Although it’s no longer held in Africa but in South America, across Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, the toughest off-road endurance race in the world is still called the Dakar Rally.
This year’s event, a 9,000-plus km marathon spread over 13 legs, was won by Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel in a Mini ALL4 Racing. This was the fourth year in a row that Mini won the iconic race, and Al-Attiyah’s second win after 2011, when he drove a VW Touareg 3.
“I promised last year when I was on the podium that I’d be back to win, and now I’m here”, said Al-Attiyah after the finish in Buenos Aires. “It was very hard to lead the race from the very beginning and to continue keeping this position on the long distance because the race was really hard. I’m very happy about this great result and I want to thank and congratulate all mechanics and the team for the great job they have done during the two weeks. The Mini ALL4 Racing is an incredible car and it was again very nice to drive.”
Overall, Mini grabbed the four out of the five top finishing spots and won 11 of the 13 legs at the 2015 Dakar. “Our goal this year was to achieve another great overall team result and, with five Mini ALL4 Racing finishing the 2015 Dakar Rally in the top ten, nine reaching the finish line, eleven stage victories with four different drivers and Nasser winning the world’s toughest marathon rally, we have successfully met all our targets”, said Mini Senior Vice President Jochen Goller.
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