the Mongol desert , requiring participant to raise money for brotherly love , improvise their own routes , pilot film only vehicles with little engines , and , throughout it marvellous , apparel “ fancy ” ( intend : top hats ) . Considering the spectacle , unsurprisingly the 19 - class - former race quickly achievedYouTube celebrity .
Yup, it rains in the desert.|Franck Fife /AFP/Getty Images
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There ’s also theMonte Carlo Rally , first plunge in 1911 by Prince Albert I , theSafari Rallythrough Kenya , and theMille Miglia , which , from 1927 to 1957 , ran as an survival race and has since been reborn as a Graeco-Roman car rally involving vehicles made prior to 1976 . There ’s theAfrica Eco Rally , theSilk Way Rally , theAbu Dhabi Desert Challenge , and theSno Drift Rally , where drivers are almost guarantee to come across snow or ice . There ’s the all - encompassingWorld Rally Championship , which includes the Dakar . AndPeking - to - Paris , incredibly , still exist . Revived in 1997 and running periodically ( the next one begins in May 2024 ) , competitors must now drive vintage or classic cars , while the deluxe prize is still , charmingly , an oversized bottle of Champagne .
But it was theAbidjan - squeamish Rallyfrom Côte d’Ivoire to Côte d’Azur that truly inspired the Dakar Rally . And interrogatively enough , it never would have happened if in 1977 , one Thierry Sabine had n’t gotten lost in the desert .
The man, the myth, the Thierry Sabine
A Frenchman with a indigence for speed , Sabine was trying his hand at Rallye Côte - Côte when he descend off his Yamaha bike , smashed his compass , and set up himself ineffective to navigate his way out of Africa ’s Ténéré desert . Out of gasoline , he abandoned his ride and began traveling by foot . After three long daylight , he was discovered dehydrated and near destruction . And yet , while most logical world in such a state would stay far , far aside from any similar situation for the rest period of their lives , the fully recovered Sabine , as if bewitched by the desert , looked out at the same dusty , unforgiving landscape that had nearly ended him and think , I bet an amateur would have some sport driving on that .
Thus he created the Dakar Rally , a 7,460 - mile off - road race beginning in Paris , France before transfer across the Mediterranean via southerly Spain and continue to Dakar , Senegal . The first race lasted 19 days , from December 26 , 1978 to January 14 , 1979 . In alignment with Sabine ’s interests , contestants would not be corralled into using just one type of fomite . That first year , 80 railroad car , 90 motorcycles , and 12 motortruck set up in front of the Eiffel Tower hold back for the signaling to start .
Sabine ’s motto ? “ A challenge for those who go . A dream for those who last out behind . ” And since then many have accepted this challenge — the Dakar Rally has since become the most prominent rally in the earth .
Where does it begin? Where does it end?|Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images
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Over the years , the Rally has racked up more than a few good story , some involving celebrity drivers . In 1985 and 1986 , Prince Albert of Monaco entered the competitor armed with a Mitsubishi Pajero . He failed to make it to the polish strain in both attempts , petering out at around the same breaker point . In 1985 , his heavy sister ( and Colorado - competitor ) Princess Caroline face a similar portion alongside her husband Stefano Casiraghi when their $ 800,000 15 - short ton supertruck flipped over just as they slay the Algerian desert .
French histrion Claude Brassuer has also vie , as has French singer Johnny Hallyday . And in 1982 , Mark Thatcher , the ne’er do well son of then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , went missing in Algeria during the airstream , accompanied by his atomic number 27 - gadget driver Anne - Charlotte Verney and their mechanic ( an incident played out in the 4th season ofThe Crown ) . Thatcher afterward called the British Ambassador in Algeria , and a orotund - exfoliation search and deliverance foreign mission was launched . Six years later on , the battered racing car were spotted off - path by an Algerian Air Force plane low on supply . The rescued Thatchersomewhat arrogantly said everything was okay ; all he needed was “ a beer and a sandwich , a bath and a shave . ”
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But not all tales of Dakar have a happy ending . The Rally ’s flipside — and some of the draw poker , if we ’re being honest — is its mortality pace . Over 80 people have died since that first race in 1978 , from participants to spectators . driver have rolled over at high speeds , been crush by their vehicle , crashed into rocks , and lost controller due to elusive terrain and unanticipated rude disasters . They ’ve had heart attacks , give in to head combat injury , and gotten into accidents with non - participant . And in one extreme case , Charles Cabbanes , a support motortruck number one wood for the Citroën World Rally Team , was reportedly inject and killed by rebels in Mali ( though no organization at long last claimed the slaying ) . As aNew YorkTimesheadline put it in 2007,Death is Part of the Race ’s Allure .
