No Dakar Rally this year...

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thatsnotmypuppy

War Child
Joined
Dec 17, 2004
Messages
921
Sadly this years event has been cancelled due to terrorist threats and the deaths of 4 French tourists in Mauritania.

Previous Rallys have gone through Algeria and apparently there is a back up route via Algeria and Mali into Senegal - but I guess there isn't enough time to organise it this year.

I know the rally is very much a rich mans sport - like yachting - however people are drawn to the challenge and do crazy things like mortgage their homes to have a shot at finishing the race. I wonder how many people have lost thousands in planning.

It shits me tears as I love the damn thing and live vicariously through it each year.

Any other Rally nuts in here? It really is like a big boys adventure. Cars, bikes and trucks roaring through the desert. Its probably an ecological nightmare, but damn it looks like fun.

EDIT - I am not downplaying the deaths of the tourists and the terrorist threats at all. The safety of everyone involved is way more important than the event itself.
 
Rally is not a sport that is popular where I live at all. At work I used the Dakar as a different, out of the norm incentive type thing, in a way uniting my team and exposing them to something different. The reason for it being cancelled is very sad. I know there are many people who like you, travelled vicariously through it, and will miss it. Like me. Safety (other than the normal risks of the rally) is the most important thing though.
 
Yeah, it's one of the great endurance motoring events of the year. Sad :(
 
Well I look forward to it every year to kick off the big event calender. Meh. I'll just bust out my Race To Dakar dvds I guess.
 
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