The 2007

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

was the 29th running of the event. It started in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

on 6 January and ran through

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

until 21 January

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. It was the last time the event would take place in Europe and Africa, as the 2008 event was cancelled due to terrorist attacks, and moved to South America from 2009.

Entries

Bikes

Cars

Trucks

Route

The race began in Lisbon, Portugal, and passed through

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, and

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. The total race distance was , of which was timed special stage. There was a rest day in

Atar, Mauritania Atar (, Berber languages, Berber for ''mountain'') is a town in northwestern Mauritania, the capital of the Adrar region, Adrar Region and the main settlement on the Adrar Plateau. Situated on the Oued Seguellil, it is home to an Atar Internationa ...

on 13 January.
pdf file showing 2007 route

Stages

''Note: The timed section of stage 7 was shortened to due to adverse weather conditions.''

Top-3 riders per stage

Motorcycles

Cars

Trucks

Final standings

A total of 132 bikes (52.8% of starters), 109 cars (58.3%), and 60 trucks (68.2%) finished the race.

Motorcycles

Cars

Trucks

Incidents

The 2007 event was marred by the deaths of two competitors, both in the motorcycle division. The first was South African motorcyclist Elmer Symons, who was competing in the rally for the first time, on the fourth stage between

Er Rachidia Errachidia (), formerly known as Ksar es-Souk, () is a city in Morocco, located in the Errachidia Province, and is the capital of the Drâa-Tafilalet region. Toponymy Formerly known as "Ksar es-Souk" (), the city was renamed Errachidia around ...

and

Ouarzazate Ouarzazate (; , ), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Drâa-Tafilalet, south-central Morocco. Ouarzazate is a primary tourist destination in Morocco during the holidays, as well as ...

. He was the 47th competitor to die taking part in the Dakar. The second death occurred on the 14th and penultimate stage; French motorcyclist Eric Aubijoux was found dead from the finish line in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

. Initial reports indicated he had suffered a fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. Later investigations indicated he had been involved earlier in an accident with another vehicle.Dakar 2007 - Bike death a road accident
Yahoo!-Eurosport. Retrieved 28 June 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dakar Rally, 2007

2007 in rallying 2007 in African sport 2007 in European sport 2007 in French motorsport