In 1979, Cyril Neveu piloted the Yamaha XT 500 to the first-ever Paris-Dakar victory. A year later, the French rider repeated the feat, capturing back-to-back wins for Team Blue. However, Yamaha wouldn’t return to the top step on the podium until 1991 when Stéphane Peterhansel and Italy’s Edie Orioli racked up six more victories aboard the Yamaha YZE 750T and YZE 850T.
Unfortunately for the bLU cRU, Perterhansel’s 1998 campaign marked Yamaha’s last Dakar win. As of late, KTM has dominated the desert race, with Honda acting as a formidable antagonist in recent years. The brand has suffered the same fate in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, with Yamaha only claiming the crown in 2011, and KTM controlling the competition ever since.
