The Yamaha XT500 won the first Dakar Rally in 1979 with French rider Cyril Neveu.
The inaugural event was known as the Paris–Dakar Rally and ran from Paris to Dakar. Neveu rode a Yamaha XT500, a durable single-cylinder dual-sport motorcycle well suited to long-distance off-road travel and difficult desert terrain.
The XT500 used a 499 cc air-cooled four-stroke single-cylinder engine. Its relatively simple mechanical layout made it practical to repair far from service facilities, an important advantage in the early Dakar era.
The first Dakar victory is sometimes attributed to BMW because BMW became a dominant force in later editions. BMW’s factory success came afterward; the first event was won by Yamaha and Cyril Neveu on the XT500.