Actually 2 strokes have finished the Dakar.
in 1980 2 Vespas finished:
https://www.motorsportretro.com/2010/02/dakar-rally-on-a-vespa/
Not that I would recommend these for the amageza! :imaposer:
Luis Belaustegui #150, a 48 year-old professor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City
Living the Dakar Dream, campaigned and finished on a
KTM 150XC 2-stroke! :hello2:
He is an absolute legend: After trying for 3 years he finally got the the finish of the Dakar in 2013. He also regularly changed pistons in the desert, came in last just about everyday, and spent a night and the following rest day stuck in dunes with "his mistress of the desert" working on changing a piston (he kept a spare in his backpack) before arriving in the bivouac at 4pm, some 36 hours after the start of the 600km stage, and two hours before the cutoff time.
Gerard Barbazant made a career (several times IIRC) of trying to get a 125 EXC to the finish... he also used up a lot of pistons, cylinders etc. in the process...
Another guy from France named - Luc Grajwoda (spelling not quite sure) - made a habit out of riding a monocoque framed KX 500 creation in the Dakar and various other rallies in the early to mid nineties...
The thing used to vibrate that much that it often split/fractured the welds on the chassis and aluminium fuel tanks/subframe construction... and his eyeballs were still going up and down a half hour after he climbed off the thing at the bivouac of a night...
Bottom line is this: You dont have to be crazy to try and do any rally on a 2 stroke, but it certainly helps! :lol8: :imaposer: :spitcoffee: