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Dakar legend Hubert Auriol dies at 68
Rally raid legend and three-time Dakar winner Hubert Auriol passed away yesterday at the age of 68. Auriol, who won the Dakar in 1981, 1983 and 1992, became the first…
Dakar 2021 gallery: spectacular images from the rally raid classic
Rally News
- Last updated: February 1st 2021
The 2021 Dakar provided yet another spectacular set of images, as drivers and riders battled the arid, dusty conditions. See some of the best photographs in our image gallery
Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel took his 14th overall Dakar win, 30 years after his first
Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool
Held in Saudi Arabia for the second time, the incredible Dakar 2021 provided its customary thrills, off-road heartbreak and extreme tests of human endeavour, not to mention an even greater amount of navigational controversy than usual.
Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel took the overall cars win in the X-Raid John Cooper Works Mini buggy, his 14th overall win and 30 years after his very first, achieved whilst competing in the bike category.
A disgruntled Carlos Sainz finished third overall in another John Cooper Works Mini, the four-time Dakar winner complaining that this year’s event was too reliant on navigation, likening it to a “gymkhana”.
Competitors this year were given their navigational roadbooks fifteen minutes before the start of each stage, as opposed to the day before, meaning they had no time to add their own notes
Sébastien Loeb, competing in the new Prodrive-run BRX-Hunter for Bahrain Raid Xtreme after a one-year Dakar hiatus, endured a torrid rally. Things started to go wrong for the 2017 runner-up on Stage Five, after he suffered two punctures and got lost in the desert.
Sèbastien Loeb taking on the 2021 Dakar for BRX
Bahrain Raid Xtreme
Dmitry Sotnikov’s Kamaz under surveillance
Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool
Carlos Sainz suffered navigational problems, but still finished 3rd
Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool
Kevin Benavides does the dunes on his way to Bikes victory
Florent Gooden / DPPI
Peterhansel won his 14th Dakar – 30 years after his first
Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool
Manuel Andujar has no time to take in the views as he presses on to take the Quad Bike class victory
Julien Delfosse / DPPI
Despite a fire and two broken driveshafts, Kris Meeke fought on valiantly to finish Dakar at his first attempt
Julien Delfosse / DPPI
Sugawara Teruhito’s normally fearsome truck is but a speck on the landscape
Antonin Vincent / DPPI
Sainz negotiates the dunes
Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
Benavides became only the 3rd non-European on to win the Bikes category at Dakar
Florent Gooden / DPPI
Lightweight Vehicle entrant Seth Quintero became the youngest Dakar stage winner in history at 18 years of age
Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
Quads and bikes takes differing routes
Frédéric Le Floc’h / DPPI
With troubles for team-mate Loeb, Nani Roma had to fly the flag for Bahrain Raid Xtreme, finishing 5th overall
Bahrain Raid Xtreme
Russia’s Dmitry Sotnikov tests the angles on his way to Truck victory
Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
Local livestock look to set competitive stage times with Dutch Renault’s trucker Martin Van Den Brink
FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images
He then broke the suspension arm on his BRX-Hunter on the next stage, and was left waiting for eight hours in the desert when the recovery truck brought the wrong parts to fix it – two right suspension arms instead of one right and one left.
Loeb next found himself embroiled in a row with the ACO, labelling its stewards “incompetent” after they handed him a five-minute time penalty for exceeding the speed-limit in Stage Four.
Two punctures in the first 80km of Stage Eight, when he only had one spare tyre, forced him to retire.
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The Frenchman also backed up Sainz on the navigational front, saying it was a “race of co-drivers”.
Kris Meeke made his Dakar debut, and despite more than a few setbacks managed to make the finish. After setting fastest time in the Prologue, Meeke’s spare wheel caught fire when his electronics overheated on Stage One.
Meeke’s PH Sport Zephyr Buggy then broke two drive shafts during the marathon stage, meaning he had to drive a considerable length of the event with only two-wheel drive.
Despite commenting that Dakar was “trying to crush my soul”, the indefatigable Ulsterman somehow made the finish.
Francesco Lopez Contardo won Meeke’s Lightweight Vehicle category, whilst Kevin Benavides became only the third non-European to take overall victory in the Bike class.
On the Quads Manuel Andujar took the win with a 33min 34sec advantage, as Dmitry Sotnikov scored an assured victory in the Trucks category, finishing 40min ahead of Kamaz team-mate Anton Shibalov.
Sadly one rider will not be returning home: Pierre Cherpin, 52, lost his life following a crash on the seventh stage of the Dakar.
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