Stéphane Peterhansel holds the Dakar Rally record with 14 overall victories across motorcycles and cars.
Peterhansel first conquered the event on a Yamaha motorcycle, winning six times between 1991 and 1998. Those victories came in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 1998, making him the dominant motorcycle competitor of that era.
He switched to cars and won eight more Dakars: three with Mitsubishi, three with Mini, and two with Peugeot. His car-class victories came in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, and 2021. That gives him 6 motorcycle wins plus 8 car wins, for the record total of 14.
A common mix-up is treating Dakar victories as a single vehicle-class record. Ari Vatanen’s four wins were all in cars, while Peterhansel’s unique achievement is combining elite success in both categories. Carlos Sainz Sr. and Nasser Al-Attiyah are major car-class champions, but neither has matched Peterhansel’s overall total.