Watch the coverage every day at 3:30pm / 6:30pm Eastern on VERSUS!!!! It's insane / amazing / epic... not to be missed

Not my favorite post. I've been on too many hikes in the desert where otherwise delicate and untouched landscape is scared by off-road tracks.

I can appreciate the challenge and appeal of this sport, just not the tire tracks.

boy some people bloging here are idiots, to many to name

There just isn't enough coverage of this sport... more more more.

I would take my annual leave and work for free to help shoot or edit more content. 30mins is all we get... what is that.

To those who think:
It is a waste of resources. Humans do allot of that and this is probably fairly small on the world scale of waste, so get over it.
You're destroying the environment. The environment is an every changing thing and I certainly don't think we should be doing things to permanently change it, but I think we need to give it another 10,000 years or so to see if any of the man made changes really have any effect.
They should be doing it on bicycles or a more eco-friendly methods. People do racing that way, but it just was not popular enough that they only want to race that way.

I have been riding in the California desert for more than 30 years and only once came across a possible environmentalist that was out there exploring.
So if you're not out there using the same area, stop trying to impact other that are.

Poor Nina, she only has the tiniest bit of brain.

No, frankly... We live in 2009 to see this ? Ok, great pictures, but are War pictures not great also sometimes ? Does that mean wars are good because they produce great pics ? Going more than 200 km/h through those empty site, what is the challenge ? Can you still call this a 'sport' when you remember the 'Dakar' makes 54 dead persons since it began ? Half of these dead where people coming back home and being killed by machines they do not even know about thei existence and performance on earth ? Who's interest this event is made for ? Have we built 4000 years of civilisation to come to this point of non-sense ?

Belas fotos. Parabéns aos fotógrafos e força aos competidores !!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/violenciavisual/

I am going to keep this positive because it is great to see any American (non underground) media giving this amazing rally some coverage. Thanks very much for the pictures!! This is truly an amazing rally and the to even finish it on a motorcycle is a serious challenge met by few. To actually be able to be in good enough shape physically and mentally to compete for top honors is unreal. To the people who look at it in terms of environmental impact....please open up your mind and take a deeper look at this amazing individual sport. The rally organizers to give back to the country of Africa FYI. Go to www.advrider.com if you like the rally and want a little more info.

Rally On!!

Las fotos estan espectaculares, yo tube la suerte de ver pasar a los competidores el el pc nº 5 el la 9 etapa entre LA SERENA Y COPIAPO , y el espectaculo es ESPECTACULAR. SALUDOS DESDE CHILE EL PAIS MAS BELLO DE SUD AMERICA!!

Inacreditavel as fotos.........ANIMAL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sem palavras

This is the best race in the world, no matter who say a different thing, obviously there is not too many people that know what is the feeling of riding outdoors with no road at all, (too many high ways in u.s) , some people thing that the best is to ride a harley on an interstate road, or maybe a spotbike on a race track but have no idea what is like to have miles and miles of wild and changes of temperature in matter of few hours, with out need to wait that the summer become spring, and all that, beacuse in south america we have countries were you can have the weather you want all year, and the most beautiful womans in the world.

Great pictures, thank you! As to the "eco-freaks", take a chill pill, it is the balance of life.... there is far more good done, than bad.... again, agreed, a matter of perspective, but most of you did NOT go there, you only wrote from your computer, and your involvement is that of a distant turd. Bon Appetite!

Pic # 20 is the best
The Dakar Rally is perhaps the toughest of them all - it's a shame though that it isn't held anymore on the traditional route.

One guy (#68) says he'll yank this website off his rss feed because of the harsh comments. It's a blog that deals entirely with pictures and he'll stop coming because of the comments. I shouldn't have to point out how stupid that is. But I will. That's stupid.

As for the environmental issues, people must be pretty arrogant to think that they are powerful enough to forever change a landscape because of a race. As far as I can tell the only thing getting spoiled is some dirt. Don't worry. The dirt won't get dirty.

