2014 Dakar Rally

The 2014 Dakar Rally will be the 35th running of the event and the sixth successive year that the event is held in South America. The event starts in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina on January 5 and finishes in Valparaíso, Chile on January 18 after thirteen stages of competition.

Number of participants

Stage	Bikes	Quads	Cars	Trucks	Total
Start of Rally	174[1]	40[2]	147[3]	70[4]	431
Rest Day
End of Rally

• 80 percent of the rally's participants are amateurs.
• This is the sixth rally that has an individual quads classification, as well as the sixth time the rally has taken place in South America.
• At only 18 years old, Jaremias Gonzalez Ferioli (Quads) is the youngest competitor in the history of the event.^[5]

Five-time Dakar champion Cyril Despres heads the entry list, switching to Yamaha having enjoyed all of his previous success with KTM. Supporting the Frenchman in the factory Yamaha team are Olivier Pain, who at one stage led the overall classification during last year's event, stage winner Frans Verhoeven and Michael Metge.

Marc Coma, who was forced to miss the 2013 Dakar due to injury, returns in 2014 to spearhead KTM's challenge and attempt to re-take the crown he last won in 2011. Last year's second and third place finishers Ruben Faria and Francisco Lopez as well as Jordi Viladoms complete the works KTM line-up, with former second place finishers David Casteu and Pal Anders Ullevalseter on privately entered KTMs.

Joan Barreda, who took four stage wins in 2012, leads Honda's assault on the Dakar, alongside Helder Rodrigues, Paulo Goncalves, Javier Pizzolito and Sam Sunderland, whilst Joan Pedrero and Alain Duclos represent Sherco.

Reigning champion Marcos Patronelli leads the Yamaha challenge in the quad category and will be looking to take a third Dakar win, with Ignacio Casale, second in last year's event, Rafal Sonik, third in 2013, and 2012 stage winner Sergio La Fuente also representing the Japanese marque. Lucas Bonetto and 2013 stage winner Sebastian Husseini return to represent Honda, whilst Sebastian Palma, another stage winner from 2013, is the lead Can-Am entrant.

The X-Raid team return to Dakar defend their crown, Stephane Peterhansel aiming for a third consecutive win and a twelfth in total at the wheel of a Monster Energy sponsored Mini All4. Also representing the German outfit are 2011 champion Nasser Al-Attiyah, former bike category winner Nani Roma and former stage winners Orlando Terranova and Krzysztof Holowczyc.

2010 champion Carlos Sainz joins the Red Bull backed SMG team, driving a proprietary buggy alongside teammate Ronan Chabot, while 2009 champion Giniel de Villiers tackles the event once more behind the wheel of a Toyota Hilux prepared by the South African Imperial Toyota team.

Other notable entrants include Dakar stalwart Robby Gordon, as ever driving a self-run Hummer, Carlos Sousa representing Haval, Lucio Alvarez representing Ford and Guerlain Chicherit, a last-minute entry in a Damen Jefferies-built buggy.

Reigning champion Eduard Nikolaev returns to lead Kamaz's challenge, supported by Ayrat Mardeev and Andrey Karginov, both of whom lead their crews to podium finishes in 2013. Other former champions in the field include Gerard de Rooy (2012) and Hans Stacey (2007), both representing Iveco.

Ales Loprais and Martin Kolomy return to lead the Tatra team, with 2013 stage winner Peter Versluis representing MAN along with former stage winner Marcel van Vliet.

Distance according to the official website.^[6] Competitors in the bike and quad categories will cross the Bolivian border and finish the seventh stage at Uyuni, whilst those in the car and truck categories will return to Salta. All competitors will then reconvene in Calama at the end of the eighth stage.

