Five-Time Winner · Dakar Rally

Cyril Despres

Five Dakar Rally victories on a motorcycle, all of them on a KTM, and four second places besides. He moved to the car category in 2015 and has since won the Silk Way Rally twice.

Nationality
French
Born
24 January 1974 · Nemours, France
Dakar wins
5 (2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013) · all on KTM
Dakar podiums
11 · 5 first, 4 second, 2 third
World titles
2 · FIM Cross-Country Rallies, 2003 and 2009
Also
Erzberg Rodeo 2002, 2003 · Red Bull Romaniacs 2004, 2005, 2007
Shop the Collection Watch highlights
Five-Time Dakar Winner
2000 — 2021
5
Dakar Victories
4
Dakar Runner-Up Finishes
2
World Championships
3
Red Bull Romaniacs Wins

Who is Cyril Despres?

Cyril Despres (born 24 January 1974) is a French rally-raid rider who won the Dakar Rally five times on a motorcycle — in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013 — every one of them on a KTM. He was FIM Cross-Country Rallies world champion in 2003 and 2009, and has raced the Dakar in cars since 2015.

Full name
Cyril Despres
Nationality
French
Career
2000–2021
Best known for
Five Dakar Rally wins on a KTM motorcycle

By Kozmozracing Editorial Published Updated 5 sources

Rider Profile

Cyril Despres: Full Biography

Cyril Despres is a French rally-raid rider and driver who won the Dakar Rally five times on a motorcycle — in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013, all on KTMs — and finished second four more times. He was FIM Cross-Country Rallies world champion in 2003 and 2009.

Hard Enduro Before and alongside the Dakar he was a formidable hard enduro rider, winning the Erzberg Rodeo in 2002 and 2003 and the Red Bull Romaniacs three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2007. He was born at Nemours in France and lives in Andorra.

KTM He rode a Honda on his first Dakar in 2000 and a BMW in 2001 before joining KTM in 2002, and stayed with the Austrian marque for twelve years. Every one of his Dakar victories, and all four of his second places, came on a KTM. His last season on two wheels, 2014, was spent with Yamaha.

Cars He switched to the car category in 2015 with Peugeot, alongside Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel. His best Dakar finish on four wheels is third, in 2017. With the co-driver David Castera he won the Silk Way Rally in 2016 and again in 2017.

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined Cyril Despres

Chapter 01

Nemours to the Dunes

He was born at Nemours, south of Paris, in January 1974, and has long lived in Andorra. He came up through hard enduro and was very good at it: the Erzberg Rodeo in 2002 and 2003, and the Red Bull Romaniacs three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2007. His first Dakar came in 2000 on a Honda and brought sixteenth place; a year later he rode a BMW to thirteenth. In 2002 he joined KTM, retired from that year’s rally, and then began a run that would define the motorcycle class for a decade — second in 2003, the year he also took his first FIM Cross-Country Rallies world championship, third in 2004, and then his first victory in 2005.

Chapter 02

Coma, and the Mud

A second win came in 2007, on the last running of the rally in Africa. He was second again in 2009, the year of his second world title, won in 2010 in South America, and was second once more in 2011. The 2012 rally produced the strangest episode of his career: seven riders became stuck in a mudhole, all but Marc Coma, and Paulo Gonçalves pulled Despres out without the favour being returned. The organisers rerouted the stage and credited Despres the time he had lost; Gonçalves was given a six-hour penalty for having accepted outside help, and Coma was not credited for going around. Despres and Coma, KTM team-mates, fought for the win until the penultimate stage, when a mechanical failure on Coma’s bike let Despres back into the lead. He held it to the finish for a fourth Dakar victory, matching Edi Orioli’s tally. A fifth followed in 2013, and in 2014, his last season on two wheels, he rode a Yamaha to fourth.

Chapter 03

Four Wheels

In 2015 he joined Peugeot as a driver alongside Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel, who had made the same switch from bikes to cars years before. His co-driver was Gilles Picard and they finished thirty-fourth. David Castera took the seat for 2016, when they were seventh at the Dakar and won the cars category at the Silk Way Rally in July; they won the Silk Way again the following year, and took third at the 2017 Dakar, which remains his best result on four wheels. After the 2018 Baja Portalegre 500 he and Peterhansel exchanged co-drivers, Castera moving across and Jean-Paul Cottret coming to Despres. He drove a Mini in 2019, an OT3 buggy in the SSV class in 2020, and a Peugeot again in 2021.

Career Timeline

Cyril Despres Career Timeline: 1974–Present

Born at Nemours

Cyril Despres is born on 24 January at Nemours in France.

First Dakar

Rides the Dakar for the first time, on a Honda, finishing sixteenth.

KTM and Erzberg

Joins KTM and wins the Erzberg Rodeo, which he retains in 2003.

World Champion

Second at the Dakar and FIM Cross-Country Rallies world champion.

