Dakar

[Steven Roy]

The 2008 Dakar rally has been cancelled.  This event has always been potentially dangerous not just for the obvious driving related reasons but due to opportunistic bandits targetting competitors.  However this year's event has been targetted by an organisation affiliated to Al Qaeda in Mauritania where the rally was scheduled to run for 8 days.

[Alianora La Canta]

That is so disappointing. Thuggish Mauritanian spoilsports!

[cosworth151]

I, too, was deeply saddened to hear of this. It's a shame that a handful of lunatic, criminal zealots can so easily ruin so much for so many.

I look forward to the Dakar each year for two main reasons. First, there's nothing else like it in motor sport. Second, it comes at a time when there is little or no racing in the northern hemisphere.

Here is a part of the A.S.O. official statement from their website:

http://www.dakar.com/indexus.html

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.

Let us all hope for better in 2009

Cos

[Steven Roy]

When did the Thierry Sabine Organisation sell the Dakar to ASO or is this the same organisation wrapped up in a new title.  I only became aware of the change when I was reading the news items today.  Maybe the Sabine family sold the event after he died.

[Scott]

Just a little Dakar story - I happened to be on a cheapo holiday with my family in Sharm el Shek (my son calls it Sharm el Shrek) in Egypt about 5 years ago and although I wasn't really paying much attention to the race that year - it turned out that that year's shortened version was actually ending in Sharm (trouble in Dakar if I recall).  I got up really early on the morning of the final stage and hoped to take a bus over to the resort where it was being hosted.  While I was having breakfast, I heard some other people talking about it, and introduced myself and expressed my passion for motorsports.  One of the guys at the table was the owner of the nearby mega-casino and he handed me a VIP pass and invited me to use his private shuttle bus to come and go as I pleased.  So there you have it - I was elbowing for space with the official photographers over the final stage and finish line - AMAZING!!

[cosworth151]

That was a true bit of luck, Scotty. Hope you got some good pix!

Here is some more reaction to the cancellation:

Mauritania says the cancellation is an overreaction, and its Foreign Minister, Babah Sidi Abdallah, argues that all the necessary security measures were in force. A spokesperson for the President of Mauritania said:

Mauritania regrets the decision by the organisers of the Paris-Lisbon-Dakar to cancel the 2008 edition of the rally despite the firm undertaking of Mauritanian authorities to ensure the best security for its participants. We sympathise with the competitors who prepared so hard for this race and we hope that the 2009 edition will take place in good conditions.

BERNARD LAPORTE (French Secretary of State for Sports):

I think security prevailed and I think the organisers' decision wise. It is regrettable because it's true that the Dakar...is part of French heritage, Africa's too. But after a point you can't just talk about economics and you have to talk first about security.

CARLOS SAINZ: 

I'm very disappointed and sad. Cancelling an event like the Dakar rally for a non-sporting reason sets a very worrying precedent for sport in general. You prepare for this rally for a whole year and now a year of hopes and illusions have been dashed.

One other result is that Robbie Gordon will now be free for the Jan. 7-10 NASCAR test days at Daytona. Gordon was to run a Hummer H3 in what would have been his fourth Dakar. He is the only American to have won a stage in the event. He finished eighth overall last year. Brendan Gaughan had been scheduled to drive the No.7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Ford in the first Daytona test.