Stage	Date	Depart	Arrive	Bikes			Quads	Cars			Trucks
				Rd	SS	Winner	Winner	Rd	SS	Winner	Rd	SS	Winner
1	5 January	Rosario	San Luís	629	180	J. Barreda	I. Casale	629	180	C. Sousa	629	180	A. Mardeev
2	6 January	San Luís	San Rafael	365	359	S. Sunderland	M. Patronelli	365	433	S. Peterhansel	365	400	G. De Rooy1
3	7 January	San Rafael	San Juan	292	373	J. Barreda	R. Sonik	295	301	N. Roma	295	301	A. Karginov
4	8 January	San Juan	Chilecito	210	353	J. Pedrero	S. Husseini2	211	657	C. Sainz	211	657	G. De Rooy
5	9 January	Chilecito	Tucumán	384	527	M. Coma	S. La Fuente	384	527	N. Roma	384	527	D. Sotnikov
6	10 January	Tucumán	Salta	64	400	A. Duclos	R. Sonik	270	424	S. Peterhansel	394	156	P. Versluis
	11 January	Salta		Rest Day
7	12 January	Salta	Salta (cars/trucks) Uyuni (bikes/quads)	373	409			230	533		230	525
8	13 January	Salta (cars/trucks) Uyuni (bikes/quads)	Calama	230	462			510	302		510	302
9	14 January	Calama	Iquique	29	422			29	422		29	422
10	15 January	Iquique	Antofagasta	58	631			58	631		58	631
11	16 January	Antofagasta	El Salvador	144	605			144	605		144	605
12	17 January	El Salvador	La Serena	349	350			349	350		349	350
13	18 January	La Serena	Valparaíso	378	157			378	157		378	157

Notes:

• Anton Shibalov set the fastest time for the stage, but de Rooy was declared the winner of the stage as the time the Dutchman spent helping stricken rival Mardeev was later deducted from his stage time.^1
• Ignacio Casale set the fastest time for the stage, but Husseini, along with Sonik and La Fuente, were retroactively awarded time by the organisers for a mistake in the road book.^2

Honda's Joan Barreda quickly established a lead in the overall classification with wins in the first and third stages, leading reigning champion Cyril Despres by 13 minutes by the end of the third stage. A navigation error in the fourth stage set the Spaniard back however, eroding his advantage to just three minutes over Marc Coma as Despres lost some 28 minutes with engine failure.^[7] Coma then assumed the lead of the rally with a resounding victory in stage five, Barreda dropping 41 minutes behind his countryman due to more navigation problems.^[8] Francisco López had been running third before a crash on the sixth stage destroyed his bike.^[9]This promoted Alain Duclos, winner of the sixth stage, to third in the overall classification at the rest day, just over an hour adrift of leader Coma with Barreda 42 minutes down in second.

Marcos Patronelli, who hit the front of the overall classification after winning the second stage, had to abandon the competition after suffering an accident in the third stage. The Argentinean saved his own life by jumping from his quad, which fell 600 metres down a cliff.^[10] The accident left fellow Yamaha rider Rafal Sonik in first place, but the pole lost time on the fifth stage with a navigational error.^[11] This allowed Sergio La Fuente, winner of the fifth stage, to assume the lead in the standings, the Uruguyan holding a 22 minute lead over Sonik at the rest day with Ignacio Casale, the winner of the first stage, a further two minutes back.

	Stage result					General classification
Stage	Pos	Competitor	Make	Time	Gap	Pos	Competitor	Make	Time	Gap
1	1	Joan Barreda	Honda	2:25:31		1	Joan Barreda	Honda	2:25:31
	2	Marc Coma	KTM	2:26:08	0:37	2	Marc Coma	KTM	2:26:08	0:37
	3	Cyril Despres	Yamaha	2:27:11	1:40	3	Cyril Despres	Yamaha	2:27:11	1:40
2	1	Sam Sunderland	Honda	3:42:10		1	Joan Barreda	Honda	6:09:41
	2	Francisco López	KTM	3:42:49	0:39	2	Francisco López	KTM	6:11:44	2:03
	3	Joan Barreda	Honda	3:44:10	2:00	3	Sam Sunderland	Honda	6:12:14	2:33
3	1	Joan Barreda	Honda	3:47:03		1	Joan Barreda	Honda	9:56:44
	2	Cyril Despres	Yamaha	3:51:44	4:41	2	Cyril Despres	Yamaha	10:09:48	13:04
	3	Marc Coma	KTM	3:53:59	6:56	3	Marc Coma	KTM	10:10:40	13:56
4	1	Joan Pedrero	Sherco	5:29:13		1	Joan Barreda	Honda	15:39:53
	2	Francisco López	KTM	5:29:42	0:29	2	Marc Coma	KTM	15:43:03	3:10
	3	Marc Coma	KTM	5:32:23	3:10	3	Francisco López	KTM	15:45:05	5:12
5	1	Marc Coma	KTM	3:02:08		1	Marc Coma	KTM	18:45:11
	2	Jordi Viladoms	KTM	3:15:02	12:54	2	Joan Barreda	Honda	19:26:21	41:10
	3	Kuba Przygonski	KTM	3:24:53	22:45	3	Francisco López	KTM	19:38:52	53:41
6	1	Alain Duclos	Sherco	5:51:34		1	Marc Coma	KTM	23:08:00
	2	Marc Coma	KTM	5:52:49	1:15	2	Joan Barreda	Honda	23:50:17	42:17
	3	Michael Metge	KTM	5:53:23	1:49	3	Alain Duclos	Sherco	24:08:58	1:00:58

