Two-time WRC champion Carlos Sainz has failed to complete the Dakar rally for the last three years as a factory Peugeot entrant, but perseverance and patience has prevailed with Sainz not only finishing the rally, but taking home the champion’s laurels to boot. This was his last best chance to win Dakar again, as his…
Honda rider Joan Barreda Bort injured his knee badly on the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally this year, which he then went on to win. It took three more stages with a completely busted knee—one so badly injured that Barreda couldn’t even stand on it—before Barreda retired from the rally.
Welcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?
After an alleged wreck between Dakar Rally competitors Carlos Sainz and Kees Koolen, who can’t even agree on whether it happened in the first place, Koolen is threatening legal action. Koolen told Autosport it “would have been a lot easier” for Sainz if Koolen had died, because then he wouldn’t be able to talk.
Prior to Saturday’s 425km stage, Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel had led the 14-day rally by 27 minutes over Peugeot teammate Sainz. Over the first few timing sections of the 7th stage from La Paz to Uyuni, Peterhansel had cleared another 3 minutes over Sainz, running like a man possessed. Unfortunately, while trying…
Welcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?
If you keep popping tires, perhaps you should take a page from the No. 321 Dakaras Toyota. These crazy Lithuanians put the two good tires on the front of their Toyota Hilux and pretended it was just a big front-wheel-drive Yaris. They went over 24 miles with only two front tires to reach the finish line for Stage 4.
Dakar Rally rookie and truck jump record-setting badass Bryce Menzies was involved in a major crash on the second day of the 14-day-long rally. Menzies, whose extensive off-road racing experience made him the best hope for an American to win this year, crashed less than four miles into today’s stage out of fourth…
The incredible 14-day Dakar Rally kicks off through South America Saturday and American off-road racer Bryce Menzies is finally getting to race it. Menzies wanted to race the Dakar last year, but was badly injured when a world record jump attempt went wrong. Now he’s there in an X-Raid Mini—one of Dakar’s best…
Welcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?
Like many sports car fanatics, I was disappointed when Peugeot cancelled their LMP1 program in 2012. As their sales continued to decrease, it made less sense for the company to spend many millions continuing the sports car program, though their focus on rally continued. In 2014 the French manufacturer built a special…
Three years ago I ran into Red Bull-backed off-road racer Bryce Menzies in a bar in Iquique, Chile. He was scouting the Dakar Rally- the 5,000-odd mile endurance challenge named after a place in Africa hosted by a French outfit in South America. Next year, he’s finally getting into the pilot’s seat of an X-Raid Mini.
The mighty Russian work truck outfit Kamaz has been winning the world’s toughest races in downright ridiculously large vehicles for what feels like forever. Here’s a close look at one of these snow monsters in action.
The Dakar Rally is famous for its obscene length, dangerous routes and off-road cargo trucks racing each other across ridiculous terrain. We usually see these things leaping majestically in slow-motion, but not here. This seven-second clip feels like a much more realistic version of what big truck racing’s really like.
The Dakar Rally is known for being one of the most extreme races in the world, but it apparently doesn’t mesh well with extreme weather. After part of Friday’s stage being cut short due to the conditions, organizers scrapped the entire sixth stage of the rally on Saturday when the weather didn’t lighten up.
In an era that seems dominated by cynicism and corporate greed, the story of some Nissan engineers spending nights and weekends to restore a piece of automotive history “just because” is enough to lift anyone’s spirits. Behold: the 1987 Nissan Patrol Fanta Limon Paris-Dakar rally car, returned to its former racing…
2017 will kick off with one of the most massive motorized adventure events of all time: the 39th annual Dakar Rally. Next year’s route and favorite competitor lineup has just been announced, and of course the 5,500-mile odyssey is slated to be more badass than ever before.
The 2016 Rallye du Maroc was this diesel buggy’s last race. Oh, not because it got wadded up like an empty beer can at a frat party. The thing went on to win the last stage after getting turned into this trash heap by some sand dunes.
