One of the toughest stages of the Dakar is the soft sand of the dunes. The vehicles (cars, trucks and bikes) all make their way through amazing windswept dunes of fine sand piled very, very high in what's called a special stage, where they start and stop in the same location before heading on towards the finish.
Here's a quick video about Stage 9 through the dunes in 2011. The actual video starts at 0:43 after the commerical.
