2015 Dakar Rally

2015 Dakar Rally
Part of the Dakar Rally ← Previous event Next event →
2015 Dakar logo and route
Host country	Argentina  Chile  Bolivia
Dates run	4 – 17 January 2015
Stages	13
Stage surface	Gravel, Dirt, Sand
Overall distance	9,295 km (5,776 mi)
Results
Bikes winner	Marc Coma Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Quads winner	Rafał Sonik Yamaha Sonik Team
Cars winner	Nasser Al-Attiyah Matthieu Baumel Mini Qatar Raid Team
Trucks winner	Ayrat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dmitriy Svistunov Kamaz
Crews	406 at start, 207 at finish

The 2015 Dakar Rally was the 37th running of the event and the seventh successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 4, then ran through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, before returning to Buenos Aires on January 17 after 13 stages of competition, for a total distance of 9,000 km (5,600 mi). For the first time, organizers reserved separate rest days for different categories so that at least two classes raced on each day.

Marc Coma won a fifth title in the motorcycle category for KTM, while Rafał Sonik secured a maiden quads crown aboard his Yamaha. Nasser Al-Attiyah took his second title for the X-Raid Mini squad in the car category, while Ayrat Mardeev continued Kamaz's winning streak – a third successive win in the Dakar Rally – in the truck category, with his maiden success.

The race was expected to be a fight between KTM, led by defending champion Marc Coma, and Honda's fleet, spearheaded by Joan Barreda, which had not triumphed since returning to Dakar as a works operation. KTM's Sam Sunderland won the opening stage, but dropped time getting lost on the second stage before retiring after injuring his shoulder and collarbone in a crash on the fourth stage. That handed the lead to Barreda, who extended his advantage to almost 13 minutes over Coma with wins in the second and fourth stages. Coma fought back with his first (and only) stage victory the following day, Barreda having his lead reduced to six-and-a-half minutes on the seventh stage after a fall which damaged his handlebar.

Worse was to come for Barreda on the eighth stage however, as a mechanical failure while traversing the damp Uyuni salt flats meant he had to be towed by team-mate Jeremias Israel, losing over three hours as a result and any chance of victory. Barreda's misfortune left Coma with a lead of just under ten minutes from Paulo Gonçalves, around whom the rest of the Honda team rallied in order to challenge Coma in the subsequent stages. Gonçalves nonetheless saw his own victory hopes ruined by a penalty for an engine change on Stage 11, Barreda also losing his fourth stage win of the rally for similar reasons. Ultimately, Coma would finish the rally with just under 17 minutes in hand from Gonçalves, who took his first ever Dakar podium as Coma clinched a fifth title in the category.