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2008 Dakar Rally

Cancelled off-road motorsport event in Europe and Africa

Cancelled off-road motorsport event in Europe and Africa

The 2008 Dakar Rally would have been the 30th running of the annual off-road race. The rally was to start in Lisbon, Portugal on 5 January 2008, running through Europe and Africa until the finish in Dakar, Senegal on 20 January. The event was cancelled one day before the intended start date, due to concerns over a possible terrorist attack aimed at the competitors.

Postponement and Relocation

The rally was cancelled on 4 January 2008, due to safety concerns in Mauritania, following the killing of four French tourists there on Christmas Eve, December 2007. France-based Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), in charge of the 6000 km rally, said in a statement they had been advised by the French government to cancel the race. They said direct threats had also been made against the event by "terrorist organizations". Before the start of the race, rally director Étienne Lavigne had approved the Mauritanian legs only after two stages planned for Mali were scrapped. An Al-Qaeda affiliate organization was blamed for the cancellation.

On 4 February 2008, the ASO organised the Central Europe Rally, with a Hungary to Romania route, to occupy the gap left by the cancellation of the event, as part of the new Dakar Series. The event only lasted one year. The Dakar Rally was relocated to South America from 2009 until 2019, and in 2020 the event moved to Saudi Arabia.

Entrants

As of December 2007 entrants included 245 motorbikes, 20 quads, 205 cars, and 100 trucks. A total of 570 teams from various 50 countries were entered, up from 510 in 2007.

All entries were deferred to the Central Europe Rally. 110 motorbikes, 19 quads, 91 cars, and 40 trucks started the Central Europe Rally.

Route

The race would have begun in Lisbon, Portugal, and passed through Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Senegal. The total race distance would have been 9273 km, of which 5732 km was timed special stage. There would have been a rest day in Nouakchott on 13 January.

Planned stages

StageDateFromToConnectionSpecialConnectionTotalkmmikmmikmmikmmikmmikmmikmmikmmi
15 JanuaryPOR LisbonPOR Portimão104 km120 km262 km486 km
26 JanuaryPOR PortimãoESP Málaga15 km60 km460 km535 km
37 JanuaryMAR NadorMAR Er Rachidia182 km372 km16 km717 km
48 JanuaryMAR Er RachidiaMAR Ouarzazate29 km356 km199 km584 km
59 JanuaryMAR OuarzazateMAR Guelmim188 km498 km148 km834 km
610 JanuaryMAR GuelmimMAR Smara†66 km454 km105 km625 km
711 JanuaryMAR Smara†MRT Atar198 km619 km12 km829 km
812 JanuaryMRT AtarMRT Nouakchott44 km450 km37 km531 km
13 JanuaryMRT Nouakchott***Rest day***}}
914 JanuaryMRT NouakchottMRT Nouadhibou37 km525 km86 km648 km
1015 JanuaryMRT NouadhibouMRT Atar111 km552 km22 km685 km
1116 JanuaryMRT AtarMRT Tidjikja35 km524 km133 km692 km
1217 JanuaryMRT TidjikjaMRT Kiffa131 km398 km2 km531 km
1318 JanuaryMRT KiffaMRT Kiffa25 km484 km6 km515 km
1419 JanuaryMRT KiffaSEN Saint-Louis326 km301 km130 km757 km
1520 JanuarySEN Saint-LouisSEN Dakar239 km23 km42 km304 km

†Smara is located in the Moroccan-administered portion of the Western Sahara

References

References

  1. Keaton, Jamie. (2008-01-05). "Terror threat cancels famed Dakar Rally". Toronto Star.
  2. "News Africa – Reuters.com". Reuters.
  3. link. (December 23, 2008)
  4. "List of entrants". Dakar organizers.
  5. "The Route". [[Amaury Sport Organisation]].
  6. "Map showing 2008 planned route".
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