A.S.O. cancels the 2008 edition of the Dakar rally
After different exchanges with the French government - in particular the Ministry for Foreign Affairs - , and based on their firm recommendations, the organisers of the Dakar have taken the decision to cancel the 2008 edition of the rally, scheduled from the 5th to the 20th of January between Lisbon and Senegal’s capital.
Based on the current international political tension and the murder of four French tourists last 24th of December linked to a branch of Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, but also and mainly the direct threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organisations, no other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken by A.S.O.
A.S.O.’s first responsibility is to guarantee the safety of all: that of the populations in the countries visited, of the amateur and professional competitors, of the technical assistance personnel, of the journalists, partners and rally collaborators. A.S.O. therefore reaffirms that the choice of security is not, has never been and will never be a subject of compromise at the heart of the Dakar rally.
A.S.O. condemns the terrorist menace that annihilates a year of hard work, engagement and passion for all the participants and the different actors of the world’s biggest off-road rally. Aware of the huge frustration, especially in Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, and beyond the general disappointment and the huge economical consequences in terms of direct and indirect repercussions for the countries visited, A.S.O. will continue to defend the major values of great sporting events and will carry on its engagement for a durable development through the Actions Dakar, started 5 years ago in sub-Saharan Africa with SOS Sahel International.
The Dakar is a symbol and nothing can destroy symbols. The cancellation of the 2008 edition does not endanger the future of the Dakar. To offer, for 2009 a new adventure to all the off-road rally passionate is a challenge that A.S.O. will take on in the months to come, faithful to its engagement and its passion for sports.

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SANTIAGO, Chile -- The Chilean government will back a proposal to bring the Dakar Rally to South America after terrorist threats forced the cancellation of the off-road endurance race traditionally staged across the Sahara desert.
The head of the Chilean Tourism Service, Oscar Santelices, said a formal letter will be sent next week to the France-based rally organizer Amaury Sports Organization expressing Chile's interest to host it.
Santelices told local media, however, that no financial support would be committed.
Chile's deputy sports minister, Jaime Pizarro, also said the government would be interested as "the idea appears on the line with the official policy of hosting important international sports events."
The reaction in Chile came after the Spanish sports newspaper As reported that South America was being considered as an alternative to the African territory, and that the epic motorcycle, car and truck race, staged annually since 1979, could cross through Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
In Chile, the rally would go through the northern Atacama desert, the world's driest, where a local rally called Patagonia-Atacama is staged annually.
Local media reported that across the Andes in Argentina, organizers of the annual Rally of the Pampas are also interested in hosting a portion of the Dakar Rally.
Carlo De Gavardo, a Chilean motorcycle rider who has competed in the Dakar Rally several times, said a major advantage for South American countries hosting the rally is the security they offer in the territories where the race would be staged.
He said a decision on the new site would probably be made in February, and that other likely alternatives are Australia, Russia and China.

Dakar changed to Central Europe Rally


Dakar changed to Central Europe Rally


Due to the huge disappointment of this years Dakar Rally cancellation, Amaury Sport Organisation, which runs the Dakar has found an alternative event to be held in Central Europe.

The Dakar is an infamously tough event on both man and machine. If the harsh, arid terrain and environment wasn’t enough for the competitors, the political instability of the many countries included on route must test the organisers to the limit.

And unfortunately this was the case for this years planned Dakar as a Terrorist threat closed the whole show down. Not to be deterred, Amaury Sport Organisation appears to have quickly resolved the situation which will please many fans, competitors and sponsors alike.

The rally, scheduled to run from the 20th to the 26th of April, will be staged in Romania and Hungary and promises to provide a completely contrasting backdrop to the dunes of the Sahara. The prospect of greater media coverage and spectator access has encouraged many of the major teams such as; BMW, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Schlesser and KTM to give their support. Roll on April.
Press Release

Amaury Sport Organisation announces the creation of the Central Europe Rally. This new rally organised under the « Dakar Series » certification will take place from April 20th to the 26th in Hungary and Romania. Scrutineering and administrative checks will take place on 19th of April in Budapest.

The Central Europe Rally, between Budapest and Lake Balaton in Hungary, crossing Romania, will consist of an extremely varied and technical route. Nearly half of the total distance, 3000kms, will be run in special stages. The opening of entries is planned on 11th of February. A.S.O has already received the support of all the major teams. BMW, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Schlesser and KTM have already shown a great interest for this new event, image of the development that A.S.O. wishes to bring to the sport.

