Two months prior to the start , on Nov 20 , 2015 Islamist militants took 170 people hostage in a hotel in Mali . 2015 Bamako hotel attack This was a strong deterrent once again for participants to cancel their participation in the 2016 run . Organizers and the Malian government reinforced security . Because of the large number of cancellations , breakdowns and continued fears only 68 teams finished out of the 120 who entered the rally . The competition was won by the Hungarian , Gumis Ember team again . Amid the security concerns , the organizer of the rally announced the Budapest-Bamako will become a bi-annual event . During the intermediate years the team will produce a series of road rallies and adventure trips on the Bamako-Adventures umbrella . The first such rally , the Baja 4000 was announced prior to the start of the 2016 Budapest-Bamako
2015 Bamako hotel attack
2015 Bamako hotel attack
Budapest-Bamako