Dakar 2008 route published
 

For the benefit of those who might not be aware, the overnight stops for the rally are constrained to airports that can take the number of planes involved. Nevertheless the 2008 route is quite different from previous years.

Euromilhões Lisboa Dakar: 2008 Edition > The Route

The early part of the route follows the last couple of years' routes - Lisbon > Málaga > Nador > Er Rachidia > Ouarzazate. Then it changes quite a lot by going to Guelmim rather than Tan Tan. Then Smara and into Mauritania where voyeurs can't follow through the sand berm.

After a stop in Atar it goes south west to Nouakchott, then north to Nouadhibou which conveniently allows slow moving spectators to catch up. Then east to Atar following the railway before heading to Kiffa and Dakar.

I've just got permission to take some time off, so will likely be following some stages.

Potential viewing points
Each day starts with a non-racing liaison to the start of the special stage. Then the special stage which is the actual racing bit. At the end of the special stage there will then be another liaison to the overnight bivouac.

Unless you have advance knowledge of the exact route, it's difficult to intercept the end of the day's special, so the points listed below are where the next day's special starts relatively close to the previous night's bivouac.

5 Jan: special stage starts 104km south of Lisbon
8 Jan: special stage starts 29km south of Er Rachidia
10 Jan: special stage along the beach 66km south west of Guelmim
15 Jan: special stage starts 111km east of Nouhadibou

Hi Tim
It's Dazzer { xr400 }
may I ask what your plan's are.
How do you intend to get to the south of Spain,and how long have you got off work.
I have been wanting to go watch a a bit of the Dakar for a long time but eather lack of money or time have stopped me.
I do have a few weeks holiday left and at the moment a bit of cash :cool4:

Hi Dazzer

I only got permission from SHMBO a couple of hours ago, so have nothing formulated yet. I will be away minimum three weeks, more likely four or five.

The Portsmouth - Bilbao ferry sails 30 Dec or 2 Jan, arriving two days later. Alternatively Newhaven - Dieppe and ride down through France and Spain. There's no ferries from northern Spain on the return until early February.

I'm probably taking the 1200GSA rather than the XR400.

I don't know any of the competitors this year (the entries are very KTM biased) so will probably give Lisbon a miss and plan to intercept the rally at Er Rachidia, then again at Guelmim. Toying with the idea of going into Mauritania, maybe further.

If you have any suggestions...

Tim

Hi Tim,

I guess you know what my rough plans are - to follow the Dakar in Morocco only - arriving there before the Dakar gets there to so some off roading - try to scope out some good viewing points and get used to the country. Then Follow the Dakar for the 4 Morocco stages maybe have 1 or 2 days off after due to covering a lot of distance to keep up with the Dakar then some more off roading / exploring and maybe ideally visit a city for 1 or 2 days to get a flavour.

My preferance would be riding off road the majority of the time where possible though obviously following the Dakar I have resigned myself to covering miles on tarmac with ideally a short off road ride to catch the off road racing special in progress (if possible).

You don't say if you are looking for other riders while you are over there, if you are maybe we can sort something out.

I have a diesel estate car and a trailer could take 2 large bikes which I would probably prefer to take to the south of Spain rather than riding as it would be a lot faster, cheaper and comfortable and no need to change bike tyres etc

Do you have any firmer plans yet or do you prefer to do your own thing?

Ian

watching the dakar 2008
 

thanks tim for posting the route here on the hubb,

I will be riding down to Dakar with a few friends (on three or four bikes), but we are going to watch the Rallye in Mauretania and at Lac Rose in Senegal.

Anybody else going down at the same time?

greetings from Bulgaria

Mika

Give us a wave
 

Hia Tim
Good to see you have such an understanding SWMBO :cool4: (every year same-o same-o !!)
I'll be ahead of you in Mali at Dakar time but returning towards end Jan
Keep in touch - might catch up and share a camel and prunes tagine or three:thumbup1:

My 1200GSA is being shipped to southern Spain with biketruck.com and I'm flying in to Málaga on 5 Jan. Planning to meet a friend and then watch Er Rachidia and Zagora stages. Then off to Mauri and Senegal to meet my wife who's flying in to watch the finish of the Rally.

Looking forward to the prune tagines but not keen on sharing a camel.

