The Dakar Rally is regarded as one of the most gruelling rally raids that a racer can set out to conquer. To honour 40 years of the legendary race, its organisers have announced that for the 2021 event, older vehicles will be allowed to compete once more in the new Dakar Classic category.

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The Dakar, as it’s colloquially called these days, started out as something of an amateur endeavour originally title the Paris-Dakar in 1979. It ran from the French capital to the Senegalese capital by way of a few other countries, and once for the 1992 event even all the down to Cape Town. After security concerns led to a cancellation in 2008, the event was moved to South America between 2009 and 2019. Just like the 2020 Dakar, next year’s running will see it return to Saudi Arabia.

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While these days it’s much more of a professional undertaking, the early years of the Dakar saw drivers of all skill levels enter to compete for the win and there were some unique vehicles that took to the African sands. Although the the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is looking to introduce alternative energy sources to the event, it also wants to give old car enthusiasts the chance to experience the Dakar from behind the wheels of vehicles that helped to build its legacy.

Here’s our coverage of the 2020 Dakar Rally

Interested owners/collectors/enthusiasts have until October to register their vehicles for the 2021 Dakar Rally. These cars won’t actually be in contention for overall honours but will nonetheless run from the same starting point to the same end point; on courses parallel to the stages the usual competitors will run on. For the sake of keeping to the theme, the Dakar Classic will be open to cars and trucks manufactured before 2000.

Of course there are those fortunate enough to have one of the vehicles that actually competed in the Dakar but many of these are likely to be in storage or museum pieces, though we don’t doubt that there are some crazy individuals out there who would be willing to pull these prized possessions out for one more run.  The ASO is also allowing replicas to compete, but these will have to conform to period correct specification