After yesterday's announcement on Spanish news that the Dakar will be held in 3 phases on 2 continents, here the first news story confirming that 'rumour'. No official announcement yet on the Dakar website.

Dakar Rally, to be called Dakar Series and staged in Argentina and Chile: Rally, SportsYA in English

If it's going to be raced in three stages one can assume you can enter in one event and not the other? From a privateer perspective this would lower the costs conciderably. Dakar was expensive enough with out going to the other side of the world for a part of the series!
Be interesting to see if this is a success, and if so would they run it next year as well as the original Lisbon - Dakar ( assuming it goes ahead....) Might make for a nice amature offshoot....

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It's not that life is so short, It's just that we're dead for so long....
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StevesAWAL....

Its my understanding that the location 2009 event has already been decided and its not in Africa - but Argentina. This years event will be a dry run.

So the terrorists have won again. A great event always associated with Africa is now moving to South America, or if I read between the lines on the recent ASO questionnaire, then it could be just about anywhere, other than Africa.

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http://www.moto-andalucia.com

it is really sad. not because South America as good as Africa, sad because the terrorism won again. as a citizen of a country which is really suffered and still suffering from terrorism i did not like this idea. the sprit of rally has been gone and we left these soil to the terrorists. hope they will see their mistake and will return the rally soon the its original route.

also what about cost?? shipping bikes/cars/trucks and equipment should be really expensive. anyway, lets wait and see.

peace everyone!

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ozhan u.
website under construction

Yeah cheers Smokin' Lizard, what I was refering to was the fact that the race series is split into three stages, Not just STH AM. ( see quote below form Dakota's link), adding a lot of transportation costs to an already expensive (prohibitive??) event. So if you were able to just compete in one or more stages (i.e. missing out on the SA stage). Will be an interesting change all the same.

Ride safe... there's cars out there.....

"The competence will be called Dakar Series and will be divided into three stages: the first in Hungary and Rumania, the second in Spain and Portugal, and the third in South America."

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'99 R1100GS - In a suitable shade of black

It's not that life is so short, It's just that we're dead for so long....
"The world is a book, those who do not travel read only one page." ~ Saint Augustin

More "Dakar" 2009 info from the BBC. More information tomorrow (Tuesday - see below)


Argentina and Chile will host the 2009 Dakar Rally after this year's race was cancelled because of safety concerns.

The 2008 rally was called off in January after four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania on 24 December.

The event's organisers, the Amaury Sport Organisation, said there had been "direct threats against the race issued by terrorist groups".

Next year's Dakar Rally, which has been going since 1979, will start and finish in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

It 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 race from 15 May.

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," said Serieys.

"Mitsuibishi will announce its decision at the end of February or beginning of March. In principle we're very interested.

"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.

"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.

"Bearing in mind we don't know the exact details of Dakar 2009, I would think it will make for a very difficult course. But that's great, we want a testing course."

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Rallying | South America to host Dakar Rally

baswacky.

Info is also posted on this link.

SI.com - Following African terrorism fears, 2009 Dakar Rally moves to South America

baswacky.

Now on the Official Dakar Website:

"DAKAR SERIES" - ACT I

The "Dakar Series" has the authority to bring together, eventually, under the same label, several off-road rallies meeting the founding standards of organisation and sporting values. The A.S.O., organiser of the Dakar Rally, intends extending this concept to several competitions, which it aims at running over the long term. The Central Europe Rally, being held between 20 and 26 April, will be the first competition of the "Dakar Series".

Also reported in MCN:

Riders who were ‘ready to race’ on the ill-fated 2008 Dakar Rally will be able to take part in a new race this April.

Dakar organisers, Amary Sport Organisation (ASO) have announced they will be opening the new Dakar: The Central European Rally to all riders who were affected by the cancellation of the Dakar following terrorism threats.

The race will take place between Sunday, April 20 to Thursday, April 24, 2008 and will go from Budapest to Lake Balaton in Hungary also taking in parts of Romania.

This is the first event of its kind to run under the Dakar Series certification and other races are set to follow on a similar theme.

The Dakar Series had been set to start in 2009 but has been brought forward after the 2008 Dakar Rally was cancelled in January.

Any rider who was registered for the Dakar is eligible to enter the Central European Rally, which will cover 3000km, free of charge.

KTM's Offroad Motor Sports Consultant Heinz Kinigadner said: "The main manufacturers who compete in the Dakar have had meetings in Germany and in Paris together with the organisers.

“All riders who were registered for the Dakar 2008 will be allowed to enter the Central European Rally free of charge so this is some compensation for missing the big race."

Several KTM factory riders and other privateers are already signed up for the new series, which has taken the edge off the disappointment of the cancellation of the 2008 Dakar Rally.

It seems that we are all studying the official Dakar webpage!

As this is a done deal for 2009, I do wonder about the implications for "we mere mortals":-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...y-2009-a-33141

My guess is that this will become a permanent change of venue beyond 2009.

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Dave

Look the Dakar nowadays is no longer a sporting event BUT all about the $$s or Euro...

Evidence
1. the "Dakar Series" organizers hold meetings in Europe and not Dakar.

2. one of the big benefits about the Rallye originally was how it promoted the areas it went through. No longer...the Rallye is about promoting itself and the products/services of its corporate sponsors.

I can continue to provide you more, but folks on this list are much smarter than I am in coming up with the rest.

Bottom line to me:

the Rallye slowly abandoned Africa a while back and the privateers who helped make the Rallye famous in the first place.
So good riddance Dakar Rallye and hopefully someone will start up a small series that rekindles the spirit of the original rallye.

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edde
93 BMW K75s
www.motoedde.com

Yep, like many things it probably became a victim of it's own success. But there are already other 'rallies' that we can support - The Plymouth-Dakar Challenge and The Heroes & Legends both of which are more accessible to us lesser mortals, for now at least.

You could be correct about the Dakar becoming a victim of its own success; I think it had to evolve in to a heavyweight, to stage an event of this magnitude. In some ways it has become a governing body of the Dakar race, it has to negotiate at government level, European and African, arrange ships, airfields, and I believe it does quite a lot of good as well.
Because of its size and resources it has bounced back very quickly with a South American event.

Having watched a couple of sections in Morocco, I have to say it is the toughest form of motorcycle competition I have ever witness.

Looks like I may get to see it in Argentina next year.

Steve

So as it's now in Sth America what is it to be called, they can't use Dakar anymore so maybe they call it the "Aconcagua Rallye" ??

Cheers

Do the Dakar organisers think that by running the event in South America they are safe from the same terrorists that 'halted' the 2008 African event?. The terrorists are global I'm afraid.

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