Long live to CHILE AND ARGENTINA THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN AMERICA WITH BRASIL, IS YOU HAVE ANY change to know, come over, forget it mexico and europe that the old choice to know

this whole concept is badass!

Simply exhilarating !

thanks to you, we can sit on our desks and enjoy the best pictures from around the world !

thanks for enriching our lives

Where are the pictures of the dying people of GAZA?!?!

Great pics. I would like to say that, I think, many people forget that racing serves as test ground for the cars, technologies that eventually make the cars that we drive every day, more efficient, i.e. more eco friendly. I race a bit my self, and I m really trying to make it as eco friendly as possible, as I think, everyone is today. I think there are other industries, and wars for example, that are more concerning than one race.
P. S. Argentina and Chile rules :) I think that the race should stay there.

Amazing shots! Thank you for sharing

I think these pictures are brilliant. Well done to all the people who shot all the pictures; and good luck to all the competitors.

I love the pic's, my sympathy to Pascal's family. To the eco's, "ride a bicycle?" come on and get real, did you or anybody in your family drive a car to work today, yesterday...?

Some stunning pics in there. Glad someone pointed me at this page.

@all of the people complaining about environmental impact
People like different things. Deal with it. I assume none of you drives or uses a computer, since we burn far more power doing those than a racing event.

Too bad terrorist A-holes have ruined the Dakar and it has to be moved to a whole other continent but as we can see, it is beautiful country with people that appreciate and want to have the money, publicity and prestige of the premiere off road event in the world.

These pics grab my soul and throttle hand and scream "what the hell are you doing sitting at this desk".

As for environmentalist twits would realize that off road racers are their comrades not their enemies. Racer LOVE the wild and want to see it protected from industry and development. Offroad racers ARE environmentalists because they are motivated to protect what they love.

Carlos Sainz retired from rally racing because he was too old !
Last I saw, he was playing golf with his WRC buddies.
Score one more for the old dudes !!!!

INCREIBLES FOTOS MUY BUENAS , TUVE LA OPORTUNIDAD DE VERLOS EN DIRECTO YA QUE DESCANZARON EN VALPARAISO PARA LUEGO RETOMAR LA ETAPA VALPARAISO-SERENA , UN SALUDO A TODO EL MUNDO DE VALPARAISO-CHILE .

In ref to comment 26 from Yogi...are you a member of the 'Ramblers association'??
Thank you Getty Images for the stunning photo's.
All who enter are Hero's regardless of finishing place IMO.

nice landscapes, but why these cars and this pollution in the middle ?
in France more and more people say: "le dakar c'est ringard!" ...translation: ( The Dakar is for laggards")
I agree with the comment about vendee globe nautic race around the world : when do we have images of it , a far better adventure with real competitors in respect with earth?

Breath-taking pictures, really amazing... The dakar (and other rally raids always amaze me), the determination, the hard work and the abuse the machines can take, simply stunning...

Thank you and the men out there taking pictures...

I just knew this series would spark some heated discussion on the environment. I think everyone agrees that we need to be environmentally conscious. But Mark has it right. Lets worry about the real environmental issues, not a few tire tracks, burned gas, trampled weeds. The impact from this race (which only happens once a year, and travels different routs) is a microscopic drop in the bucket when compared to true environmental problems. It will be a sad day when we become so PC that we can't take part in great events like this.
I also have to point out to Sarah that all she has to do is look a couple of days back to see pictures of dead people in Gaza. Alan does a fantastic job of posting image stories that encompass all walks of life. If all you want to see is devastation in the Middle East tune to CNN.
Oh yea. Great Pics, as usual.

First class photos! as for all you so called enviromentalists we gain so much technology from the racing R&D departments that ends up in the Millions of cars and trucks all over the planet (cleaner burning powerplants, longer lasting drive trains, SAFTEY SYSTEMS and much more enviromentaly positive items)
So in the long run if you can see past a few tracks in the sand from a couple hundred racers (that will disappear anyway) for only two weeks, Its a good thing! Not to mention all the help that the promoters and sponsers do for the villages along the course. GET A CLUE GREENIE!