Tim

Hi Tim
Thanks for posting the route.
I live in Spain and will be going down around new year.Not sure yet if just after or before.Will stop in at Moto Andalusia.Never meet the couple who run the place there but they have been helpful concerning a few e mails i fired off to them recently.
I will head to Tarifa....i know a lovely hostal there...El Asturiana...then over to Tanger and then on down to Essaouira..Tiznit then to Guelmim where i hope to catch my first taste of the "DAKAR".I have no idea what to expect so will just be going with the flow.
Decided on that route as it keeps me out of the cold mountains as i intend to camp where possible....dem bones dem bones dem bones!!!
Have a good one....maybe see you there.Keep your eyes out for a miserable looking git singing the praises of his lovely go faster black Africa Twin:thumbup1:

Route through Malaga
 

You can always get up very close to the competitors in Malaga. No barriers or restrictions if you stand a little way back from the checkpoint. The riders often stop and talk to you once they've been through before they board the ferry.

Dakar Rally reaches Málaga on Sunday

Just done a quick search:

Dakar 2008 - Dakar rally close to cancellation - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

Paris Dakar
 

Its confirmed.... PD cancelled ....


I'm very sorry to say...;

Al Jazeera just reported it cancelled.

Hopefully, they will all get their entry fees refunded! :rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2:

The bright side:-
There will be some cheap accommodation deals down that way in the next couple of weeks.

Sadly it appears to be the case, but no announcement on the Dakar site as yet.

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Rallying | Safety concerns end Dakar Rally

wow - just got the update from MacP1 - can't believe it.... still nothing on the website, short story on the BBC, more to follow I guess, nothing on Rally Radio either.

BBC saying

The 2008 Dakar Rally has been cancelled because of safety concerns in the African republic of Mauritania.
Four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania on 24 December, which led to the French government advising against any travel to the country.

Nine of the rally's stages were due to pass through Mauritania.

The annual car and motorcycle marathon had been due to start in Lisbon on 5 January with the finish coming in Dakar on 20 January.

The head of sport for France Televisions, the organisation that was due to broadcast the event, confirmed the cancellation.

"If the slightest incident had happened, it would have been the credibility of the Amaury Sport Organisation (organisers) that would have been at stake," said Daniel Bilalian.

Full story to follow.

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Rallying | Safety concerns end Dakar Rally

The Health and Safety experts/professionals/jobworthies will rationalise it for us in due course; just give them time to get the press release sorted out!

It's official
 

Maybe it is time for someone else to organise the race: France has too much political baggage in the area.

Or, next year it could be run in:-
Pakistan
or Kenya
or Colombia
or Sri Lanka

........by the French, now that the Paris part of the name has been dropped.

That's terrible news for all those involved in the race from the competitors, sponsors and supporters.
All that cost and preparation time for nothing.
Massive cost, massive preparation time.
Tim Cullis is on his way somewhere to watch the race as are some others from this site.
Very bad news indeed, big sympathies to anyone involved.

Islamtoday.com: Statement to the People of Mauritania
Mauris say they have nothing to do with it

And I, for one, believe them. :thumbup1:

Budapest-Bamako kicks off 12 Jan
 

I would surmise that this one does not go down the pan so easily:-

Budapest-Bamako - The Great African Run

In fact, from the organisers statement of today:-

"Dear Budapest-Bamako participant,

We were all shocked to read the news about the cancellation of this year’s Dakar amid terror threats. I’d like to assure each and every one of you that the Budapest-Bamako will not be cancelled. This has never even been a consideration. The reasons listed here are not to calm your nerves or to try convince you that everything is fine. They’re simply the arguments against canceling the event.

1. We can not bow down to terror. Terrorism is a nasty byproduct of the world that we live in. We must learn to accept it. If we give in to terrorists, we legitimize their objectives and give carte blanche to the spread of violence. We must not allow to terrorists to kidnap our vacations or dreams.
2. Mauritania is not Kenya. Mauritania is a peaceful and politically stabile country. There’s no civil war, unrest or violence. The local authorities are completely in charge of security. During the past 10 days, we have been repeatedly reassured that increased attention will be paid to participants of the Budapest-Bamako and the authorities will increase their efforts to protect us. This is a very important event for the country, which is trying to kick-start its tourism industry.
3. One of the earliest guiding principles of the Budapest-Bamako is to build bridges between the people of Europe and Africa. How can we say with a clear conscience that we’d like to strengthen ties, if we don’t dare visit our new friends? How can we assure others of our solidarity if we’re afraid to visit them at home? Now is the time to assure the people of Mauritania that they have friends in the world.
4. The organizers of the Dakar made a serious error by canceling the event. We shouldn’t imitate this mistake. I believe that each participant must evaluate the situation carefully. Participation in the event must be a personal decision. This has always been the case. Now it’s just more pressing than before.

