Back in time-DAKAR 1979 (from idea to the greatest rally )
Thierry Sabine (13 June 1949, Neuilly-sur-Seine – 14 January 1986, Mali) was a French wrangler, motorcycle racer, and founder and main organizer of Paris Dakar. In 1977 he got lost in the Libyan Desert during the Abidjan-Nice Race. During this time he decided that desert would be a good location for a regular rally, where every amateur of racing life could check his abilities. In December 1977 he arranged an edition of the race with start situated in Paris and the finish line in Dakar.Thierry Sabine's gamble took shape on 26 December 1978, as 182 vehicles turned up in the Place du Trocadéro for a 10,000-kilometre journey into the unknown, destination Dakar. The encounter between two worlds sought by the event's founder unfolded on the African continent. Among the 74 trail-blazers who made it to the Senegalese capital, Cyril Neveu, at the handlebars of a Yamaha 500 XT, wrote the opening entry on the honours list of the greatest rally in the world.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.