Today, the Dakar 2026 bivouac tackles Stage 4 of what is frequently considered the most gruelling race in the world. That is not enough to deter some privateers who have the keys to classic rally cars from embracing the spirit of the race.
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When it comes to airtime and coverage, the works teams competing at the front of the grid are very often all dominating. Rightly so, millions worth of rands with specially (and some locally) developed machinery has the best rally drivers looking to complete the mammoth distances in the shortest times possible. The likes of Toyota, Dacia, Ford and Mini’s most technologically advanced wares are up top but there are some true analogue heroes that win the hearts and minds of viewers and spectators too!
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Welcome to the Dakar Classic! Participants in this regularity race, which has been organised on the fringes of the rally since 2021, have won over the public and developed a cult following courtesy of the power of nostalgia. This year, a whopping 94 crews took to the start line in classic machinery, although not all of those at Bisha would conclude the subsequent 7 246 km (with 4 033 km being timed)…
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Intergenerational dialogue has been a wild success in the Dakar. In 2021, the bivouac opened its doors to a Regularity race for vintage vehicles. The introduction of the Dakar Classic gave a new lease on life to machines such as Ari Vatanen’s Peugeot 205, Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur’s Porsche 959, Patrick Zaniroli’s Volkswagen Iltis and Jan de Rooy’s DAF double-cab truck in a challenge fit for their age. For example, the oldest vehicles, which are often the least powerful of the lot, are given the option of skipping the toughest dune sections. Despite this, the mileage and extreme conditions will mean mechanical failure and retirement – these are no garage queens.
Furthermore, the data gleaned from the first four editions has been used to refine the categories in line with the average speeds that entrants are supposed to target in defined sectors (H1, H2, H3 and H4).
As expected, the updated rule book for the fifth edition of the Dakar Classic has broadened the scope of the event, which is now open to models registered up to 2005. The overall level of difficulty remains unchanged, but the close to a hundred crews on the start line in Bisha will get to grips with a record mileage.
