“Dakar is all about counting…” Days, dunes, and disappearing light. The story in print is just the beginning.
Scan here to access an exclusive online photo essay by Justin W. Coffey — raw moments and off-camera beauty that capture the soul of the 2025 Dakar Rally. A companion visual journey you won’t see anywhere else. Only at Vicariousmag.com
CHASING THE DAKAR RALLY MAY be the most intense emotional rollercoaster anyone can experience. One moment you're questioning whether killing yourself might be the best way to end the suffering, and the next you're in the shadow of an immense geological formation, on what feels like a distant celestial body, unable to imagine a place in our universe you'd rather be. The highs are very high; however, the lows can be soul crushing. Three meals a day in a massive mess hall with 3000 other weary racers, crew members, media personnel and the like, all suffering together. A collective conscious. Emotions run high on both ends of the
spectrum. There's constant noise, too. A buzzing in your ears. Generators and race engines, people shouting and public service announcements leave you feeling a little concussed. All this and we haven't even left the first bivouac. The days grow longer. Sleep is a commodity that can't be traded or acquired. You have to take what you can get - cat naps in the Land Cruiser as you transit to the shakedown course. Some days you find yourself standing, asleep in the sun, eyes closed, waiting for that familiar sound of a four-stroke dirt bike at full tap. By the time we reach the halfway point of this godforsaken race, hundreds of racers
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