I’m the father of three children. If I felt that threat was serious, I would not go myself. However, I’d like to urge you to carefully read the Mauritanian developments and make an educated decision about your participation in the 2008 Budapest-Bamako. The decision is always in yours and yours alone.

Best regards,

Andrew G Szabo
Budapest-Bamako Director

January 4th, 2007. "

Obviously the East Europeans are made of sterner stuff!!

Is that so ? Another win for the violent ones ?

This is not good for the great majority of Mauritanians nor for the travelers who love the desert. This is only good for the tiny minorities in "both sides" who would prefer an even more violent world.
Are we gonna let them get away with it ?
Can really a bunch of idiots with A.K.'s terrorize us all ? Aren't we giving the terrorists (of any kind legal or illegal) too much importance ? Too much publicity ? Too much credit ? Is it not exactly what they want ?

Quite so.

This is one quote from the French Government:-

France's Sports Minister, Bernard Laporte, said the rally's cancellation would have "disastrous economic consequences" for country's where the rally passed through but added that security issues would have to come first.

"After a point you can't just talk about economics and you have to talk first about security," he told reporters during a visit to Guadeloupe.

This lesson will be taken on board by the bad guys who wish to influence future sporting events.

Those approached for sponsorship, advertising rights, TV rights and all the rest of the paraphenalia that is associated with the economics of sporting events such as the Dakar will think deeply about anything that the ASO organises in future.

"talk first about security" just 24 hours before the start!!

It has been reported, elsewhere, that the insurance underwriters withdrew their cover for the Dakar race; purely an economic consideration.

It really is such a shame and bad news. It’s too bad so many people put so much into this, whether it be finances, work, time, dreams etc and have it all taken away. The worst part for anyone is that the reason for not being able to participate is completely out of their control, stripped away by ignorance.
I think it is very important to be aware and take into account everyone’s safety and well being when considering a race like this and cannot hold anyone other than the so called terrorists to blame. However, at the same time I agree that we only enable these groups to manipulate, control and even empower them by giving in at times. While someone’s safety is a real concern, there is also a real problem in caving in to rants, demands, threats, etc.
I feel that there is a dumbing down, a coddling, etc of at least western society. It’s truly remarkable, some of the things that I encounter or hear about through the news, etc. Possibly the world could have always been this way but when I think of the past it seems as if our ancestors were a lot tougher than we are today as a whole. No one wants anything bad to happen but we can’t back down. In order to move a head sometimes sacrifices need to be made for the benefit of man, other wise we will not grow and even ruin everything we have worked for.

Armadillo,

A bunch of idiots with A.K.'s is no worse than a a bunch of idiots with M16's. It all depends on who's side we are expected to be.

rumors from Dakhla is today mauris close down border for tourist transport. Anybody can confirm this?

Wait
 

You can call to Mauritanian consul in Moscow after 9 jan and ask him.
I and my wife want go to Mauritania from Morocco 1 or 2 feb.
Also You can read "The field reports" at The Plymouth-Dakar Challenge - Official Web Site

Plymouth-Dakar
 

It looks that Plymouth-Dakar run whiteout problems in the area!

Maybe the Dakar rally has had its day?
 

And the Budapest-Bamako event.

Makes you think and it shows what can be done when you ditch the traditional organisers with the associated big budgets, TV rights, advertising and sponsorship.

Small is beautiful?

Where did this rumour come from?

I'm monitoring the Plymouth-Dakar field reports site. Someone talks about mission aborted due to Mauri problems, but doesn't explain, or let us know where they are. From their previous reports they may not be anywhere near the border yet.

Another team left the Dakhla Peninsular at 09.03 local time heading for the Maui border, no update from them yet, but if they couldn't get through and had to drive back, I suppose they may post an update from Dakhla any time from about now onwards (18.14 GMT).

I await with bated breath!...

Craig

where this rumour came from?

from latvian travelers in Dakhla, but now they are in NDB so rumours canceled!