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Rally Legends: The Marreau Brothers – Private Renaults Against All Comers At Dakar!


Rally Legends: The Marreau Brothers – Private Renaults Against All Comers At Dakar!

With the 2017 Dakar Rally looming ahead in less than a month’s time, it felt appropriate to take a look at two Frenchmen whose performances at the beginning of the 1980s earned them a spot in the lore and legend of the race. The Marreau Brothers, driver Claude and co-driver Bernard, had been involved in African rallying prior to the inaugural event in 1979, having completed the drive from Cape Town, South Africa to Algiers, Algeria in nine days driving a Renault 12 Gordini, shattering the record. For the initial 1979 Dakar Rally, the brothers showed up with a Renault 4 Sinpar and managed to finish second in category against stiff competition. They brought back the Sinpar for 1980 and gained a third-place finish, then for 1981 they brought a Renault 20 Turbo…and crashed out. For 1982, the Marreaus brought a Renault 20 Turbo and took first place in class against the likes Mercedes, Range Rover and Lada. It’s not everyday that someone gets to say that they triumphed over Jacky Ickx, but the Marreaus were able to with the one car they were able to bring. They were known as the “Desert Foxes” for their ability to read the terrain and to navigate with minimal errors, and were competitive to the core. Watching the Renault 20 dicing with Ickx’s Mercedes is awesome!

(Thanks to Benoit Pigeon for the tip!)


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