I love the pictures and thanks to Dakar organisiser for such an event. Thanks

Greenies , give us a break
These guys are out there living life to the full,in todays sociaty when every other idoit is trying to blow each other up,you complain about some vegetation being cut up.
Theirs more to worry about in this world than the small footprint that the Dakar leaves, I too one day hope to compete in this amazing race and I also hope to be able to contribute to the poorer citizens of which ever country it passes through,just like many racers and teams have done so in the past.

Awesome, as always :)
Thank you for making me an eyewitness, even for a while...

Just Beautiful......I love it. =)

i can only repeat, 'Great Photos'. i was at the Dakar last year, only to find out it was cancelled on arrival. We ended up riding the Moroccan stages with a few of the teams that decided to use the cancellation for testing...riding at 100mph on a flat sandy dry lake with baseball size rocks every 2 feet, and erosion ruts 3' deep is not for the weak of heart. Having a big transport come within inches of your rear tyre while going 80mph and horning you, glancing over your shoulder, it looks like a house about to run over you, does take some nerve.
Dakar in Africa will be missed. No teams don't usually hire locals, but whole towns depend on the race. Hotels and homes are rented by the thousands, meals are prepared, and countless details are taken care of by locals. It is the locals that make up this infrastructure. Many live all year on these 2 weeks. Riding through towns, school closes, people turn out on the roads by the 1000s, waving, yelling, it is a very big deal to them. It is a big deal of us, one of the last true adventure races. Nothing will replace that for Africa or the riders.

To all the greenies, the world is cooling down. It's a cycle. Get over it. 97% of co2 is naturally produced. Cowshit produces nasty toxic methane. Go shout at the cows and tell them to fart in a can. Environmental impact at these events is practically zero. They also carry spill kits in case a drop of oil is lost to keep everyone happy. They don't even run coolant, just water, in case they loose some. Do you run coolant in YOUR car? Oh noes my car might freeze. These guys and girls do more for the environment than you sitting typing in a blog. Where does the electricity come from to power your computers as you type here? Yeah thats right probably from burning fossil fuels, your not powering that laptop using just solar right? What about the mining that took place to make that nasty toxic lithium battery you use? It's called dust to dust impact, the fact of it is all of us have an impact whether we like it or not. Some collect pop cans to make themselves feel better. Just shut up. Unless you live in a tent in the bush and catch and kill your own wildlife to eat you have an impact on the earth. Oh thats right easier for you to go to Walmart and buy your food. (In your SUV most likely) . Oh i'm sorry, you drive a hybrid? Congratulations, the dust to dust impact of a Jeep Wrangler is the same as a Toyota Hybrid. Brilliant. How do you think those batteries were made? Grown in battery groves?

Great pictures, great event, shame it had to move because of "terrorists". Long live rallying as it's the purest form of motorsport.

muchas felicidades por tus fotos amigo estan muy muy fregonas eh suerte y a darle que bie por gente como tu que nos traes estas imagenes y pues me gusta mucho la fotografia y en serio que un 100 eh saludos

Who cares about the environment ?
Who cares about sports, car racing or adventure ?

This "Dakar" thing is just made up to be an Event, ready for Sponsors, Brands, Media channels and Corporate Entertainment.
Locals love it, even when it used to kill them (and probably will again), as they believe the hype and think it attracts attention to their land. That's just a collateral.
Please, ladies and (mainly) gentlemen, please buy the ideology : extreme, heroes, wilderness, power – the key values of that kind of Brand. We can't escape and we don't want to : because our lives and perspectives are the exact opposite. And it's supposed to be a good show, after all.

Some of the competitors are amateurs with a nice race spirit. They're fools and they are great. Nothing is black and white.
Stay with us. We'll return after the break with more heated and brutal opinions.

Simplesmente fantásticas as GRANDES FOTOS---"MONUMENTOS VIVOS",
pena tenho de não ter sido eu a tirá-las...pena mesmo não estar lá na Aegentina e Chile...para me poderem fotografar também-----UM DIA ---OUTRA VEZ

Fantastic pictures. Only thing that can be better is actually to make these fabulous photos yourself (with the right skills ofcourse). Amazing work from professionals.

Thank you.

...and the comments from these "eco-people" are just hilarious. Please post more. Hahahaha...

Best DAKAR photographs I have seen.

So much tearing up of untouched land.

CRAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.I WENT TO THIS PLACE FEW DAYS AGO.

I for one am glad that there is so much spirit of adventure left in people. This is something Ive always wanted to do, just strap myself into a powerful all terrain machine and go have a blast in the sand/rocks/whatever. Its great that this can still happen, even though liberal media has pretty much castrated once proud people to the point they cannot enjoy anything.

The only "waste" I see here is these retarded green-thumb comments.

24 looks like a cockpit of an helicopter.

I love dakar . hope to see it for years to come.

WONDERFUL PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT'S A POWER RALLY!!!

lisa queen well if that is your concern then sell you computer and donate the money to the food bank! and before you say i was using the library, you should have been at the shelter preparing a meal with you time that i know you are not wasting looking at racing pics.?>?>
some people? they not know how much money these things generate twards donations towards what she is complaining about,

yes, peru must die and i love the dark knight... good pics!

EXCELENTES E INCREIBLES FOTOS!!!...

C'est beau , très beau

If you like the Dakar pictures, I posted mines at:
http://dakar09.jalbum.net/Dakar%20La%20Serena%20-%20Copiapo/
I hope you enjoy them.
Jorge
http://dakar09.jalbum.net

As an Argentine living in the US I'm extremely proud and happy the Dakar happened in Argentina and Chile, and was extremely successful and challenging!
Now that the world has discovered the terrain and the people of Argentina they keep doing the Dakar year after year there... and who knows, I may race it one day!
Cheers! for this Dakar that ended, and for next year party, which I hope it begins and ends again in the great city of Buenos Aires!

To Jorge: Loved your pictures. They show so much more of the background and the human aspect involved. Joan

Thanks Joan ! Regards, Jorge

muchas gacias por tus fotos son muy buenas y muchas gracias por publicarlas a todos los internautas apasionados por los fierros

hermosas fotos!!!!!!!
pude verlos , tanto al iniciar como al finalizar el rally en bs. as .
BUENISIMO!!!! LO DISFRUTAMOS MUCHO!!!!

EXCELENTES FOTOS,,, EXCELENTE ARGENTINA,CHILE.ESPERO SE REPITA 2010 .saludos,,,BECKER4X4,,,

The enviros should go defacate in their bonnet.
Don Prieto

Waw!
I like 5, 12, 13, 20 and 23 !

Some of these pics are just amazing, the rest spectacular. #20, just brilliant. If the rally ends up in SA next year again I really hope I can go to see it with my own eyes.

As for the environazis, I really wish we could ship them all to Mars or at least to the moon. They could enjoy their untouched precious landscape there all they want.

Some of the posters are right. The Dakar might seem beautiful and aventurous, but what it actually is is an expensive entertainment for multi-millionaires around the world. Only 10-15 of the participants are sponsored professionals, the rest 300-400, amateurs, have to fork out around €200.000 to be able to take part.

Third Stage: Puerto Madryn - Jacobacci
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21414153
Fourth Stage: Jacobacci - Neuquen
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21414171
Fifth Stage: Neuquen - San Rafael
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21414196
Sixth Stage: San Rafael - Mendoza
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21414233

After many years of terrorizing the nomads in the sahara, they moved the whole circus to argentina because of the threat of terrorism? Strange

Awesome pictures and a great race. Watched it a bit on versus channel. Go hug a cactus! It's sand that the tracks will be gone in a week.

So many don't understand....the quest for personal achievement associated with this race. There are few events that rival its fantastic challenge. Maybe Tour de France...
For people to be so out of touch with reality when it comes to the environmental issue. Any guess as to the amount of CO2 sent atmospheric as a result of a football game? Cars, planes, fossil and coal fueled electricity...this is ONE race ONCE A YEAR!
The media does a great job of brainwashing people...