	Stage result					General classification
Stage	Pos	Competitor	Make	Time	Gap	Pos	Competitor	Make	Time	Gap
1	1	Ignacio Casale	Yamaha	2:38:41		1	Ignacio Casale	Yamaha	2:38:41
	2	Marcos Patronelli	Yamaha	2:39:02	0:21	2	Marcos Patronelli	Yamaha	2:39:02	0:21
	3	Lucas Bonetto	Honda	2:39:58	1:17	3	Lucas Bonetto	Honda	2:39:58	1:17
2	1	Marcos Patronelli	Yamaha	4:40:37		1	Marcos Patronelli	Yamaha	7:19:39
	2	Lucas Bonetto	Honda	4:43:31	2:54	2	Lucas Bonetto	Honda	7:23:29	3:50
	3	Rafał Sonik	Yamaha	4:45:34	4:57	3	Rafał Sonik	Yamaha	7:25:45	6:06
3	1	Rafał Sonik	Yamaha	4:58:00		1	Rafał Sonik	Yamaha	12:23:45
	2	Ignacio Casale	Yamaha	5:01:50	3:50	2	Ignacio Casale	Yamaha	12:29:55	6:10
	3	Sergio La Fuente	Yamaha	5:02:02	4:02	3	Sebastian Husseini	Honda	12:31:04	7:19
4	1	Sebastian Husseini	Honda	6:41:16		1	Rafał Sonik	Yamaha	19:10:53
	2	Rafał Sonik	Yamaha	6:47:08	5:52	2	Sebastian Husseini	Honda	19:12:20	1:27
	3	Sergio La Fuente	Yamaha	6:58:44	17:28	3	Sergio La Fuente	Yamaha	19:29:55	19:02
5	1	Sergio La Fuente	Yamaha	4:53:48		1	Sergio La Fuente	Yamaha	24:23:43
	2	Ignacio Casale	Yamaha	4:55:09	1:21	2	Ignacio Casale	Yamaha	24:40:35	16:52
	3	Pablo Copetti	Yamaha	5:04:48	11:00	3	Rafał Sonik	Yamaha	24:46:55	23:12
6	1	Rafał Sonik	Yamaha	4:57:43		1	Sergio La Fuente	Yamaha	29:22:20
	2	Sergio La Fuente	Yamaha	4:58:37	0:54	2	Rafał Sonik	Yamaha	29:44:38	22:18
	3	Victor Manuel Gallegos	Honda	5:01:26	3:43	3	Ignacio Casale	Yamaha	29:46:24	24:04

	Stage result					General classification
Stage	Pos	Competitor	Make	Time	Gap	Pos	Competitor	Make	Time	Gap
1	1	Carlos Sousa Miguel Ramalho	Haval	2:20:36		1	Carlos Sousa Miguel Ramalho	Haval	2:20:36
	2	Orlando Terranova Paulo Fiuza	Mini	2:20:47	0:11	2	Orlando Terranova Paulo Fiuza	Mini	2:20:47	0:11
	3	Nasser Al-Attiyah Lucas Cruz	Mini	2:21:23	0:47	3	Nasser Al-Attiyah Lucas Cruz	Mini	2:21:23	0:47
2	1	Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret	Mini	3:52:05		1	Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret	Mini	6:17:02
	2	Carlos Sainz Timo Gottschalk	SMG	3:52:51	0:46	2	Carlos Sainz Timo Gottschalk	SMG	6:17:30	0:28
	3	Giniel de Villiers Dirk von Zitzewitz	Toyota	3:57:39	5:34	3	Nasser Al-Attiyah Lucas Cruz	Mini	6:21:12	4:10
3	1	Nani Roma Michel Périn	Mini	2:58:52		1	Nani Roma Michel Périn	Mini	9:20:13
	2	Krzysztof Holowczyc Konstantin Zhiltsov	Mini	2:59:59	1:07	2	Orlando Terranova Paulo Fiuza	Mini	9:29:19	9:06
	3	Leeroy Poulter Robert Howie	Toyota	3:02:11	3:19	3	Nasser Al-Attiyah Lucas Cruz	Mini	9:30:13	10:00
4	1	Carlos Sainz Timo Gottschalk	SMG	7:30:32		1	Carlos Sainz Timo Gottschalk	SMG	14:52:47
	2	Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret	Mini	7:36:36	6:04	2	Nani Roma Michel Périn	Mini	14:54:53	2:06
	3	Nasser Al-Attiyah Lucas Cruz	Mini	7:39:30	8:58	3	Nasser Al-Attiyah Lucas Cruz	Mini	14:59:43	6:56
5	1	Nani Roma Michel Périn	Mini	4:27:01		1	Nani Roma Michel Périn	Mini	19:21:54
	2	Giniel de Villiers Dirk von Zitzewitz	Toyota	4:31:21	4:20	2	Orlando Terranova Paulo Fiuza	Mini	19:53:40	31:46
	3	Robby Gordon Kellon Walch	Hummer	4:47:13	20:12	3	Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret	Mini	20:01:53	39:59
6	1	Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret	Mini	5:42:58		1	Nani Roma Michel Périn	Mini	22:11:28
	2	Nasser Al-Attiyah Lucas Cruz	Mini	5:45:41	2:43	2	Orlando Terranova Paulo Fiuza	Mini	22:41:58	30:30
	3	Orlando Terranova Paulo Fiuza	Mini	5:48:18	5:20	3	Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret	Mini	22:44:51	33:23

