The Dakar from the beginning
1980
The launching of the Dakar immediately encounters a great success and engenders a real passion. The biggest teams: Yamaha, Volkswagen, Lada and BMW, each enroll a team.
Cyril Neveu wins for the second time running on a private Yamaha. In the car category Freddy Kotulinsky and Luffelman are the winners.
1981
If the year that launched the Dakar is without doubt the most significant, 1981 is without doubt the most thrilling. The race attracts crowds, to such an extent that the embarkation for Africa is a spectacle in itself! Indeed, the adventure has become a passion and it's a rush to enroll. All types of vehicles are present at the start (4x4's, buggies, side-cars), even the most unexpected like Thierry de Montcorgé's Rolls or Jacky Ickx's Citroën CX, and, to quote Claude Brasseur.
“Rassembler” is Thierry Sabine's desire. But beware, “caution” is also the key word, as cited by Michel Merel: “The piste is like the sea, if you're not scared of it, it's bad. The piste scares me, you don't play around with it, you can't clown around.”
The key event of this year is unquestionably the victory of Hubert Auriol, which marks the start of a long route punctuated with great performances. He also becomes the new motorbike leader; the legend is being written… Thierry Sabine has already won his bet.
1982
The start is given from the place de la Concorde, the finish at the Lac Rose. 382 competitors are at the start, more than double than in 1978. The brothers Marreau, nicknamed “the desert foxes” provide Renault and Elf with a great success. As for Cyril Neveu, he keeps climbing. Part of the Honda team, he wins in Dakar and provides the Japanese group with the first of a long series of successes.
1983
For the first time, the Ténéré desert is crossed by a rally and the still undiscovered desert landscapes make everyone dream, competitors and spectators alike. But the natural elements explode. Caught in a terrible sand storm, with no visibility, forty competitors are lost. Luckily, their guide comes to rescue them and in 4 days everyone is found safe and sound.
Nicole Maitrot, a competitor in 1982, quite rightly declares: “Thierry Sabine gives the impression of being God watching over his flock from his helicopter, picking up in his plane those who are lost.” These little episodes however serve to reinforce, on the one hand, the Dakar legend and on the other, that of Hubert Auriol who wins the Ténéré stage more than an hour ahead of the other competitors.
NB: This history is unfortunately not exhaustive. For further information, please contact the Press Department.
