After his victories in 2010, 2018 and 2020, Carlos Sainz won his fourth Dakar this Friday. The four-time champion thus enhances his legend, although the title represents more for his resume than, directly because of the money he wins, for his pocket. How much has the Spanish driver earned? And, above all, how much does it cost to run the Dakar?
Winning the Dakar seems to be a matter of cachet, because financially the accounts don't work out. After winning this Friday in cars, the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Audi) took home 3,000 euros and two trophies, tiny figures for the expense that this Dakar really entails for any team or any private driver.
Meanwhile, the Dakar continues to make profitable the "dream" of each of the drivers of finishing a rally that also has other income beyond the registration itself, as it charges a fee of more than ten million euros for the country that hosts the competition. , in this case Saudi Arabia, which hosts the king of rallying for the fifth consecutive year.
Running the Dakar costs a minimum of 100,000 euros. In the cheapest category. In cars, the most expensive, the cost rises to a million. And the prize for winning is only 3,000. The organization charges a fee of 10 million to the country that hosts the competition. The Saudi Arabian desert has been the venue for the last five years, and has a contract until 2029. The numbers of the toughest rally in the world.
According to various sources consulted by EFE during the Dakar 2024 route, the most affordable way to compete in the test is to do so in the Original by Motul category, but between buying a motorcycle, which represents an outlay of 35,000 euros plus VAT, the need To do a prior rally to be able to enjoy the Dakar, the license and registration, the amount skyrockets to, at least, 80,000 euros.
For the Original by Motul, a category full of young and not so young people who dreamed since they were children of racing the Dakar through the dunes, the minimum costs are: a motorcycle, 35,000 euros; preparation of the motorcycle for the rally, 7,000; 4,000 euros in tires; 1,000 license from the International Motorcycle Federation; at least 15,000 for carrying out a previous rally like the one in Morocco... that's already 62,000 euros.
To that we must add the registration in the category, the 2,500 euros that one can spend on the equipment; plane tickets, about 1,500; and the between 12 and 15,000 euros that any driver can spend on repairs during the rally: "the normal thing is to change the exhaust pipe at least once, which is about 6,000 euros plus VAT; the deposit, an expense of 2,500; and a couple more things," comments this source who prefers to remain anonymous.
Finally, he highlights that a "stock" motorcycle is not suitable for the Dakar and that to the preparation made for the rally of around 7,000 euros, another 5,000 must be added to add the navigation tablet, more specific protections and other necessary cables.
The sum, at this point, amounts to 86,000 euros, to which "if you want to finish the Dakar", you have to add about 20,000 more to hire assistance to help you repair the motorcycle and monitor you daily.
If in motorcycles that dream can vanish due to the amount of money that has to be spent for an adventure of just fifteen days, the case of cars is even more flagrant, which explains that beyond the top drivers who compete with brand teams well-known and who charge for it, all the others are mostly multimillionaires who want to try their luck in the career.
In Ultimate, the premier car category, the normal thing for anyone who wants to participate is to buy a vehicle from Toyota or BRX, the big brands that can sell these cars.
In the case of Toyotas, a private driver or a team can buy a car from the Japanese brand for 850,000 euros. The problem is that, as in the case of motorcycles, it comes "as standard" and you have to add a couple of supplements such as a replacement kit that the brand itself provides from 100,000 euros.
However, the sources consulted emphasize that you have to read carefully how many tires are included, since each one of them costs about 900 euros, and at least fifty are needed during the two weeks.
However, the price is still better than buying a BRX vehicle, since a car of that brand can cost between 1,100,000 and 1,200,000 euros, astronomical figures for fifteen days of competition.
However, three other factors must also be added to this cost: at least three mechanics — each of them with a cost of about 20,000 euros between their salary and ASO registration —, race registration — on motorcycles It is 18,000 euros and in Ultimate, 30,000—and the insurance, which has to cover damage from the vehicle sinking during the transfer to Arabia or any scratches.
Furthermore, in the case of co-pilots, it is the pilots themselves who pay from their salary (in the case of a large team) or from their savings (in the case of a private competitor) their payroll, which ranges from whoever does it for free even those who earn 200,000 euros.
