Editing Dakar Rally (section)

===Mitsubishi in the ascendancy===

The [[1997 Dakar Rally|1997 rally]] ran exclusively in Africa for the first time, with the route running from Dakar to [[Agadez]], [[Niger]] and back to Dakar. Citroën's withdrawal due to a rule change paved the way for Mitsubishi to take a fourth victory. Japan's [[Kenjiro Shinozuka]] became the first non-European to win the event. Peterhansel equalled Neveu's record of five motorcycle category wins in 1997, before going one better in [[1998 Dakar Rally|1998]], when the event returned to its traditional Paris-Dakar route. 1998, Dakar veteran [[Jean-Pierre Fontenay]] posted another win for Mitsubishi in the car class.

[[1999 Dakar Rally|1999]] started in Granada and a maiden success for erstwhile [[Formula One]] and sports car driver [[Jean-Louis Schlesser]], who had been constructing his own buggies since 1992. With the help of [[Renault]] backing, Schlesser overcame the works Mitsubishi and [[Nissan Motor Company|Nissan]] crews to win, whilst Peterhansel's decision to switch to the car category allowed [[Richard Sainct]] to take BMW's first title in the bikes category since 1985. Schlesser and Sainct both successfully defended their titles in [[2000 Dakar Rally|2000]], traversing the route from Dakar to the [[Egypt]]ian capital of [[Cairo]].

[[2001 Dakar Rally|2001]] was the final time that the rally used the familiar Paris-Dakar route, and was notable for Mitsubishi's [[Jutta Kleinschmidt]], as she was the first woman to win the rally – albeit only after Schlesser was penalised one hour for unsportsmanlike conduct.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/1128131.stm|title=Schlesser penalised after taking lead|date=20 January 2001|work=BBC Sport|access-date=2009-02-28}}</ref> [[Fabrizio Meoni]] took the first Dakar win for Austrian manufacturer [[KTM]], beginning a winning streak that lasted through 2019. The [[2002 Dakar Rally|2002]] began in the French town of [[Arras]] and long-time Dakar participant [[Hiroshi Masuoka (rally driver)|Hiroshi Masuoka]] won the event for Mitsubishi (Masouka had led for much of the previous year's rally.) The [[2003 Dakar Rally|2003 rally]] featured an unorthodox route from [[Marseille]] to [[Sharm El Sheikh]]. Masuoka defend his title after teammate and long-time leader Peterhansel was plagued by mechanical problems in the penultimate stage.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/2671901.stm|title=Peterhansel's Dakar dream dies|date=18 January 2003|work=BBC Sport|access-date=2009-02-28}}</ref> Sainct meanwhile took honours in the motorcycle category, the third title for both him and KTM.