The Spirit of Dakar

There are few motorsport events in the world as legendary as Dakar. It might be labeled a rally, but first and foremost, it’s an incomparable human adventure. And, what an adventure it is for the more than 3,000 people competing as a rider, driver, or as part of a team each year.

Imagine being in the middle of nowhere in Saudi Arabia with 5,000 miles ahead of you. You have to navigate yourself across an endless landscape of sand dunes, through fields of rocky flats, and charge full-speed ahead across some of the world’s least discovered terrain. Oh, and you have 13 days to do it.

That’s Dakar. It’s a test of physical and mental ability attracting some of the toughest men and women worldwide to get behind the handlebars and wheels each year. Tasked with using a paper roadbook as their guide, competitors on bikes, quads, and in cars, side-by-side vehicles, and trucks are all tasked with the same mission: to find waypoints throughout each competition stage faster than any other competition in their category. Not only is it a battle against the clock and terrain, but it also eventually becomes a battle against themselves…

The full feature on the "Spirit of Dakar" is featured in our March/ April issue: https://issuu.com/sophisticatedliving/docs/slsl_m-a_2022