Would you believe that a MINI won the Dakar rally this year? Perhaps a car brand that's as far from its roots in purposeful simplicity is a fitting metaphor for a rally named after a place in Africa that, for the first time this year, entered Peru.

So you're a billionaire Emir and you're convinced all those South Asian temporary workers building up your next 90-story development are going to revolt against you any day now. You need a Dakar-grade escape vehicle, but which one? Kamaz is here to help you decide.

Anyone else tired of press conferences and soggy croissants? Here's a mega-gallery of action from the 2010 Silk Way Rally, the precursor to The Dakar that runs 3,000 miles across Russia from St. Petersberg to The Black Sea. Nostrovia!

It must be hard to be a retired Formula One driver. David Coulthard just visited the KAMAZ HQ in Moscow and was forced to hoon their Dakar race truck in the snow. Later, he also won a game of bingo.

The Dakar is on its eighth day of its second year in South America. It's simultaneously the most interesting race in the world, yet the hardest to cover. Luckily, we've got an amazing set of images straight from Argentina.