Today the Dakar it's what everyone knows: a race with a million dollar budget, followed worldwide by millions of people, and disputed by the world's leading builders. But it was not always so.
There was a time when the Dakar was synonymous with “adventure for adventure, challenge for challenge” . Indeed, the events that are at its genesis could not be more symptomatic of this philosophy.
The Dakar story began in 1977, when Thierry Sabine (in the highlighted image), founder of the Dakar, was lost in the middle of the Sahara desert during a rally. It was just him, his motorcycle and a huge sea of sand. Since at that time there were no efficient means of assistance - GPS, cell phones? Well then… — it was impossible to help Thierry Sabine. After three days, the entities involved ended the search. Likelihood of survival? Almost nil.
“The Paris-Dakar is a challenge for those who are going. A dream for those who stay"
Despite still alive, after several days in the desert, tiredness, dehydration and lack of breath take hold of Thierry Sabine. Ironically, it was just as Sabine was preparing to end her life that a plane spotted him and saved his life.
Despite this misfortune — enough for the most common of mortals never to want to set foot in a desert again — the Frenchman fell in love with the desert and its challenges. A passion that stayed for life. Recovered from this “near death” experience, Thierry Sabine believed that there had to be more people in the world willing to cross the desert from Europe, to: (1) explore the limits of the human body and machines; and (two) feel the emotions of a race that combined speed, navigation, dexterity, courage and determination.
Was he right. There was.
THE December 26, 1978 , started the first Paris-Dakar delegation with 182 participants. The starting point was handpicked: the Eiffel Tower, symbol of human audacity. Of the 182 participants, only 69 arrived in Dakar.
Since then, the Dakar has opened the doors of the desert to the whole world and constantly challenged the limits of human beings, feeding the most adventurous souls. “The Paris-Dakar is a challenge for those who are going. A dream for those who stay" said one day Thierry Sabine.
Despite the fact that the Dakar no longer takes place in Africa (due to political instability in certain territories) and it is no longer immersed in the romanticism of other times, it is an event that continues to inspire millions of people. Apart from a handful of official pilots — who compete in the race with every means to achieve victory — to many hundreds of private pilots the adventure remains the same as it was 38 years ago: reach the end.
