Dakar Rally

The first edition of 2017's Dakar Video Magazine profiles rally legend Stéphane Peterhansel, “Mr. Dakar”.

Start your engines. It won’t be the distance that will preoccupy the competitors, but rather the tension that will accompany the opening days of competition. Everyone will have to be aware that an error on the technical tracks and even the trial-style sections early on could be costly. The tactic for the following day’s starting positions will also have its importance for the top contenders.

Meet some of the Dakar heroes that will be competing for the first time in the 2017 rally raid, including Vincent Crosbie from Botswana, Japanese rider Shinnosuke Kazama, and Gerard Tramoni from France.

Chaco, heads or tails? The regulars believe they know Argentina, but they have yet to encounter the “Chaco!” In this region chock-full of history for connoisseurs of world rally competition (such as the Transchaco), patience and a cool head will be invaluable assets-especially when it comes to the dust. Unless, of course, it turns to mud!

Get to know French Yamaha factory rider Adrien Van Beveren on this special episode of the Dakar Rally. This 19-year-old brings his passion and intensity to the Dakar and is expected to achieve great things this year.

Catch up with the quads and trucks in this highlight video showcasing Stages 1 and 2 of the 2017 Dakar Rally. Watch as both groups of four-wheeled vehicles start off strong as they race from Asunción to Resistencia, and then as they battle the heat and mud from Resistencia to San Miguel De Tucumán.

Off-road, Act 1. The rise in temperature and altitude will accompany a drastic change of scenery. For the first off-road sections, the riders and crews will head straight to the business at hand. The first real test in terms of endurance will also call for vigilance and lucidity when crossing the Rios. On the other hand, the trucks will be spared this final difficulty.

For the first time in Dakar history, two riders, CS Santosh and Aravind Prabhakar, will represent their home country of India. Factory motorcycle riders for Hero and Sherco TVS respectively, these two pilots have been good friends for 10 years and hope to achieve great things in this year’s Dakar Rally. Get to know both of them in this episode of the Dakar video magazine.

High-altitude dunes. At around 3,500 meters, the Dakar will reach “a cruising altitude” at which competitors will have to navigate for six days. There are few who have already seen dunes at this altitude, which requires an expert climbing technique. The co-drivers will have no time to relax, with a number of direction changes in the Bolivian section of the special stage.

Catch up with the quad and truck entries in the 2017 Dakar as they tackle Stages 3 and 4, a trip from San Miguel De Tucumán to San Salvador De Jujuy, then Tupiza. Find out how competitors dealt with not only dramatic elevation changes, tricky navigation waypoints, and treacherous sand dunes, but extreme differences in temperature as well.

On this episode of the Dakar video magazine, visit the beautiful village of Purmamarca in Argentina and see the Cerro de los Siete Colores (The Hill of Seven Colors), one of the many stops during the 2017 Dakar Rally.

Altiplano, maximum effort! The Dakar will take up residence on the Bolivian Altiplano. While the drivers will become acclimated, fatigue will set in. In this context, the large variety of terrain makes this stage one of the most demanding. In the purest Dakar spirit, the density of the day will be characterized by two dune sectors that will complicate the final kilometers of the special stage.

Dakar Video Magazine visits Philippe Croizon a French quadruple amputee athlete who is attempting complete his first Dakar.

Worlds Apart. Following the canellation of Stage 6, Dakar Magazine delivers mid-race interviews with some of the 2017 Dakar's top riders.

Enjoy a recap of Stages 5 and 6 for the trucks and quads competing in the 2017 Dakar Rally. Due to heavy rains on Friday, the sixth stage of the Dakar was canceled. Organizers will have to scramble to change the route at the last minute so the pilots will arrive in La Paz before competition resumes after Sunday’s rest day.

The rally begins its return trip by heading toward what has become one of its regular stomping grounds since 2014. The Uyuni casern, which is well known to the raiders, will once again be transformed into a bivouac for a day. For this first part of the marathon stage, which will include very long sections of sandy tracks, the service park will be open to all vehicles.

Visit the beautiful Bolivian city of La Paz, the highest administrative capital in the world. The city rests on the Andes’ Altiplano plateau at more than 11,482 feet above sea level and is where the Dakar competitors spent the single rest day of the rally.

A smooth and colorful descent. The Dakar will leave the Altiplano for an off-road special stage in its first half, where the crossing of fords will follow the dune sectors. The race has often set up camp in Salta, but never has a special stage been contested in canyons awash in such spectacular colors. The battle for the general classification will be played out here.

In this episode of the Dakar video magazine series, we take a look at the newly formed SSV Class. The SSVs, or side-by-side vehicles, have their own categorization for the first time in the 2017 Dakar. They are tough and powerful machines but cost less to campaign than the larger vehicles in the car or truck categories.

Check out highlights from the quads and trucks competing in Stages 7 and 8 of the 2017 Dakar. These stages should have been the longest of the rally but had to be shortened due to the persistent bad weather. Competition is very tight with no consistent pilot dominating the leaderboards.

On this episode of the Dakar video magazine, get to know French motorcycle rider Frantz Roquesalane, who is competing in the Dakar for the first time.

After days of rain, a massive landslide hit the small village of Volcán in northern Argentina and several lives were lost. This is a terrible blow to the people of Argentina and the organizers of the Dakar. Dakar officials have met with government representatives to assist in any way possible, but in the meantime the rally competitors must be rerouted.

STAGE 9 HAS BEEN CANCELLED. During Stage 10 the arms, shoulders, and legs of the riders will be put to a rude test-especially during the long trial section that will be the key moment early in the day. The special stage will become a lot more rolling as it nears its end, but the navigation subtleties will impede overzealous pilots. Errors will be penalized not in seconds but in minutes.

Competition remains close in the trucks category during Stage 10 of the 2017 Dakar, as only a few minutes separate the leaders. The lead in the quads category has changed several times, however, due to mechanical failures and breakdowns. Check out highlights from both categories now.