As its name suggests, The Real Way to Dakar is a race that hoped to loosely mirror the former route of the legendary Paris–Dakar Rally, running from Europe to the capital of Senegal. After fourteen years, however, the race and its organising body Intercontinental Rally have shut down.

Kasper van Deurs and Jacob Ilskov, the organisers of the race, both have family members battling illnesses that require them to take time away. Due to a lack of resources to keep the small Intercontinental Rally operating, they elected to close it altogether.

“It is with great sorrow that we are announcing that The Real Way to Dakar 2025 is cancelled and that we are closing down the organisation,” begins a letter from van Deurs and Ilskov on Wednesday. “Both of us are dealing with serious illness in our immediate family and our focus must now be on healing and supporting our families through this very challenging phase. The Real Way to Dakar has always been a small organisation and with both owners having to change our priorities, it simply is not possible to move forward with the rally.

“For us, The Real Way to Dakar has been a dream and a joint project for the past 10 years, first as a service team and later as the owners of the rally and it is not without great consideration and many talks that this decision has been made. We are very much aware, that this will cause great difficulties for everyone who has signed up for the 2025 edition of The Real Way to Dakar! However, the health and wellbeing of ourself and our family must come first!”

The Intercontinental Rally first took place in 2011 with a route that began in Almería, Spain, and ended in Dakar. It continued with this name until 2020, when “The Real Way to Dakar by Intercontinental Rally” was adopted.

Registration for the 2025 race began on 4 March. With its cancellation, everyone who had already signed up will be fully reimbursed. Had it taken place, it would have run from 20 January to 1 February, though a “soft start” in Paris was scheduled for 16 January.

“Our participants have always been the most important part of running The Real Way to Dakar and in making this decision, it has been essential to ensure that we communicated this decision as quickly and clearly as possible, so everyone has as chance to adapt any plans,” continues the statement. “This also means that participants are able to get a full refund!

“All participants will get a separate email with detailed instructions on how the refund will be executed.

“On a final note, we would like to thank all participants and service teams who have joined us on this amazing journey. Thank you for trusting us with your dreams and being a part of our rally family!

“Thank you to our local helpers: Adnane, Sidi and Moulaye who makes sure that we are looked after and have all the necessary support in both Marocco, Mauritania and Senegal.

“And finally, to the organisation behind The Real Way to Dakar: Not many people knows the level of work, attention to detail and passion it takes to make a rally like The Real Way to Dakar, but we deeply appreciate all of you for traveling with us on this crazy journey! Thank you!

“We appreciate your support and understanding.”

The race consisted of six classes, each split into smaller categories by engine size or fuel source. There were four bike divisions (M1 for bikes up to 450cc, M2 for 451cc to 690cc, M3 for 691cc to 950cc, and non-petrol), two quads (Q1 for up to 700cc and Q2 for 701cc and up), three for cars (C1 for up to 3000cc, C2 for 3001cc to 4200cc, and C3 for 40201cc and over), a buggy class, a veteran category for those over the age of sixty, and Classic vehicles older than thirty. There was also an non-competitive Adventure category.

Unlike other rallies that use roadbooks, the Intercontinental Rally relied on GPS navigation provided as a GPX file each night.

The rally sought to fill the void left by the Dakar Rally leaving its traditional route after 2008, which the Africa Eco Race has also done since 2009. The 2025 AER runs from 28 December to 12 January, heavily overlapping with the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.

2024 The Real Way to Dakar route

Stage	Start	Finish	Selective Sections	Road Sections	Total Distance	Date
1	Mahirija	Merzouga	298 km	157 km	473 km	21 January
2	Merzouga	Zagora	274 km	57 km	331 km	22 January
3	Zagora	Icht	200 km	338 km	538 km	23 January
4	Icht	Smara	378 km	128 km	506 km	24 January
5	Smara	Dakhla	361 km	231 km	592 km	25 January
6	Dakhla	Chami	0 km	532 km	532 km	26 January
7	Chami	Akjoujt	182 km	49 km	231 km	27 January
8	Akjoujt	Azougui	177 km	61 km	238 km	28 January
9	Azougui	Azougui	213 km	85 km	298 km	29 January
10	Azougui	Akjoujt	236 km	38 km	274 km	30 January
11	Akjoujt	Nouakchott	332 km	74 km	406 km	31 January
12	Nouakchott	St. Louis	0 km	298 km	298 km	1 February
13	St. Louis	Senegal	123 km	26 km	149 km	2 February