The Central Europe Rally will be the first event to be run under the “Dakar Series” certification. This certification will be given to other races that offer the same high organisation and safety standards, strong participation and media attention as the legendary Dakar. With the Central Europe Rally (*), the aim of A.S.O. is to enable the competitors of the Dakar, which was cancelled on 2008, to enter a new rally with some extremely advantageous conditions and offer their sponsors exposure in a major international event.

The “Dakar Series”, which was planned to start in 2009, is a project that A.S.O. has been working on for a long time. It will begin one year ahead of schedule. This first Central Europe Rally is a milestone of a series of new events intended to expand besides the Dakar Rally. The 2009 Dakar edition will be announced in the weeks to come.

(*) Due to terrorist threats, the 2008 Dakar edition was cancelled. Unfortunately last Friday a new terrorist attack happened again in Nouakchott (Mauritania)

Dakar changed to Central Europe Rally

Seriously, am I the only one extremely irate?

Argentina, Chile to host 2009 Dakar Rally
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PARIS (AFP) - Argentina and Chile will host the 2009 Dakar Rally between January 3-18 with Buenos Aires as the start and finish city, organisers said Monday.

The move comes after the 2008 edition of the event was cancelled for the first time since its inception in 1979 due to security concerns after four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania on December 24.
The 2009 rally will feature 6,000km of special stages over a 9,000km-long course, details of which are set to be unveiled in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.
"Signing-up priority will be given to the Dakar 2008 competitors," said Etienne Lavigne, director of the Dakar Rally.
Competitors will be able to sign up for the South American adventure from May 15, and for those coming from Europe vehicle shipping by boat will be done at end of November-early December, the trans-Atlantic crossing lasting three weeks.
Dominique Serieys, head of Mitsubishi Motorsport, the sporting subsidiary of the Japanese manufacturer unbeaten on the Dakar since 2001, said the announcement that the 2009 edition would go ahead in South America was timely.
"It's good news, one month after the cancellation of the 2008 rally," Serieys told AFP.
"I leave at the end of the week for Japan to present the new project and Mitsuibishi will announce its decision at end of February-beginning March. In principle we're very interested.
"We know the quality of the organisation of ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation, Dakar organisers) and the media attention given to the event.
"It was necessary to take a break in Africa given the geopolitical context there. The fact the resumption is on a new continent is good news."
Serieys predicted that any rally in South America would not be a "walk in the park".
"We've already taken part in the Atacama Rally and the Las Pampas Rally. Chile and Argentina are countries where there are great varieties of terrain.
"The Atacama desert is very difficult. There are enormous dunes, real mountains more difficult to cross than in the Dakar.
"There will also be nice roads and dried lakes to cross, navigation and the Andes are another delicate terrain.
"All of that - bearing in mind we don't know the details of Dakar 2009 - makes for a very difficult course. But that's great, we want a testing course."

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Posted on Tuesday 12 February 2008

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The president of the Dakar Rally organizing body Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), Patrice Clerc, has confirmed that next year’s race will take place in South America and there’s no date set as to when it may return to Africa. The African event was canceled last month because of direct threats targeted towards the ASO from terrorist organizations in the region.

The new race will take place in Argentina and Chile, running a 9,000km route starting and arriving in Buenos Aires in January next year. This year, however, the Dakar Series will be heading to Central Europe and will run between Budapest and Lake Balaton in Hungary, crossing Romania and running several special stages over the 3,000km length of the event.
ASO officials claim they had been preparing to introduce a new “Dakar Series” anyway and is only moving the plan forward a year. The Central Europe Rally, the group says, will be the first in “a series of new events” that will join the Dakar Rally in the racing calendar starting in 2009.

70 cars Entered Dakar 2008 - Central Europe Rally so far


The new Dakar Series label has gone off to a good start, recording a great deal of entries ahead of the label’s first race of the year, Central Europe Rally between 20 – 26 April 2008. According to the ASO, “Dakar Series certification will be given to other races that offer the same high organisation and safety standards, strong participation and media attention as the legendary Dakar. With the Central Europe Rally, the aim of A.S.O. is to enable the competitors of the Dakar, which was cancelled on 2008, to enter a new rally with some extremely advantageous conditions and offer their sponsors exposure in a major international event.”
The format for the C.E.R. is unprecedented, and will take place in two countries, Hungary and Romania, covering a distance of about 3,000km/ 4,828 miles. Around half of it will be run in special stages.

