Although this is the first time I am attending the Dakar Rally, this isn’t the first time I’m attending a motorsport event. I’ve attended three F1 races and one MotoGP event, so I know how this works.
Well, mostly. But what amazes me each time – and Dakar is no different – is how it’s so much more than a motorsport event.
The colours, the spectators and their enthusiasm and passion is what defines motorsport events. Take for instance the bunch of Bolivians who had turned up with identical top hats to express their solidarity with the competitors from their country. You see all of that at the Dakar as well, but there’s something else – the incredible beauty of the landscape in which the event takes place. Is it dangerous and challenging? Sure it is, and if you don’t believe me you just need to check the Twitter video of J Rod’s crash today.
But it is also breathtakingly beautiful. Standing at the bivouac at the end of Day 1 and gazing at a spectacular sunset in the middle of all the Dakar humdrum I couldn’t help but wonder how the Dakar is just like any other motorsport event anywhere in the world. And yet, so different.