Legendakar, the new Initiative at Rallylegend 2024

A string of pearls. African. Like the Dakar. Even though the Dakar now also takes in South American and Arabian routes, it has lost little of its original appeal.

The same attraction that Rallylegend will tap into with LegenDakar, where twenty-five beautiful African queens will tell the story of an epic race that tasks its competitors with pushing to the limits of what is humanly possible. They will be joined by some of the ‘pillars’ of Dakar, not least Jacky Ickx, Ari Vatanen, Jutta Kleinschmidt and Miki Biasion, who will be in San Marino not only to talk about their great victories, but to be reunited with those cars, with their iconic trims, as they drive them around a dedicated Rallylegend route and The Legend stage.
This will be the highlight of LegenDakar: the Dakar Stage. On Friday 11 October at 3.30pm, the Legend Dakar vehicles will leave Rallylegend Village, single file, and head for Acquaviva where, at 3.45pm they will complete a parade lap around a 2km section of dirt track. An event not to be missed. Once completed, the participants will return to Rally Village for the dedicated talk show, starring all the big names in attendance.

There will be other opportunities to see these classic cars up close, around “The Legend” track or in the static exhibition located in Rally Village for the duration of the event.

Two dozen wonderful ‘dakarian’ vehicles identified and brought together by Vito Piarulli and that trace the evolution of the cars used in the African races, from the 1984 Porsche 953 Rothmans that placed fourth with Jacky Ickx, and who will drive it in San Marino, to the most recent winner, the futuristic Audi RS Q e-tron that triumphed with Carlos Sainz Sr. and Luca Cruz. Ari Vatanen will be reunited with the Peugeot and Citroen with which he won three consecutive editions from 1989 to 1991, specifically the Pioneer-branded Peugeot 405 T16 GR, later Camel, and the Citroen ZX also with Camel livery, all in action at Rallylegend. With Jutta Kleinschmidt, LegenDakar showcases the Mitsubishi, another icon of the African race. One of few women to have taken on the African marathon also on two wheels and the only woman to have won it, in 2001, the German driver will be reunited with her winning Mitsubishi Pajero in San Marino. Ukrainian model Inessa Tushkanova may not have competed in the Dakar, but she does compete in rally races and will be at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Pajero T2 former Dakar assistance 2005, identical to the car that will be driven by Carlo Boroli.

Many other vehicles will be on display at Rallylegend, the likes and combination of which you are unlikely to see anywhere else, which is why LegenDakar is not to be missed.

The Mitsubishi Pajero di Pierre Lartigue from the 1988 Dakar, the Chesterfield-branded 1989 Mercedes G280 of Clay Regazzoni, the Porsche 911 Dakar, two powerful Man trucks, more Mitsubishi Pajeros, including the 1996 MPR51, that represent various eras of the rally raid, and Miki Biaison’s 2007 Pandakar, to name but a few. All of which can be appreciated and admired at Rallylegend. At LegenDakar.