Various iterations of the Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero won the treacherous Dakar Rally 12 times—including seven consecutive wins from 2001 to 2007. The Pajero that took Mitsubishi’s first Dakar win in 1985 was left to gather dust for 40 years was recently overhauled to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mitsubishi's first Dakar win

https://www.thedrive.com/news/mitsubishi-restores-first-dakar-winning-pajero-after-decades-of-neglect

Rally From Paris to the Pyramids, now in English

I posted about it on Oct, 5th, before there was any info in Elglish, and I've updated that, and they just released this new preview, far more thorough and fun than what was available last month

is anything as mad as attempting the Paris-Dakar Rally on a quartet of Vespas? (thank you Rich!) The 1980 Paris Dakar rally, had 4!

After spending 23 days in the saddle, two of the Vespas, ridden by M. Simonot and B. Tcherniawsky, made it Dakar and crossed the finish line! Standard Vespa PX200s, seven countries and 10,000km of the most unforgiving terrain imaginable.

https://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-news/remember-the-time-when-four-vespas-entered-the-paris-dakar-rally-and-finished/

the vehicles from the earliest running of the Paris to Dakar will be featured at this years Retromobile

As part of the 2024 edition of Rétromobile, a unique display will showcase some of the iconic vehicles that have left their mark on the history of the race. Not only that, but some of the biggest names in Rally-Raid racing, including Cyril Neveu, Claude Marreau and André Dessoude, to name but a few, will be on hand to share their experiences and answer questions from the public.

Among the highlights of the exhibition is Thierry Sabine's XT 500, on which he was reported missing for 3 days and 4 nights during the 1977 Abidjan-Nice Rally. Rescued at the last minute, he was deeply affected by the ordeal, and a few months later decided to launch a new adventure: the Paris-Dakar Rally. The 4L used by the Marreau brothers in the first edition of the rally and Daniel Nollan's Renault KZ "La Gazelle" will also be on show, recalling the beginnings of a competition designed primarily for amateur drivers. Manufacturers such as Peugeot and Porsche, who left their mark on the 1980s and 1990s, will also be in the spotlight, with iconic models such as the Peugeot 405 Grand Raid and the Porsche 959 symbolising their dominance at the time.

RÉTROMOBILE 2024
WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY – SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2024
Paris expo Porte de Versailles - Pavilions 1, 2.2, 3

Opening hours: Weds & Fri: 10am – 10pm / Thurs, Sat, Sun: 10am – 7pm
PREVIEW EVENING • TUESDAY 30 JANUARY 2024 FROM 7PM TO 10PM

action highlights from the 2023 Dakar

not a good plan, went from bad, to just stuck with people that are inept at getting unstuck... and not a single vehicle has a Max Trax or similar deep sand solution (in the desert? what morons)

At the Dakar in 1982, Seiko, in collaboration with L’Hôtel Guy-Louis Duboucheron, commissioned Jean-Louis Raimondi's workshops to create an impressive 8 × 8 truck

 

https://www.motor24.pt/sites/jornal-dos-classicos/studebaker-seiko-a-derradeira-manobra-publicitaria/1507938/

Did you know Margaret Thatcher's son was lost and missing during the 1982 Dakar rally? Suddenly, that had all heads of countries distracted from the daily business of running the world.

His foray in Le Mans prompted, aside from the Falklands war, one of the biggest news stories of 1982 (that an episode in the fourth season of The Crown is devoted to). It was there that one of the sponsors happened to mention that they were running three Peugeots in the Paris-Dakar rally, and would he like to do it? He answered in the affirmative and promptly forgot about it. When reminded that he was taking part, a year and a half later, he was not well prepared and a few days in when travelling across the Sahara he was reported missing in action.

Thatcher, his co-driver and the mechanic had last been spotted two days previously, driving in convoy with two other cars near the border between Mali and Algeria. It later transpired that they had become separated after stopping to repair a damaged rear axle. It was only after the rally organizers had failed to find the lost Peugeot 504 that Mrs Thatcher intervened, calling the Algerian ambassador for help. The official search utilized four Algerian planes and a helicopter, plus three French aircraft and a diverted RAF Hercules.

The trio were discovered safe and well on 15 January, six days after going missing and 31 miles off route with water rations down to two cups a day. Thatcher was reportedly ‘unaffected’ by the ordeal, saying that all he needed was ‘a beer and a sandwich, a bath and a shave.’ It was an Algerian air force plane that finally spotted them and Thatcher and his father were reunited and flown back to the UK in the Algerian presidential jet.

 A celebration dinner to mark 28-year-old Thatcher’s safe return was thrown and reportedly racked up a huge bill, which led to the Foreign Office being contacted. Mrs Thatcher was forced to cover the $2500 bill from her own pocket. (in 1982 dollars)

https://www.tatler.com/article/mark-thatcher-24-hours-le-mans-1980

https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34686961/mark-thatcher-missing-true-story-the-crown/

Following the rescue, Mark, his Paris-Dakar crew and his father celebrated in Tamanrasset, Algeria, racking up a dinner and drinks bill totaling more than 11,500 Algerian dinars — a small fortune in the impoverished country. Later, Denis and Mark flew to London on Algeria’s presidential airplane. Files released in 2012 show that Margaret reimbursed the British government £1,784.80 for the rescue operation to avoid accusations that she allowed taxpayers to foot the bill for her son’s misadventures.

https://nypost.com/article/who-is-mark-thatcher-margaret-thatchers-son/

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was described today as "very distressed" by the disappearance of her race-driver son, Mark, during a trans-African competition. She canceled a meeting with the visiting Hungarian foreign minister after breaking into tears en route to a public function this morning.

After days of confused reports, Mark Thatcher, 28, his French co-driver, Charlotte Verney, 38, and a mechanic, were officially listed as missing yesterday. Planes have been searching since Monday. The two were last seen Friday along a remote, unpaved and largely unmarked desert route through Algeria and neighboring Mali. The French-organized, 6,000-mile endurance drive from Paris terminates in Dakar, Senegal on the western coast of Africa.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/01/14/thatcher-distressedby-disappearance-of-son-in-car-race/a4192d31-8895-4048-bfd6-35663b6a5cc0/

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/jan/13/motorracing.features11

So The Boss (the prime minister) does entirely the right thing, picks up the phone to the ambassador in Algiers and says, "Can you find out what is going on?" The ambassador then rings the prefect of the region who says there are four people missing and that I am one of them.

So DT, Dad, decides to fly down to Tamanrasset the next day, where on night five the Colonel says, "Don't worry, we'll find him in the morning." Sure enough, they found me in three and a half hours the next morning. The Algerians had a well-organised, well- structured plan. Ground assets and air assets. It was coordinated with ground-to-air radios. I heard a Herc in a search pattern, fired a flare and within five minutes two Land-Rovers appeared.

after the 1987 Rally Dakar

http://www.parisdakar.it/regas-dakar-1987/

Pierre Parker, Paris to Dakar, 1989. To facilitate maintenance, a few screws were all that were needed to separate the into two parts, for faster easier repairs

Looks like a damn dell designed breakdown. Engine over there, seat over hear, perfect height for working on the most likely to fail moving parts

http://www.parisdakar.it/en/pierre-marie-poli-dakar-1989/