	Stage result					General classification
Stage	Pos	Competitor	Make	Time	Gap	Pos	Competitor	Make	Time	Gap
1	1	Ayrat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Ayrat Israfilov	Kamaz	2:46:52		1	Ayrat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Ayrat Israfilov	Kamaz	2:46:52
	2	Aleš Loprais Serge Bruynkens Radim Pustějovský	Tatra	2:47:02	0:10	2	Aleš Loprais Serge Bruynkens Radim Pustějovský	Tatra	2:47:02	0:10
	3	Marcel van Vliet Marcel Pronk Artur Klein	MAN	2:47:13	0:21	3	Marcel van Vliet Marcel Pronk Artur Klein	MAN	2:47:13	0:21
2	1	Gérard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald	Iveco	3:58:17		1	Gérard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald	Iveco	6:46:42
	2	Anton Shibalov Robert Amatych Almaz Khisamiev	Kamaz	4:11:37	13:20	2	Marcel van Vliet Marcel Pronk Artur Klein	MAN	7:00:39	13:57
	3	Marcel van Vliet Marcel Pronk Artur Klein	MAN	4:13:26	15:09	3	Anton Shibalov Robert Amatych Almaz Khisamiev	Kamaz	7:05:34	18:52
3	1	Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin	Kamaz	3:21:29		1	Gérard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald	Iveco	10:10:53
	2	Gérard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald	Iveco	3:24:11	2:42	2	Marcel van Vliet Marcel Pronk Artur Klein	MAN	10:29:42	18:49
	3	Aleš Loprais Serge Bruynkens Radim Pustějovský	Tatra	3:26:33	4:54	3	Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin	Kamaz	10:50:03	39:10
4	1	Gérard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald	Iveco	8:16:40		1	Gérard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald	Iveco	16:17:33
	2	Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin	Kamaz	8:18:11	1:31	2	Marcel van Vliet Marcel Pronk Artur Klein	MAN	16:53:45	36:12
	3	Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov	Kamaz	8:25:44	9:04	3	Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin	Kamaz	16:58:14	40:41
5	1	Dmitry Sotnikov Vyatcheslav Mizyukaev Andrey Aferin	Kamaz	4:47:46		1	Gérard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald	Iveco	21:17:26
	2	Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin	Kamaz	4:50:42	2:56	2	Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin	Kamaz	21:49:26	32:00
	3	Gérard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald	Iveco	4:59:53	12:07	3	Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov	Kamaz	22:27:07	1:09:41
6	1	Peter Versluis Jurgen Damen Henricus Schuurmans	MAN	1:52:55		1	Gérard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald	Iveco	23:13:27
	2	Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin	Kamaz	1:54:06	1:11	2	Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin	Kamaz	23:43:32	29:05
	3	Marcel van Vliet Marcel Pronk Artur Klein	MAN	1:54:31	1:36	3	Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov	Kamaz	24:22:09	1:07:42

Belgian motorcycle rider Eric Palante was found dead on the morning of 10 January after the completion of the fifth stage.^[12]

• Official website