Romaniacs

Wins the Red Bull Romaniacs, and again in 2005 and 2007.

First Dakar Win

Takes his first Dakar victory on a KTM.

Africa

A second win, on the last Dakar run in Africa.

Second World Title

A second FIM Cross-Country Rallies championship.

Third Dakar

Wins the rally in South America.

Fourth

Wins after a mudhole and a rival’s mechanical failure decide the rally.

Fifth and Last

A fifth Dakar victory on two wheels.

Cars

Joins Peugeot as a driver alongside Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel.

Silk Way

Wins the Silk Way Rally with David Castera, and again in 2017.

Car Podium

Third at the Dakar, his best result on four wheels.

By the Numbers

Cyril Despres Dakar Rally Record, Year by Year

Cyril Despres season-by-season record: team, class, stage wins, stage wins to date, dakar wins and final standing.
SeasonTeam Class Stage Wins Stage Wins to Date Dakar Wins Pos.
2000 Honda Bike 0 0 0 16
2001 BMW Bike 1 1 0 13
2002 KTM Bike 0 1 0 DNF
2003 KTM Bike 3 4 0 2
2004 KTM Bike 4 8 0 3
2005 KTM Bike 2 10 1 1
2006 KTM Bike 4 14 1 2
2007 KTM Bike 2 16 2 1
2008 — Not held – – – –
2009 KTM Bike 4 20 2 2
2010 KTM Bike 3 23 3 1
2011 KTM Bike 3 26 3 2
2012 KTM Bike 3 29 4 1
2013 KTM Bike 1 30 5 1
2014 Yamaha Bike 3 33 5 4
2015 Peugeot Car 0 33 5 34
2016 Peugeot Car 0 33 5 7
2017 Peugeot Car 1 34 5 3
2018 Peugeot Car 1 35 5 31
2019 Mini Car 0 35 5 5
2020 OT3 buggy SSV 0 35 5 DNF
2021 Peugeot Car 0 35 5 10

Winning years are highlighted; the five highlighted rows are his five Dakar victories and the Dakar Wins column is a running count that closes on 5. His finishing positions across the table give five firsts, four seconds and two thirds, which matches the published medal record exactly — five, four and one on motorcycles, and a single third in cars. Stage wins are counted from the same year-by-year record and come to 35; no published career total exists to check that against, so it is presented as a count rather than a quoted figure. The 2008 row is blank because the rally was cancelled that year and replaced by the Central Europe Rally. His two FIM Cross-Country Rallies world championships, two Erzberg Rodeo wins, three Red Bull Romaniacs and two Silk Way Rally victories are covered in the biography rather than here. Figures verified 6 September 2026.

Frequently Asked

Cyril Despres: Frequently Asked Questions

How many times did Cyril Despres win the Dakar Rally?

Five, all on motorcycles and all on KTMs — in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013. He was also second four times and third twice.

What happened at the 2012 Dakar Rally?

Seven riders became stuck in a mudhole, all except Marc Coma, and Paulo Gonçalves pulled Despres free. The organisers rerouted the stage and gave Despres back the time he had lost, while Gonçalves was penalised six hours for accepting outside help. Despres and Coma then fought for the win until a mechanical failure on Coma’s bike on the penultimate stage let Despres through.

What did Cyril Despres ride?

A Honda on his first Dakar in 2000, a BMW in 2001, then KTMs from 2002 to 2013 — every one of his victories came on a KTM — and a Yamaha in 2014, his last year on two wheels.

Did Cyril Despres race cars?

Yes. He moved to the car category in 2015 with Peugeot, alongside Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel. His best Dakar result on four wheels is third, in 2017, and he has driven a Mini and an SSV buggy since.

Has Cyril Despres won the Silk Way Rally?

Twice, in 2016 and 2017, both times with the co-driver David Castera.

Was Cyril Despres a world champion?

Yes, twice — the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship in 2003 and again in 2009.

What did Cyril Despres win in enduro?

The Erzberg Rodeo in 2002 and 2003, and the Red Bull Romaniacs in 2004, 2005 and 2007.

Who are Cyril Despres’ co-drivers?

Gilles Picard in 2015, then David Castera. After the 2018 Baja Portalegre 500 he and Stéphane Peterhansel exchanged co-drivers, Castera going to Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret coming to Despres.

Where is Cyril Despres from?

He was born at Nemours, south of Paris, on 24 January 1974, and is a resident of Andorra.

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

  1. Dakar Rally · Amaury Sport Organisation (official)
  2. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme · FIM (official)
  3. Cyril Despres · Wikipedia
  4. Stéphane Peterhansel · Wikipedia
  5. Cyril Despres (Q523864) · Wikidata entity record

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

Commercial disclosure. This page links to merchandise sold by Kozmozracing. Products are fan-made tributes inspired by motorsport history and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from the rider, their estate, or any team.

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