The 2001 Dakar Rally, also known as the 2001 Paris–Dakar Rally, was the 23rd running of the Dakar Rally event. The format was revised to reduce the amount of airborne assistance to competitors in favour of assistance vehicles. The 2001 rally was long and began in Paris, France, on New Year's Day, passing through Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, before finishing at Dakar in Senegal. This was the last Paris-Dakar Rally that commenced and finished in the same locations as the original race. Jean-Louis Schlesser won the penultimate stage of the rally to take the lead but was penalised one hour for unsportsmanlike conduct. The rally was won by German Jutta Kleinschmidt, who became the first woman to win the event. The motorcycle class of the rally was won by Italian Fabrizio Meoni, with Karel Loprais winning the truck class.
On stage 19, teammates Schlesser and Servia started the stage earlier than scheduled, which meant that race leader Masuoka was left behind the trail of the two buggies. As Masuoka drove off track to overtake Servia, the car was damaged. Masuoka's co-driver, Pascal Maimon, walked to the track to try to stop Servia to complain, Servia braked and nearly ran over him. Schlesser and Servia were given a 60-minute penalty, which gave Kleinschmidt and Masuoka a comfortable lead for the final mini stage.Schlesser penalised after taking lead - BBC Sport, 20 January 2001
Stages Stage Date From To Total(km)Stage winnersBikesCarsTrucks1 1 January Paris Narbonne 916 G. Sala N. Roma J. M. Servia F. Kabirov2 2 January Narbonne Castellón de la Plana 560 R. Sainct J-L. Schlesser V. Chagin3 3 January Castellón de la Plana Almería 445Stage cancelled J-P. Fontenay A. de Azevedo4 4 January Nador Er-Rachidia602 R. Sainct J-L. Schlesser V. Chagin5 5 January Er-Rachidia Ouarzazate 572 C. de Gavardo J. M. Servia V. Chagin6 6 January Ouarzazate Guelmim 608 N. Roma J-L. Schlesser V. Chagin7 7 January Guelmim / Smara 489 I. Esteve H. Masuoka K. Loprais8 8 January / Smara El Ghallaouiya628 N. Roma J. M. Servia F. Kabirov9 9 January El Ghallaouiya 518 I. Esteve J. Kleinschmidt K. Loprais10 10 January El Ghallaouiya Atar 440 A. Cox H. Masuoka K. Loprais 11 January Atar Rest day11 12 January Atar Nouakchott508 P-G. Lundmark J. M. Servia P. Reif12 13 January Nouakchott Tidjikdja654 J. Arcarons J-L. Schlesser V. Chagin13 14 January Tidjikdja 535 K. Tiainen H. Masuoka K. Loprais14 15 January Tidjikdja Tichit 234 K. Tiainen J-L. Schlesser K. Loprais15 16 January Tichit Néma 499 K. Tiainen H. Masuoka K. Loprais16 17 January Néma Bamako 776 A. Cox C. Sousa C. Pattono17 18 January Bamako Bakel 804 G. Sala J-L. Schlesser K. Loprais18 19 January Bakel Tambacounda 292 C. Despres H. Masuoka P. Reif19 20 January Tambacounda Dakar 564 G. Sala C. Sousa P. Reif20 21 January Dakar 95 K. Tiainen G. Sala J. M. Servia J-L. Schlesser K. Loprais
- Stage cancelled for bikes only due to a sanctioning fee dispute between the race organisers and the Spanish Motorcycle Federation. - Jean-Louis Schlesser set the fastest time for the stage, but was penalised 1 hour and 6 minutes for starting the stage early, along with teammate Jose Maria Servia. Motorcycles principal entry KTM 1 Richard Sainct 3 Fabrizio Meoni
5 Giovanni Sala 7 Kari Tiainen 8 Jordi Arcarons 9 Alfie Cox 10 Jean Brucy 12 Carlo de Gavardo 20 Isidre Esteve Pujol BMW 2 Nani Roma 4 Jimmy Lewis 6 John Deacon 21 Andrea Mayer Honda 14 Johnny Campbell 19 Paulo Manuel Marques Cars principal entry Mitsubishi 201 Jean Pierre Fontenay 203 Kenjiro Shinozuka 205 Jutta Kleinschmidt 207 Miguel Prieto 208 Carlos Souza Schelesser-Renault 200 Jean Louis Schlesser 202 Jose Maria Servia 211 Luc Alphand Nissan 204 Thierry Delavergne 209 Gregoire de Mevius 210 Manuel Plaza Perez Ford 206 Philippe Wambergue Mercedes 213 Pierre Lartigue Trucks principal entry Kamaz 424 Vladimir Chagin 426 Firdaus Kabirov 428 Rafael Tibau Tatra 425 Karel Loprais 427 Andre de Azevedo Hino 400 Yoshimasa Sugawara 403 Gilbert Versino
Stage Results
