Last Sunday marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Dakar that was decided by the toss of a coin. The controversial measure was taken by Peugeot to settle a dispute between its two drivers (Ari Vatanen Ickx) and shook the very foundations of the Rally. 

It was team boss Jean Todt that made such unpopular and contentious decision in order to secure a win with the chequered flag for the team. 

The giant that changed the Dakar

The debut of Peugeot in the Dakar of 1987 radically changed the original philosophy and adventurous spirit of the race that was originally conceived by Thierry Sabine in 1979.

The French was the first manufacturers to enter the race and with them came a huge amount of material, human and financial resources.

This firm brought an army of sixty technicians and specialists to secure their victory. All other participants were amateurs or private teams and none of them had the financial muscle of the car manufacturer. 

Peugeot was the indisputable winner of the 1987 (Ari Vatanen) and 1988 (Juha Kankkunen) editions and arrived at their third consecutive Dakar confident they were going to maintain their hegemony.

They designed a car, the 405 T16 exclusively for the Rally. The new all-terrain vehicle was invincible; an improvement on the performance of its powerful predecessor, the legendary 205 T16. 

The ‘dream team’ at the wheel of this desert beast was made up of Ari Vatanen, champion of the Dakar two years before, and the Belgian Jackie Ickx, winner in 1983. 

In addition to that, their budget was about 6 million euros. About the same as an average Formula 1 team of the time for a whole season. They were the undisputed favourites.

Peugeot’s racing director at the time was current FIA president and former Principal of Ferrari Formula 1 team, Jean Todt, a man that was always preceded by his authoritarian reputation. He was responsible of the Dakar that was decided by the toss of a coin.

From the first stage, both Peugeot drivers entered a ruthless battle for the title. It was some of the best Dakar duels of the History! 

Their aggressive driving had them risking it all at every turn and every meter of the track became a battlefield. Both team-mates/rivals shared out the victories as the days passed. 

The risk of suffering a serious accident flew over each special stage but none gave way. Their rivalry reached epic, sometimes irrational levels while fans were delighted as they followed the daily epic.

The Finn and the Belgian drivers were writing one of the golden pages of the Rally. Ari Vatanen was leading the Dakar that was decided by the toss of a coin closely followed by Jackie Ickx.

Behind, a world of distance away, the rest of rivals could only follow and watch the fratricidal struggle. The third driver in the standings, Patrick Tambay, hoped for one of the leaders to make a mistake. 

 A ten-franc coin decides the winner 

At the third-to-last stage, Jean Todt was starting to worry about his team’s inner battle and the excessive risks that his drivers were taking.

The French boss was concerned this could lead to the team losing the first position, and so he made a decision that finally cut off the wings of those two angels of the four wheels.

He decided to toss a ten-franc coin to say who would be the winner. The drivers were both astonished and outraged. Vatanen chose heads; Ikcx, tails.

Suspense and nerves until the very end

But the coin did not solve the problem or appeased the war. A day later, at the penultimate stage, Vatanen got lost and soon lost the advantage he had over Ikcx. Upon reaching the assistance point, the hostility between the two became extreme.

The Scandinavian driver accused his rival of not complying with team orders, while Ikcx claimed he had indeed raised his foot from the accelerator or otherwise he would have achieved an even greater advantage.

The final day came, a sixty-one-kilometre stage against the clock. In the end, Ikcx slowed down as he neared the finish line at Lake Retba in order to wait for his teammate’s arrival.

Exactly 20 seconds after Vatanen had passed him, Ikcx resumed the race. Vatanen had won, but thesportsmanship and the competitive spirit of the Rally and the suffered a humiliating defeat. This was the story of the Dakar that was decided by the toss of a coin.

Dakar that was decided by the toss of a coin´s Main image: Unknown.

Dakar that was decided by the toss of a coin´s Text images: Peugeot Sport.