1979 Paris–Dakar Rally

1979 Dakar Rally
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The route
Host country France
 Algeria
 Niger
 Mali
 Senegal
Results
Cars winner Alain Génestier
Range Rover
Bikes winner Cyril Neveu
Yamaha XT500

1979 Dakar Rally, also known as the 1979 Paris–Alger–Dakar Rally was the first running of the Dakar Rally event. The rally began on 26 December 1978 from Paris, France and finished on 14 January 1979 in Dakar, Senegal, interrupted by a transfer across the Mediterranean. Cyril Neveu won the motorcycle category on a Yamaha, while the car category was won by Alain Génestier in a Range Rover.[1]

Summary

A total of 182 competitors (80 cars, 90 motorcycles and 12 trucks [1]) contested the inaugural Paris-Dakar Rally, departing the Place du Trocadéro on Boxing Day 1978 to embark upon a 10,000 kilometre journey to the Senegalese capital of Dakar via Algeria, Niger, Mali and Upper Volta. All the vehicles that took part were classified together, although they would compete separately in subsequent editions of the race.

Cyril Neveu won the rally aboard a Yamaha despite not winning any individual stages, taking the lead on the sixth stage after Patrick Schaal (Yamaha) fell and fractured his little finger.[1] Jean-Claude Morellet, competing under the alias of "Fenouil", had been running second until he was forced to retire as his BMW suffered engine failure with less than 200 km of the rally left to run. That promoted Gilles Comte (Yamaha) to second and Philippe Vassard (Honda), the only competitor to complete the Bamako-Nioro stage in the originally allotted time before it was extended, to third.[1]

Alain Génestier's Range Rover was the best of the cars in fourth, ahead of the Renault 4 of the Marreau brothers. Neveu's brother Christophe had led early on in the rally after winning two of the first three stages in his Range Rover, but got lost on the stage between Arlit and Agadez along with around a quarter of the remaining competitors.[2]

Entry list

Number of entries

Stage Bikes Cars Trucks Total
Start of Rally 90 80 12 182
End of Rally 34 37 3 74

Competitor list

Source:[3]

Stages

Stage Date From To Dist. Winner (cars) Winner (bikes)
1 26 December 1978 Paris Montlhéry 3.6 C. Neveu C. Desnoyers
27 December 1978 Montlhéry Marseille Liaison only
N/a 28–30 December 1978 Transportation to Africa
2 31 December 1978 Algiers Reggane Liaison only
1 January 1979 Reggane In Salah 270 J. Privé C. Rayer
2 January 1979 In Salah Tamanrasset Liaison only
3 3 January 1979 Tamanrasset In Guezzam 373 C. Neveu R. Potisek
4 January 1979 Assamaka Arlit 230 G. Daurangeon P. Schaal
5 January 1979 Arlit Agadez 231 P-L. Moreau J-C. Olivier
4 6 January 1979 Agadez Niamey 230 C. Marreau J-C. Olivier
5 7 January 1979 Niamey Gao 448 Stage cancelled
N/a 8 January 1979 Gao N/a Rest day
6 9 January 1979 Gao Mopti 600 A. Génestier G. Comte
10 January 1979 Mopti Bamako Liaison only
7 11 January 1979 Bamako Nioro du Sahel 417 C. Giraudo P. Vassard
8 12 January 1979 Nioro du Sahel Kayes 270 None declared C. Rayer
13 January 1979 Kayes Bakel Liaison only
14 January 1979 Bakel Dakar 96 H. Rigal G. Comte
  • The above distances (in kilometres) refer only to the competitive timed part of the stage, which make up 3,168 km.

Results

Source:[4]

Final standings (positions 1–10)
Pos. No. Competitor(s) Vehicle Class
1 12 Cyril Neveu Yamaha XT 500 Moto
2 2 Gilles Comte Yamaha XT 500 Moto
3 23 Philippe Vassard Honda XL 250S Moto
4 162 Alain Génestier
Joseph Terbiaut
Jean Lemordant		 Range Rover V8 Auto
5 131 Claude Marreau
Bernard Marreau		 Renault 4 Sinpar Auto
6 52 Alain Schaecht Honda XL 250S Moto
7 143 Cesare Giraudo
Antonio Cavalleri
Mario Cavalleri		 Fiat Campagnola Auto
8 3 Christian Rayer Yamaha XT 500 Moto
9 141 Tommaso Carletti
Amarilli Carletti		 Fiat Campagnola Auto
10 134 Alain Vandekerkhove
Gérard Dutertry
Daniel Pichot		 Toyota BJ Auto

References

  1. ^ a b c d "History of Dakar - RETROSPECTIVE 1979-2007" (PDF). Dakar. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  2. ^ "Christophe Neveu". dakardantan.com. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  3. ^ "Dakar Historic Book 2024".
  4. ^ "Paris-Dakar 1979 - Classification". dakardantan.com.
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