1979 Paris–Dakar Rally

1979 Dakar Rally
	Next: 1980

1979 Dakar Rally also known as the 1979 Paris-Dakar Rally was the 1st running of the Dakar Rally event. The rally began on 26 December 1978 from Paris, France to Dakar, Senegal, interrupted by a transfer across the Mediterranean. The idea for the race originated when a racer Thierry Sabine got lost in the desert and decided that it would be a good location for a regular rally.

170 competitors started the rally. Cyril Neveu won the motorcycle category on a Yamaha. The car category was won by Genestier and Terbiaut in a Range Rover.

Stages

Stage	Date	From	To	Total (km)
1	26 December 1978	Paris	Montlhéry
2	27 December 1978	Montlhéry	Marseille
	28–30 December 1978	Transportation to Africa
3	31 December 1978	Algiers	In Salah	960
4	1 January 1979	In Salah	Reggane	270
5	2 January 1979	Reggane	Tamanrasset
6	3 January 1979	Tamanrasset	In Guezzam	373
7	4 January 1979	Assamaka	Arlit	230
8	5 January 1979	Arlit	Agadez	231
9	6 January 1979	Agadez	Niamey	920
10	7 January 1979	Niamey	Gao	448
	8 January 1979	Rest day in Gao
11	9 January 1979	Gao	Mopti	600
12	10 January 1979	Mopti	Bamako	650
13	11 January 1979	Bamako	Nioro du Sahel	417
14	12 January 1979	Nioro du Sahel	Kayes	270
15	13 January 1979	Kayes	Bakel	69
16	14 January 1979	Bakel	Dakar	96

Winners

Year	Cars		Motorcycles		Route
	Driver Co-Driver	Manufacturer	Rider	Manufacturer
1979	Alain Génestier Joseph Terbiaut	Range Rover	Cyril Neveu	Yamaha XT500	Paris-Dakar