Rally Dakar 1984
1984 Dakar Rally also known as the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally was the 6th running of the Dakar Rally event. The course was extended through Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mauritania. 427 competitors started. René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne won the car class with a Porsche 953, which was often called the 911 SC/RS 4x4, and Gaston Rahier won the motorcycles class.
The Paris-Dakar Rally is one of the last great motorsport adventures, travelling thousands of miles through the most challenging terrain on Earth. In 1984, the event became a race for survival as the harsh conditions and tough environment decimated the field.A trio of specially-adapted Porsche 911s led the way, with 1983 winner Jacky Ickx starting as favourite. Electrical problems hampered his bid for victory, but set the scene for an enthralling fight back. Among the challengers were the sportscar great Jochen Mass, driving veteran Vic Elford, the heroic Marreau brothers, Mitsubishi's Andrew Cowan, the Pacific Range Rover of Patrick Zaniroli and Ickx's own teammate Rene Metge. The bike section was also a star-studded affair, with BMW's challengers Hubert Auriol and Gaston Rahier dominating. |