Someone said Dakar is not a Sport. He´s rigth, Dakar is a Religion!

Greatings to Helder Rodrigues, Paulo Gonçalves and all portuguese riders! Good work!
Thanks for sharing Boston Globe!

Joao Teixeira
Portugal

Great pictures - great event - ultimate testing of human and machine endurance..

Treehuggers on this blog - Please start taking care of this planets real problem which is overpopulation -> You can start the planetary healing by eliminating yourselves...

Great race and enviromental responsible.
Tree huggers abound in Boston and they have no life. They run around trying to dictate how we live. Global warming, and I'm freezing my a$$ off up here.
Go back in your little green hole, a-hole

son unes fotos excelents. enhorabona per l'iniciativa.

awesome pictures , I am such a huge fan .
also care about the environment , probably if we are more responsible in our everyday life about using the earth's resources we might have a better chance saving the planet than criticizing Dakar that happens once a year.

This rally is a total nonsense. Of course the landscapes are spectacular, but why the hell do men have the need to destroy every litlle beautiful thing (and sometimes people) ?? No I'm not an "environazi", but these lanscapes could be sublimized by a traditional raid hiking, moutain biking, paragliding or whatever outdoor sport you want if you like competition, instead of land destruction, big noise and cultural ignorance !

excelente fotos muy imprecionantes bajacalifornia mexico

NICE! hope to see more pictures

omg freekin cool

cool!!

foto stupende, complimenti per la scelta

thank you for these amazing pictures

my son from australia took part in the dakar rally in a truck and would really like to thank all the people of argintina and chile for their hospitality he wants to go back there as a tourist

Those were the best photos I had ever seen.

i like this

Por favor, que adrenalina, me encanta!!!

Bonitas fotos, reflejo de una increible aventura que algun dia volveremos a llevar a cabo con el equipo DEPORTUR alla donde vaya el rally... felicidades al campeon MARC COMA y a todos los corredores que han participado. un gran trabajo estas fotos que sin duda recorreran el mundo.! felicidades!

Simplismente fantásticas essas fotos! Nós aqui do Brasil torcemos para que tenhamos um raly desse nível. Com competidores do mundo todo.
Congratullations do Mato Grosso!

Como he andado poco por el interior del pais, no me imaginaba que habia tan hermosos paisajes naturales en "mi pais". Felicitaciones a todos los que han colaborado con su esfuerzo a brindarnos esta demostración de tecnica y naturaleza.
Nuevamente felicitaciones

Sangar Rek. Aku seneng nontok gambare sing gede lan cetho koyok ngene. Pokok-e sip lah. Taun ngarep nek isa yo tetep ono koyok ngene yo. mula ya di update lah. Bravo Rally

FOTOS EXCELENTES PARA UN RALLY QUE LES QUEDO GRANDE A LOS ORGANIZADORES Y COMPETIDORES Y A LOS QUE SUBESTIMABAN EL POTENCIAL DEL RALLY DAKAR EN SUD AMERICA.
ESTUVE UN COPIAPO, ESPECTACULAR EL RALLY TERMINARON CON ENLANCES PORQUE SE LES ACABABAN LOS COMPETIDORES
MARCELO 4X4 SANTA CRUZ BOLIVIA

E UNO SKIFO

What a WONDERFULL PICTURES! good job

Funny to read all your comments ... I hope to do it again next year !
Best regards, Gabriel Bouys

Lets rock buddy!!! Hey watch out your back

how do u enter the paris darkar rally ?

the dakar rally is the best! hope to ride in 1 day all, the pics r brill

WOW...
Really amazing races

excelente las fotos!!!! muy buenas!! gracias a las personas que tomaron estas fotos que por cierto son las unica forma de ver que tengo, ya que no tengo como legar hasta ahi!!! una abrazo a los responsable y muchos exitos para la proxima!

Excelent pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!! More pictures please!!!!
From Argentina, Walter.

supre