The Dakar Rally, held in early January every year, is very popular with fans all over the world. There are such fans in Turkmenistan as well. This year will see the 44th edition of the Dakar Rally, and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) has decided to grant the World Championship status to this event. Certainly, this decision by the FIA ​​will prompt greater interest in the Dakar Rally.

1. In 2015, a Turkmen crew took part in the Dakar Rally for the first time. It consisted of Shamyrat Gurbanov (driver) and Rafael Gaynulin (navigator) on a G-Force Proto. Unfortunately, the Turkmen crew had to pull out of the competition 3 stages before the finish (13 stages in total) due to technical malfunction.

2. In 2009, the Silk Way Rally Raid along the route Russia-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan was held. The prize-winners were honoured in Ashgabat. In 2018, the Amul-Khazar International Rally was held. The organisation of this prestigious international event in Turkmenistan and the participation of the renowned famous crews aroused great interest among the people of our country.

3. Initially, the organizers of the Paris-Dakar Rally decided to hold the event in South America for safety reasons. The Turkmen crew took part in the Dakar-Argentina-Bolivia-Chile Rally. This year’s competitions in Saudi Arabia on the Asian continent will continue until January 14; all the stages will cover approximately 7,500 km.