The 2020 Dakar rally will go down in the annals of the rally championship's history because for being held in Saudi Arabia. This year, fans saw both new participants and new winners of the rally.
Spanish driver Carlos Sainz won the Dakar Rally for the third time on 17 January, finishing with a good winning margin in the first running of the event in Saudi Arabia. Former Formula One champion Fernando Alonso made his debut in the event in the car category and he finished 13th out of 57 cars.
The 2020 Dakar Rally, the most complicated rally-raid took place in Saudi Arabia. The event started in Jeddah on 5 January and finished in Qiddiya 17 January after 12 stages.
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© AP Photo / Bernat Armangue
The 2020 Dakar Rally started in Jeddah on 5 January and finished in Qiddiya 17 January after 12 stages.
Hundreds of participants in five modes of transport took off on 5 January.
French professional auto racing driver Romain Dumas and Alexander Vinkok were even able to complete the first stage because their car caught fire.
British driver Sam Sunderland didn't participate in the third stage as he broke five vertebrae and a scapula.
For some drivers this was their first time competing in the rally.
Former Formula One champion and Le Mans winner Fernando Alonso finished 13th out of 57 cars.
Spanish Marc Coma i Camps was Fernando Alonso's co-driver. Coma is a six-time winner of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.
It was a difficult race for the Spanish drivers Alonso and Coma, as the pair had to knock out the car's windscreen before continuing.
Spanish rally driver Carlos Sainz won the Dakar Rally in his X-raid Mini.
57-year-old driver, Carlos Sainz, has won the Dakar with three different manufacturers, he triumphed with Volkswagen in 2010 and Peugeot in 2018.
French driver Stéphane Peterhansel who has won the Dakar Rally a record 13 times wasn't that lucky this time. He finished in 3rd place.
Spanish female driver Laia Sanz achieved her goal of finishing a 10th Dakar Rally by completing stage 11 from Shubaytah to Haradh.
Local residents are surprised by such a big rally in the desert.
Camels run away from a motorbike in the Saudi desert.
The 2020 Dakar Rally started in Jeddah on 5 January and finished in Qiddiya 17 January after 12 stages.
It is especially difficult for motorcyclists to overcome areas with high dunes as bikes are not protected in any way, unlike trucks and SUVs.
It is especially difficult for motorcyclists to overcome areas with high dunes as bikes are not protected in any way, unlike trucks and SUVs.
Motorcyclists often suffer various injuries as a result of falls during the rally.
Stage 8 of the Dakar Rally was cancelled for motorbikes and quads, following the death of Portuguese driver Paulo Gonçalves, 40, during stage 7.
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© AP Photo / Bernat Armangue
Rally raid biker Ricky Brabec on Honda has become the first American citizen to win the Dakar.
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© AP Photo / Bernat Armangue
José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo from Chile on his Honda bike during the 11th stage of the Dakar Rally between Shubaytah and Haradh, Saudi Arabia.
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© AP Photo / Bernat Armangue
Belarusian driver Siarhei Viazovich won 3rd place in the truck special.
Russian rally raid driver Andrey Olegovich Karginov, best known for winning the 2014 Dakar Rally in the truck category for Kamaz, won the rally for the second time in 2020.
Czech rally raid truck driver Aleš Loprais, who won the 2011 Silk Way Rally in the truck category, participated in the Dakar Rally in a Praga truck.
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© Sputnik / КАМАЗ-мастер
The 2020 Dakar Rally started in Jeddah on 5 January and finished in Qiddiya 17 January after 12 stages.
