The 2026 Dakar Rally will start later this week. This is the 48th edition of the endurance event, known as the toughest of its kind in the world. The very first event took place in 1979, starting in Paris the day after Christmas. Plenty has happened since then. We take a look at some of the crazy Dakar Rally facts that have accrued since the inaugural race.
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Here are crazy Dakar Rally facts
The race takes its name from the early finish point, the capital of Senegal, Dakar, even if it has not been there nearly 20 years.
30 countries have been visited across Africa, South America and the Gulf since inception in 1979.
Over 453 000 km have been covered, which is about 11 times around the world.
Of that total 247 000 km were special/timed stages.
The stage from Bamako – Labé – Dakar in 1986 was the longest single stage at 986 km.
The 1992 Dakar ended on the beach in Cape Town, South Africa so it was named the Paris – Le Cap. The 1994 edition went all the way to Dakar, but then went back to Paris.
Ten of thousands of competitors have entered the race over the decades, this years race has 812 competitors.
Yoshimasa Sugawara has the record for the most number of Dakar Rally entries. He entered every race from 1983 to 2019, when he retired for a total of 36 events.
In 1988 the leading Peugeot’s 405 T16 of Ari Vatanen was stolen and held for ransom.
At 4 972 m the highest altitude ever experienced was in Argentina (2015).
Chile (2015) provided the coldest temp ever on a stage at –16°C.
South America provided the highest temp as well at +52°C experienced in Argentina (2017).
The Vespa 200 is the least powerful vehicle, with just 12 hp, to ever compete in the race.
In contrast, the DAF TurboTwin X1 boasted 1 200 hp, making it the most powerful. The behemoth nearly won the event overall, beating the leading Peugeot in a head-to-head battle at over 200 km/h during one of the stages (video below).
It may be a race, but there are speed limits for each of the categories: cars – 170 km/h; bikes – 160 km/h; trucks – 140 km/h.
KTM is the most successful manufacturer with an impressive 18 consecutive victories.
South African Giniel de Villiers holds the record for the most consecutive Dakar Rally finishes. The Capetonian completed 21 successive events through 2024. He finished in the top 10 in all but one of his 21 finishes, claiming overall victory in 2009. Click here to read about SA’s Dakar legend, Giniel de Villiers.
Stephane Peterhansel is the most successful competitor with 14 overall victories (six on bikes, eight in cars), rightly earning him the title Mr Dakar.
Jutta Kleinschmidt is the only female to win the race overall. The German took overall honours at the 2001 event driving a Mitsubishi Pajero Evo.
Saudi Yazeed Al Rajhi made history by becoming the first racer to win the race on home soil by taking claiming overall honours in 2025.
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