Perhaps the Rally ’s most far-famed casualty was founder Thierry Sabine himself , who , in 1986 , was behave a search and rescue mission by eggbeater , look for vehicles stuck during a particularly bad duster . Met with high-pitched winds and unfit visibleness , the low - vaporize chopper barge in headlong into a 100 - foot dune near Timbuktu in Mali , killing Sabine along with the four other people on board .
Remember your nuts
Do n’t be fool away by the term “ amateur . ” It takes both a hefty amount of Johnny Cash and a fair amount of experience to compete . sure as shooting , anyone over 18 can enter the Dakar , but you must also obtain a skill - vettingFIA ( Federation Internationale de l’Automobile)orFIM ( Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme)Off - Road Rally Licence . The association holds the right to reject your entry based on poor sportsmanship or past racing upshot . Participants bid to man minibike and quads must first enter a qualifying airstream , which include those listed under the Road to Dakar recording label plus certain races affiliate with theFIM World Championshipand theBajas World Cup .
You ’ll travel the world and see extraordinary landscape painting in style you ’d never experience , say , on an airplane , but you ’ll have to have a go at it how to get by with terrain . Desert George Sand is notoriously erratic , and not all patches are created equal . “ The desert is one of the most challenging terrains of all , ” says Gutiérrez . “ Each desert is different — you have to know how to interpret the sand , read the dunes . Knowing if the backbone is soft or concentrated is one of the most important things because that agency , you will bonk how you have to convey your railway car . It ’s significant to do many miles on this aerofoil to have more experience . ”
If you ’re thinking about entering , be after to ship your competitor clothes , warm devices , helmet , andHANS guard twist , if applicable , to Saudi Arabia — or wherever the raceway might be — well ahead of time . And when in doubt , ask past competitor to ensure you ’ve thought of everything . “ Many times you learn [ when it ’s too tardily ] that you have to take something essential when you do n’t have it , ” says Gutiérrez . “ The next year , you wo n’t block it again . ”
One matter you should never draw a blank ? hatful of snacks ( Gutiérrez recommends nuts ) . Driving live all day , from 5 or 6 am flat through to 6 or 7 pm , if all goes well , and there are no stately meal breaks . “ We do n’t eat during the raceway because I ca n’t take my hands off the bicycle , ” says the veteran equipment driver . “ We can only drink with a CamelBak , but as the point is usually very long , we block off to refuel for 20 min , and that ’s where we take the chance to eat something . ”
do it to say , you ’ll also need to train your bowels . “ The Dakar Rally is a endurance contest , not a dash , and the number one goal is to wind up each stage , ” says Gutiérrez . “ If you have a problem , you may be drive for many more hours . You may not arrive back at camp until dawn , or even sleep in the desert overnight . ”
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If you ’re concerned in bugger off in on the natural action try wait on as a spectator first to see it from the inside and chat with experient contender . Then start with something shorter , the three - dayCortez Rally , perhaps , or the six - dayBaja Rally . Maybe you ’ll even stumble upon something a little closer to home plate . Gutiérrez ’s first rally was a cross - country race in her hometown of Burgos , Spain , opt for the most part by chance . “ Some acquaintance of my parents compete in that discipline , and I began to enquire them everything about the rally , ” she says . “ It was the sluttish way to start . ”
Above all , go into each rally with as much humility as you may muster , realize that you are small , and the Dakar — or any road slipstream , for that matter — is with child . “ We risk our life inside a car — you have to take it very seriously and always have the respect it deserves , ” read Gutiérrez . “ There is no bigger mistake than thinking you have control the Dakar . ”
Thierry Sabine knew how to pose.|Thierry Rannou/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Place your bets on who finishes first.|Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images
Remember: not all sand is created equal.|Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images
