Yep, the name comes from Dakar, Senegal (In Africa), when the race, the Dakar Rally, was originally ran from Paris to Dakar. It's now held in South America, yet retains the legacy name.

These are specially built off road vehicles, Kamaz is the manufacturer in this example. Like many races, there are different classes of trucks that compete in the Rally, alongside dirt bikes, quads and cars.

It's basically Mad Max and I encourage folks to check out highlights of it, or the similar Baja 1000 race.

Interestingly, the truck class includes support trucks that don't actually compete, but assist competitors stranded in the middle of nowhere.

This Red Bull sponsored Monster (energy drinks!) has right around 1000hp and a 265 gallon fuel tank if I recall correctly. Road trip!

They REALLY need a better horn, or better yet a siren if they're going to ignore all traffic laws and instead use off road racing rules, which are... to pass-honk, tap bumper, ramming speed, preferably in that order.

Perfect example of why spectators lining the course always seem suicidal to me. In off road racing, we tried to think of them as bushes with clothes on, otherwise it's impossible to bring yourself to drive flat out when a tiny mistake might put you 50' off the course. At the least, they shouldn't allow people to sit on the outside of corners and curves.

Yep, driving a car will be something you do recreationally at certain areas (racetracks, off road etc)

But no more monkeys piloting fast moving lumps of metal on open roads. Personally, I can't wait for my car to drive me home from the pub!

Or, you can just carry a lighter (or matches) in your car. Pretty useful to have a small survival kit in your car if you plan on going off road and running out of gas.

Much more of the event is here.

Apparently they are coming to Bikini Bottoms Off-Road Park in Tennessee. on Sept.30-Oct.2 If only I had known....I still couldn't have gone.

Agreed, it was an impressive flight. I think I've seen similar in Formula1 and similar racing, but not if you multiply for scale.
I think because these were (allegedly) kids, the carts and the drivers were extremely lightweight with large flat bottoms that act like a wing (the cars' bottoms, not the kids') unlike most open wheel classes (like my off road racing buggy), but the speeds were still pretty high. (EDIT: Also, no suspension to soak up the sudden upward thrust) Everything came together just right to launch her. Damn fine recovery on her part....even if she couldn't continue for long.

This movie got me into off road racing as a kid. Love it. Nothing like a land rush start in the desert!
*quality *vintage *motorsports

OK, that sounds pretty messed up, but where are the women led businesses and their sponsorships?
Back when I raced off road, I went to hundreds of businesses looking for any sponsorship. I never got any. I don't think it had anything to do with how I looked, or even my personality (although I could be wrong there). Getting a business to put out money to MAYBE get mentioned during a competition is not an easy prospect, especially when you are relatively unknown. I wonder how many businesses actually said 'no' to her, if it's <100, she just didn't try hard enough.
OH....watching to the end, now I have to say the title is totally misleading. She got sponsorship from 'a very important brand', so obviously 'not being hot enough' was not the problem, she didn't suddenly get hotter this year. Now I wonder how many competitions she had won before last year, since after winning one in NZ she got fully sponsored.

My Jeep here in the US is a tank. Rolled flipped turned, through a tree...(all off roading mishaps) and the thing barely looks dinged up and runs perfect.

*promote the never surrender mentality of rally racing.
You can only be sure you've lost if you've quit.
The first off road race I ever saw was a short course race in the LA Coliseum, and the front runner completely lost a front wheel with 2 laps to go...and continued on to win the race. I was hooked from then on.

For spectators, maybe, but most off road racing has more high speed excitement, it's just much harder to film through the dust.

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The same thing happens in off road racing. We call them 'bushes with clothes on'. That's the only way to stay on the gas, if you think of them as people, there's no way you can go as fast as you should (unless you're a psychopath).

What's worse, people bring their small children and stand on the outside of corners, just asking to be hit. It's maddening to be a driver with these people on the course, and I always wished the racing organizations would do something to keep them back, at least keep them off the outside of corners where a loss of control by any car will mean loss of life.