The Dakar rally is easily one of the most grueling events in the world, testing the limits of both man and machine. To win it takes courage, mental strength, and great navigation and strategic skills.
Cross-country rallying, better known as Rally Raid, is arguably one of the toughest motorsport disciplines and has existed on the fringes for most of its history. The Dakar Rally has changed that somewhat, it has become a huge global event, attracting some of the greatest riders on the planet and some of the biggest sponsors to boot. Just finishing is the goal for most who enter, an achievement in itself especially for privateers, but if you want to win you will need to push harder for longer than most are capable.
10 Hubert Auriol: 2
Auriol was one of the pioneers of the event, taking part in the very first event back in 1979 and then winning it for the first time in 1981.
He won again in 1983 but after an accident in 1987 (while leading) decided to switch to cars in 1988. He made history in 1992 when he became the first person to win the event both on a bike and in a car.
9 Gaston Rahier: 2
Initially making a name for himself in the motocross world, winning three 125 titles in the 70s, he became a regular at the Dakar in the 80s.
He took back to back titles in 1984 and 1985 riding for BMW. He is still the only Belgian to win on a bike.
8 Fabrizio Meoni: 2
When he won his first Dakar in 2001, he could never have known that it would take almost 20 years before another manufacturer would stand on the top step. An Italian started something of an Austrian dynasty.
He went back to back the following year on what was to be the largest displacement bike to ever win the Dakar, the KTM LC8 950R was a beast. It was quite impossible not get stuck in the dunes but somehow Meoni found a path, KTM quickly pivoted back to the lighter LC4 the following year though.
7 Toby Price: 2
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In recent years the bikes category has been the closest fought event, in the last six years there has only been one rider to win it more than once with 5 different winners since 2016.
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That rider is Toby Price, one of the most determined competitors in the sport first won in 2016, then again, more significantly in 2019 when he finished the last couple stages with a broken wrist.
6 Richard Sainct: 3
When Sainct won his second Dakar in 2000, it would be the last win for BMW, who had already gotten what they needed out of the sport, or at least in terms of establishing their name as the premier Adventure bike.
Sainct (pictured left) would then return to KTM (having competed for them in the 90s) after BMW departed as a works team, rejoining the growing brigade of KTM riders, he would ride an LC4 to victory in 2003 for his third and last title. After finishing 2nd in 2004, he was tragically killed in a heavy fall while participating in the Pharaohs Rally later that year.
5 Edi Orioli: 4
Although he won four titles, the two he won on a Cagiva Elefant will be what he is truly remembered for.
He will in all likelihood be the only Italian rider to ever win the Dakar on an Italian made bike, an Italian bike powered by the famous Pantah 900 v-twin Ducati engine. It is also worth noting the fact that the first win was with a works team, but the second win on the Cagiva in 1994 was on the same bike but riding as a privateer.
4 Cyril Neveu: 5
In 1979 he became the first champion, to prove that was no fluke or lack of competition, he would go on to dominate the event in the 80s.
At only 22 he was a young champion in an event that historically gets dominated by more experienced riders, at the time nobody had very much experience with a concept like this but as the sport quickly evolved he evolved with it, winning another four titles.
3 Cyril Despres: 5
Although he should be remembered as one of the Dakar greats, an incident in 2012 made him hard to forget for the wrong reasons.
One of the themes of the Dakar is sportsmanship, helping competitors who crash or get stuck. After a rider helped him out of a mudhole, he chose not to return the favor and went on to win the event that year, but certainly not the hearts of the fans.
2 Marc Coma: 5
After his first event back in 2002 riding for Suzuki, Coma stayed with KTM for the rest of his career.
It was a period of great dominance for the Austrian brand and Coma was the chief benefactor, winning five titles along the way and then spending a further 3 years as the race director.
1 Stephane Peterhansel: 14
It is hard to fathom how one man has been able to dominate an event as tough as this for as long as he has.
After dominating the 90s with Yamaha, winning 6 titles with them, he transitioned to cars where he would win another 8 titles. It is pretty easy to see why everyone calls him “Mr Dakar.”