2024 The Real Way to Dakar results

Finish	Class Finish	Number	Competitor	Team	Vehicle	Category	Class	Time	Margin
1	1	119	Mark Hatfield	Raid Assist	Husqvarna FE 450	Moto	M1	50:51:12	Leader
2	2	107	James Parker	Raid Assist	KTM 450 EXC-F	Moto	M1	52:20:20	+ 1:29:08
3	1	202	Jakub Krofian, Pavel Rezny	Endeavour Team	Toyota Hilux	Car	C1	53:00:22	+ 2:09:10
4	3	123	Jack Fielder	Raid Assist	Husqvarna FR 450	Moto	M1	58:53:22	+ 8:02:10
5	1	204	Hans Arno Kappeler, Mirko Ferrari	Pietra Nera Racing	Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80	Car	C2	58:59:31	+ 8:08:19
6	2	211	Jiri Sedlar, Petr Sedlar	Wings Team	Nissan Patrol Y60	Car	C1	66:26:59	+ 15:35:47
7	1	105	Golka Miloš	ENDUROVYPRAVY	KTM 500 EXC-F	Moto	M2	68:01:23	+ 17:10:11
8	2	118	John Foden	Raid Assist	KTM 500 EXC-F	Moto	M2	74:56:50	+ 24:05:38
9	3	102	Neil Corbishley	Raid Assist	KTM 500 EXC-F	Moto	M2	76:34:32	+ 25:43:20
10	1	175	Martin Landl	Slovak4RallyTeam	Can-Am Outlander X XC	Quad	Q2	89:24:44	+ 38:33:32
11	2	176	Marian Landl	Slovak4RallyTeam	Can-Am Outlander X XC	Quad	Q2	91:36:44	+ 40:45:32
12	4	103	Alexander Gouw	Desert Warriors	Yamaha WR450F	Moto	M1	95:38:02	+ 44:46:50
13	4	113	Graham Jung	Raid Assist	KTM 500 EXC-F	Moto	M2	106:41:31	+ 55:50:19
14	5	109	Eric Legendre	Les 2 Roues Meloises	KTM 450 Rally Replica	Moto	M1	116:56:34	+ 66:05:22
15	6	111	Jiří Eliáš	Moto Gastro Rally	KTM 450 EXC-F	Moto	M1	126:53:15	+ 76:02:03
16	2	205	Rutger van ‘t Klooster, Gerardus Bartholameus Jacobus de Keizer	STUTZ Rally Team	Mitsubishi Pajero	Car	C2	131:24:13	+ 80:33:01
17	3	201	Hugo Miguel Lemos Castro, Rui Miguel Gonçalves Ferreira da Silva	MridersPT	Mitsubishi Pajero	Car	C1	153:04:22	+ 102:13:10
18	5	114	Per Helge Sæter	Team Arctic	Husqvarna 701 Enduro	Moto	M2	161:07:13	+ 110:14:01
19	7	116	Jonas IVersen	Team Arctic	Honda CRF300L Rally	Moto	M1	162:25:43	+ 111:34:31
20	8	108	Remi-Mikael Tony Brenne	Team Arctic	Honda CRF300L Rally	Moto	M1	206:43:56	+ 155:52:44
Adv.	Adv.	101	Alain Fischer	Desert Warriors	Yamaha XT 600Z Ténéré	Moto	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	110	Johannes Baumgärtel	Team Knorpelschänke	KTM 450 EXC-F	Moto	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	120	Jeroen van Schaijik	Desert Warriors	Yamaha XT 500	Moto	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	122	Frank Weisbach	Citybeach Dresden	KTM 500 EXC-F	Moto	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	150	Jan Jacob Harm Kalfsbeek	No Harm Daan	Yamaha Ténéré 700	Moto	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	151	Daniel Johannes Petrus Bouman	No Harm Daan	KTM 690 Enduro R	Moto	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	203	Claus Walden	Coyota	Toyota Land Cruiser	Car	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	206	Michael Miggitsch, Doris Gögl	Rallyteam Tirol	Mercedes-Benz 310	Car Adv.	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	212	Franciscus Johannes Josephus van Lankveld, Roel Franciscus Johannes van Lankveld, Pieter Johannes van de Sande	Lankveld Rally	DAF CF	Truck Adv.	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	250	Jacob Regner Glad, Frederik Bülow Glad	Team Glad	Land Rover Defender 110	Car Adv.	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	252	Daniel Bumbala, Lukas Bumbala	Wings Team Adventure	Nissan Patrol Y61	Car Adv.	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	255	Ludek Kubalec, Petr Sedlar, Pavlina Novak Rezna, Tomas Hanc	Wings Team	Nissan Patrol Y61	Car Adv.	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	256	Michal Ozvold, Matus Stano	K&M Expeditions	Ford Ranger	Car Adv.	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	257	Ronny van ‘t Klooster, Cornelis Hendricus Jacobus van ‘t Klooster, Lucia Maria Theresia Beld	STUTZ Rally Team	Ford F-250	Car Adv.	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
Adv.	Adv.	258	Josef Hetzenauer, Franz Praschberger	Cravallo Racing	Mercedes-Benz Unimog	Truck Adv.	Adv.	Adv.	N/A
DNF	DNF	104	Douay Frederic	Raid Assist	Husqvarna FE 501	Moto	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	106	Rauber Pascal	Les 2 Roues Meloises	KTM 450 Rally Replica	Moto	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	112	Norbert Dubois	Les 2 Roues Meloises	KTM 450 Rally Replica	Moto	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	115	Jörg Philipp	Team Knorpelschänke	KTM 450 EXC-F	Moto	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	117	Luboš Stapina	Moto Gastro Rally	KTM 690 Enduro R	Moto	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	121	Hille Dalstra	Raid Assist	Husqvarna FR 450	Moto	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	180	Alexander Lantink, Tjerk Dijksterhuis	Desert Warriors	Polaris RZR Turbo	Buggy	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	207	Thomas Archer Bata, Theodore Albano	TnT – Dynamite Boyz	Land Rover Discovery Sport	Car	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	210	Miguel Riqueni Gomez, Miguel Espinosa Camacho	Full Equip	Nissan Patrol	Car Lite 1	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	253	Callum Scherzinger, Rowan Scherzinger, Nicholas Markram	Pajero Pandas	Mitsubishi Pajero	Car Adv.	DNF	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	254	Rainer Scherzinger, Cait Scherzinger	Timbila	Toyota Land Cruiser	Car Adv.	DNF	DNF	N/A