Five reasons why you should follow Dakar 2017

Click here to follow our live coverage of Dakar 2017 by Ed Sirish Chandran, who’s on ground.

Dakar is the biggest rally in the world and a sporting event like none other. And you’ve been missing all the action. Here are five reasons for you to follow the Dakar –

1. It’s a visual spectacle

South America is stunning. Dakar, as you might know, is in Senegal, but the rally was shifted to South America in 2009 after cancellation of the 2008 event due to terrorist threats. Since then, enthusiasts have flocked to the continent in full force to witness the event. This year’s rally is made up of 12 stages, with six of them above an altitude of 3000 metres over sea level. The landscape changes from deserts to mountains, and everything in between. And across all terrains, you will see cars/bikes/trucks/quads go flat out at speeds that will wet your pants and drop your jaws.

2. It is about the people

You don’t need to be a motorsport fan to appreciate the fact that everyone associated to the Dakar rally runs special blood in their veins. Take Aravind KP for instance – the lad was participating in his first Dakar rally and is not a seasoned rider here. He broke two bones in his left palm but didn’t give up. Not just that, he towed his teammate for 170km to the end of the next stage. He’s out of the rally now after a hyper-extended shoulder in another crash, but you can bet your house on a comeback next year. He is one such example. French rally driver Stephane Peterhansel is the most successful Dakar participant in history with 68 stage wins and 12 overall wins in both bikes and cars. Surviving the length of the Dakar is a feat in itself, winning it 12 times and participating for almost three decades, he’s motorsport’s equivalent to Don Bradman or Pele. There’s a story in every one of the 491 participants in Dakar 2017.

3. Sporting rivalries

A sport is only as good as the rivalries it presents. Over the past few years we have seen Honda take on KTM; Peugeot, Mini and Toyota challenge each other by pushing the envelope in cars, even Honda and Yamaha fight it out in the Quads. The big guys in Iveco and Kamaz trucks spare no quarter either. However, unlike rivalries in other sports, competitors at the Dakar are famous for helping each other out too. Even completing the Dakar is tough and getting stranded in the middle of the desert is not uncommon. So teammates look out for each other even while competing. You can even expect a helping hand from competitors from other teams too; and that shows the tremendous respect participants have for each other for fighting it out on this grueling rally.

4. It’s intense

You can have the biggest budget to participate in the Dakar, but there is no guarantee that you will complete it, let alone be one of the top contenders. The Dakar is as intense as it can get. The 2016 edition, for example, had 347 participants at the start. Only 215 crossed the finish line, which equals 38 per cent DNFs in the 15-day rally. The year before, this number was close to 50 per cent. The winner of last year’s motorcycle category, Toby Price, is already out of the 2017 edition. Nasser Al-Attiyah, one of the top contenders last year, is out and Carlos Sainz bowed out of the rally after a spectacular crash. Crashes aside, competitors have to fight altitude, dehydration and the terrain. And that’s not all, the toughest bit is navigation. One wrong turn and you could be lost for days in the desert.

5. You can’t miss it

In some way or another, the Dakar rally is reaching you. There are 1460 accredited journalists on ground, travelling the entire route from Paraguay to Bolivia and Argentina, and covering your favourite participants. The rally goes on for nearly 9,000km, with 4,000km in special stages. It’s news by the minute.

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