Motorcycles Stage result General classification Stage PosCompetitorMakeTimeGap PosCompetitorMakeTimeGap11 Giovanni Sala KTM3:371 Giovanni SalaKTM3:37 Nani Roma BMW Nani RomaBMW3 Alfie CoxKTM3:380:013 Alfie CoxKTM3:380:0121 Richard Sainct KTM31:251 Richard SainctKTM35:042 Nani RomaBMW32:210:562 Nani RomaBMW35:580:543 Kari TiainenKTM32:220:573 Giovanni SalaKTM36:000:563Stage cancelled due to a dispute over sanctioning fees41 Richard SainctKTM1:16:011 Richard SainctKTM1:51:052 Carlo de GavardoKTM1:17:151:142 Fabrizio MeoniKTM1:54:243:193 Fabrizio MeoniKTM1:17:281:273 Nani RomaBMW1:54:323:2751 Carlo de GavardoKTM3:14:171 Richard SainctKTM5:05:432 Richard SainctKTM3:14:380:212 Carlo de GavardoKTM5:11:065:233 Kari TiainenKTM3:16:352:183 Kari TiainenKTM5:11:095:2661 Nani RomaBMW3:13:391 Richard SainctKTM8:19:442 Kari TiainenKTM3:14:010:222 Kari TiainenKTM8:25:105:26 Richard SainctKTM3 Nani RomaBMW8:25:215:3771 Isidre EsteveKTM4:02:291 Richard SainctKTM12:27:012 Fabrizio MeoniKTM4:03:090:402 Fabrizio MeoniKTM12:32:095:083 Per-Gunnar LundmarkKTM4:03:250:563 Nani RomaBMW12:34:327:3181 Nani RomaBMW5:16:411 Richard SainctKTM17:46:022 Richard SainctKTM5:19:012:202 Nani RomaBMW17:51:135:113 Alfie CoxKTM5:21:024:213 Fabrizio MeoniKTM17:53:557:5391 Isidre EsteveKTM5:22:331 Richard SainctKTM23:17:262 Giovanni SalaKTM5:23:531:202 Fabrizio MeoniKTM23:22:194:533 Carlo de GavardoKTM5:25:262:533 Nani RomaBMW23:22:194:53101 Alfie CoxKTM5:02:041 Fabrizio MeoniKTM28:26:172 Jordi ArcaronsKTM5:03:030:592 Jordi ArcaronsKTM28:46:3020:133 Fabrizio MeoniKTM5:03:581:543 Carlo de GavardoKTM29:06:4340:26111 Per-Gunnar LundmarkKTM4:23:461 Fabrizio MeoniKTM32:57:362 Carlo de GavardoKTM4:28:044:182 Jordi ArcaronsKTM33:18:4921:133 Alfie CoxKTM4:29:596:133 Carlo de GavardoKTM33:34:4737:11121 Jordi ArcaronsKTM7:11:161 Fabrizio MeoniKTM40:09:492 Fabrizio MeoniKTM7:12:130:572 Jordi ArcaronsKTM40:30:0520:163 Carlo de GavardoKTM7:13:101:543 Carlo de GavardoKTM33:34:4738:08131 Kari TiainenKTM6:53:311 Fabrizio MeoniKTM47:32:002 Isidre EsteveKTM7:18:5425:232 Jordi ArcaronsKTM48:09:4337:433 Alfie CoxKTM7:19:2325:523 Carlo de GavardoKTM48:09:4337:43141 Kari TiainenKTM2:53:071 Fabrizio MeoniKTM50:44:122 John DeaconBMW3:07:3914:322 Jordi ArcaronsKTM51:04:4120:293 Giovanni SalaKTM3:09:3916:323 Carlo de GavardoKTM51:23:0638:54151 Kari TiainenKTM6:07:311 Fabrizio MeoniKTM57:36:112 Isidre EsteveKTM6:50:0542:342 Jordi ArcaronsKTM57:58:5422:433 Alfie CoxKTM6:50:2142:503 Carlo de GavardoKTM58:15:0338:52161 Alfie CoxKTM2:30:281 Fabrizio MeoniKTM60:18:042 Giovanni SalaKTM2:32:512:232 Jordi ArcaronsKTM60:39:1921:153 Per-Gunnar LundmarkKTM2:37:297:013 Carlo de GavardoKTM60:58:4140:37171 Giovanni SalaKTM3:38:321 Fabrizio MeoniKTM64:06:042 Cyril DespresBMW3:44:516:192 Jordi ArcaronsKTM64:29:4023:363 Kari TiainenKTM3:46:047:323 Carlo de GavardoKTM64:48:1642:12181 Cyril DespresBMW2:52:161 Fabrizio MeoniKTM67:07:382 Giovanni SalaKTM2:53:070:512 Jordi ArcaronsKTM67:29:4222:043 Alfie CoxKTM2:56:264:103 Carlo de GavardoKTM67:49:4742:09191 Giovanni SalaKTM2:28:001 Fabrizio MeoniKTM69:43:492 Cyril DespresBMW2:30:202:202 Jordi ArcaronsKTM70:08:5225:033 Jimmy LewisBMW2:32:104:103 Carlo de GavardoKTM70:27:4743:58201 Kari TiainenKTM15:481 Fabrizio MeoniKTM70:01:08 Giovanni SalaKTM2 Jordi ArcaronsKTM70:26:1825:103 Éric AubijouxKTM15:510:033 Carlo de GavardoKTM70:45:1944:11
Source:
Cars Stage result General classification Stage PosCompetitorMakeTimeGap PosCompetitorMakeTimeGap11 Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin Schlesser-Renault3:431 Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie LurquinSchlesser-Renault3:432 Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri MagneSchlesser-Renault3:450:022 Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri MagneSchlesser-Renault3:450:023 Kenjiro Shinozuka Fred GallagherMitsubishi3:480:053 Kenjiro Shinozuka Fred GallagherMitsubishi3:480:05 Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal MaimonMitsubishi Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal MaimonMitsubishi21 Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri MagneSchlesser-Renault30:331 Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri MagneSchlesser-Renault34:182 Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal MaimonMitsubishi30:440:112 Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal MaimonMitsubishi34:320:143 Kenjiro Shinozuka Fred GallagherMitsubishi31:120:393 Kenjiro Shinozuka Fred GallagherMitsubishi35:000:4231 Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles PicardMitsubishi8:201'''| Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon |Mitsubishi|42:58| |- |2 || Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon |Mitsubishi |8:26 |0:06 |2 | Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne |Schlesser-Renault |43:44 |0:46 |- |3 | Gregoire De Mevius Alain Guehennec |Nissan |8:42 |0:22 |3 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |43:58 |1:00 |- !rowspan=3|4|1| Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne|Schlesser-Renault|1:12:12| |1| Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne|Schlesser-Renault|1:55:56| |- |2 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |1:15:52 |3:40 |2 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |1:59:50 |3:54 |- |3 | Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin |Schlesser-Renault |1:19:06 |6:54 |3 | Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin |Schlesser-Renault |2:03:10 |7:14 |- !rowspan=3|5|1| Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin|Schlesser-Renault|3:25:55| |1| Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne|Schlesser-Renault|5:23:50| |- |2 | Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne |Schlesser-Renault |3:27:54 |1:59 |2 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |5:28:04 |4:14 |- |3 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |3:28:14 |2:19 |3 | Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin |Schlesser-Renault |5:29:05 |5:15 |- !rowspan=3|6|1| Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne|Schlesser-Renault|3:17:24| |1| Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne|Schlesser-Renault|8:41:14| |- |2 | Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin |Schlesser-Renault |3:18:06 |0:42 |2 | Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin |Schlesser-Renault |8:47:11 |5:57 |- |3 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |3:25:49 |8:25 |3 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |8:53:53 |12:39 |- !rowspan=3|7|1| Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon|Mitsubishi|4:01:31| |1 | Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin|Schlesser-Renault|12:52:18| |- |2 | Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin |Schlesser-Renault |4:05:07 |3:36 |2 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |13:00:55 |8:37 |- |3 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |4:07:02 |5:31 |3 | Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon |Mitsubishi |13:06:19 |14:01 |- !rowspan=3|8|1| Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin|Schlesser-Renault|5:14:27| |1| Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin|Schlesser-Renault|18:06:45| |- |2 | Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon |Mitsubishi |5:16:25 |1:58 |2 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |18:18:15 |11:30 |- |3 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |5:17:20 |2:53 |3 | Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon |Mitsubishi |18:22:44 |15:59 |- !rowspan=3|9|1| Jutta Kleinschmidt Andreas Schulz|Mitsubishi|5:22:42| |1| Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin|Schlesser-Renault|23:35:58| |- |2 | Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne |Schlesser-Renault |5:23:07 |0:25 |2 | Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon |Mitsubishi |23:45:52 |9:54 |- |3 | Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon |Mitsubishi |5:23:08 |0:26 |3 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Gilles Picard |Mitsubishi |23:54:56 |18:59 |- !rowspan=3|10|1| Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon|Mitsubishi|5:10:24| |1| Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon|Mitsubishi|29:26:16| |- |2 | Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne |Schlesser-Renault |5:20:02 |9:38 |2 | Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne |Schlesser-Renault |30:01:16 |35:00 |- |3 | Jutta Kleinschmidt Andreas Schulz |Mitsubishi |5:25:35 |15:11 |3 | Carlos Sousa Jean-Michel Polato |Mitsubishi |30:04:45 |38:29 |- !rowspan=3|11|1| Jose Maria Servia Jean-Marie Lurquin|Schlesser-Renault|4:04:33| |1| Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon|Mitsubishi|34:23:24| |- |2 | Jutta Kleinschmidt Andreas Schulz |Mitsubishi |4:23:55 |19:22 |2 | Jutta Kleinschmidt Andreas Schulz |Mitsubishi |34:35:33 |12:09 |- |3 | Stephane Henrard Jose Manuel Martinez |Volkswagen |4:29:10 |24:37 |3