Entry forms have been received from Bruno Saby, Guerlain Chicherit and Nasser Al Attiyah for the BMW X-Raid team, Jean-Louis Schlesser for the blue buggy, and Robby Gordon for the HUMMER. What many will be most looking forward to of course, is the mini-war between Mitsubishi’s Stéphane Peterhansel, Alphand and Roma, against Volkswagen’s Spaniard Carlos Sainz and South African Giniel De Villiers.

The year 2009 of course sees “Dakar Rally” back on the scene but at a completely new venue, a 9,000km loop that begins and ends in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Mass media around will be able to watch the C.E.R. via satellite, beamed by networks such as France Television, South Africa’s Supersport, Eurosport and Fox Sport International in South America.
Source: Amaury Sport Organisation

Press Release
An unprecedented format for a rally-raid, in the heart of two countries raiders have rarely visited: the idea has already won over the regulars of the sport, including a large portion that has redirected its energy toward a new objective. Less than a month after entries began to be accepted, the Central Europe Rally, which will be run in Hungary and Romania between April 20-26, is shaping up to be a must do event for the competitors, because some 110 motorcycles, 70 cars and 37 trucks have entered to date.

The Central Europe Rally is preparing for a large number of competitors. This first edition of the event will also welcome a who’s who in all-terrain competition. Among the regular top runners on the Dakar, the entry forms of Bruno Saby, Guerlain Chicherit and Nasser Al Attiyah for the BMW X-Raid team, Jean-Louis Schlesser and his blue buggy, as well as Robby Gordon with his always impressive Hummer, have already been received.

In all probability, the duel opposing Mitsubishi, with Peterhansel, Alphand and Roma, against Volkswagen, with Sainz and De Villiers, should be yet another episode in the ongoing battle between the two constructors on the tracks of Central Europe. The battle for the first ever win of the REC should also be a fantastic race for the motorcycles, because Cyril Despres, Marc Coma, David Casteu, without forgetting Francisco Lopez or David Frétigné, will also be on hand in Budapest. With such a strong field, led by defending Dakar winner, Hans Stacey, the race to be the first to write his name in the record books in the truck category will too be hotly contested.

The awaited reunion of these rally-raid champions constitutes a significant media event with the airing of specific programmes in more than 130 countries all over the world, via France Television, as well as networks Eurosport, Supersport in South Africa and Fox Sport International in South America.
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080309.007/70-cars-entered-dakar-2008---central-europe-rally-so-far

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After all the trials and tribulations, the first event in the Central Europe Rally took place this past weekend and Carlos Sainz took the overall win behind the wheel of a heavily prepped Volkswagen Touareg 2, while NASCAR driver Robby Gordon's team finished 10th.

The race, which spanned some 1,670 miles across Hungary and Romania, took Sainz and his co-pilot, Michel Perin, 11 hours, 18 minutes and 8 seconds to traverse, followed by the team of Stephane Perhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret driving a Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, while Dieter Depping and Timo Gotschalk came in third, behind the wheel of another Touareg 2.

Gordon, whose total time was 1 hour, 25 minutes and 38 seconds behind Sainz, completed the race with the help of a HUMMER H2 and Andy Grider at his side. The full race results can be viewed after the jump, and we've assembled a gallery of some seriously awesome shots from the Central Europe Rally below.


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Tentative final results, Central Europe Rally

1. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 11h18m08s
2. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (F/F), Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, + 2.01m
3. Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, + 6.34m
4. Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (F/F), Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, + 7.28m
5. Carlos Sousa/Andreas Schulz (P/D), Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, + 33.45m
6. Bruno Saby/Alain Guehennec (F/F), BMW X3 CC, + 46.30m
7. Robert Baldwin/Kevin Heath (USA/USA), Hummer, + 56.02m
8. Philippe Gache/François Flick (F/F), SMG, + 1h07m08s
9. Miroslav Zapletal/Valdimir Nemajer (CZ/CZ), Mitsubishi L200, + 1h12m19s
10. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider (USA/USA), Hummer, + 1h25m38s
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