Paris-Dakar rally to move
I had written about this earlier here:
Now this is going to get a lot of people pissed
...Danger and the Dakar Rally have long been synonymous: Dozens have died racing from Europe across some of the world's most inhospitable terrain to the western tip of Africa.
But the threat of an al-Qaida-linked attack pushed the element of risk to levels organizers deemed unacceptable. They canceled the epic race on Friday, meaning terrorists have ensured there will be no spectacular images this year of dune buggies throwing up clouds of dust and lone motorcycle riders spinning their wheels in Saharan sands...
Well, in 2009 it will be in a new home -- South America.
From the
BBC Sport:
Dakar Rally set for South America
Organisers of the 2009 Dakar Rally have confirmed plans for the new-look event, which will take place in South America for the first time next January.
The 9,000km loop course will start and finish in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Starting on 3 January, competitors will race south to Patagonia, into the Andes mountains and then Chile's Atacama desert, before the finale on the 18th.
This year's rally did not take place after four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania in December.
The exact route of the 2009 event has not been finalised.
Very cool! I feel sorry about the people who live in Africa -- there were a lot of people who showed up for the rally and who infused a lot of hard cash into the local economy. Now, because of the acts of a few corrupt power-grubbing theocratic rag-heads, this cash is gone.
At least, this will help to lessen the hold that al-Qaida has on these people...
Posted by DaveH at February 14, 2008 5:33 PM