Dakar '08 Cancelled

Safety fears end Dakar Rally

bbc world news

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZrXa6vesiA4

ASO's website

http://www.aso.fr/evenements/sportsmeca/us/dakar01.html

Robby Gordon comments

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Aj3_218C9bw

Versus would have been covering the rally race

http://www.versus.com/nw/article/view/63193/?tf=OLNPressCenter_articles.tpl&UserDef=true

VW driver Carlos Sainz backs 'brave' Dakar decision

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64524

http://www.carlos-sainz.com/

VW and Mitsubishi's comments on cancellation

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64521

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64527

Motorcycle news

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BvOYJM27-Ic

 

The one thing that i look forward to, that can hold me over until Le Mans, is now gone...

 

This is very sad for me and my local colleauges - I have been in the priviledged position to see the Dakar rallye first hand two out of the three years that I have worked here in Mali as it passed relatively close to our gold mine. This year, it wouldn't pass through Mali and it would be too far to travel to go and see it but it is still very sad that now no-one gets that opportunity. It is absolutely amazing to see this circus first-hand. In 2006 I visited the "pits": everybody camped and stripping cars at 2:00am at Kayes airport - what an amazing atmosphere! You could walk up to any mechanic stripping a $1 million Volkswagen factory car and ask him what he was doing. Try that in Formula 1...

The Dakar is very important to local people and is well-loved by the greater majority. I agree with other posters that it sets a bad precedent to cancel the race - we might now see this happening every year. Let's hope ways are found to minimise the risk next year and see one of the greatest spectacles in motor racing active again. Attached a couple of photos I took in 2005 and 2006.


Onno
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Uh...why not run the race, but with added security (aka US military)? Should bait terrorists to come out of the woodwork and at that point you kill them.

 

+1 million!!!

 

It's a sad day in Motorsports.

 

So unfortunate ... I feel for all of the teams that were involved, the promoters, and most of all ... humanity.

 

And whats going to happen when the terrorists threaten other races? We already cant freely walk through our airports, how long is the world going to keep bending over to these SOB's? The race should go on, IMHO.

Wernt the races in the early days of the Motorcar just as dangerous, cars being shot at, etc.?? I mean, the French are the ones running away, and they run from everything these days. Does the world have to follow the French?

 

That is the key issue,in this Dakar 56 nationalitys were present!The french organizers (ASO), were presured by the french government to cancel the rally,and the others?The portuguese organizers (LagosSport),ASO partners,haven´t agree with this decision, they are thinking of become the master organizer themselves.
Is being said here in Portugal, that the real reason was the pressure made by the insurance companys to cancel the race, not a specific threat made by some obscure Terrorist organization.

 

Apparently some French citizens were recently killed in NW Africa in 1 of the countries and the geniuses at Al Quaeda were threatening terrorist action against the rally. So thanks to AQ this great race is now history

Organizers are talking about relocating it to Eastern Europe or South America

I think a race from S Texas to Tierra del Fuego will be even badder than Paris Dakar

They'd have to deal w the terrain but also druglords, warlords, the Amazon jungle and then Patagonia and glaciers etc

It would be an Insane rally

 

Well, we have the Baja 1000, and anytime you want to tackle the Panamerica Carrera in something I'm game!

 

I hope this has some severe repercussions behind the scenes and heads will roll. A cancellation is throwing the baby out with the bathtub. Knee jerk overdone reaction. While for different reasons it reminds me a bit of the situation we have in the US with the loss of the GP.

Hopefully enough big sponsors and companies get upset enough about this to make a fundamental change to how this race is organized and run. As SRTMike said below: There is no reason why they couldn't just eliminate the dangerous part of the race and drive around that area.

Here is hoping to the Dakar 09!

 

Well, they might have considered the possibility of giving the rally teams a surprise extra day or two of service/rest lay-over prior to entering the danger zone, and letting the local military run a "rally" through there in their place.

 

+1. Move it elsewhere. Now what have the terrorists accomplished? Taken money away from the country they operate in and not stopped the event. That will definitely make them less popular. I would also issue a statement that "We have decided to run this event only in non-muslim countries from now on until terrorism is brought under control." and see how that flies. Just to rub a little salt in the wound.

 

so how good are those militaries over there? don't they have other things to do?

The costs would go even higher with stages in South America.

just don't tell that to Oreca

 

Dakar: BFGoodrich 2008 cancelation statement

http://motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=277312

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/events/index.jsp

 

Things other than keeping foreign terrorists from depriving their nation of the financial benefit of international trade?

 

Al CIA-da strikes again.

 

Sad that it had to be cancelled. It's a great event and race. I remember when the rallye's finish line was in Egypt in 2003.....in Sharm El Sheikh.

 

With F1 expanding into Singapore, Dubai (potentially), and the current races in Bahrain, Malaysia, and Turkey, it probably won't be too long before something happens at an F1 race (in actuality, it could happen at any F1 venue). What a target for terrorists - the presence of big Western businesses, and worldwide press coverage - what an opportunity!!! In the end, Bernie E. will probably find a way to make money on it when it happens.

 

Robby Gordon sure is pissed. Man, losing 4.5 million aint easy Imagine the smaller more poor teams who probably went under because of this!?

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/columns/story?seriesId=2&columnist=newton_david&id=3185193

 

Too bad for the cancellation, maybe a latter date or re-route would have been better

 

I've noticed since last weekend that Versus is playing last year's race. Although we know the outcome it is still fun watching the cars and bikes run through the desert/bush.

 

I guess what I was trying to ask is..what is the message? "We don't have fun so you can't either"?

 

Dakar Rally moved to South America?

http://origin.speedtv.com/articles/auto/rally/42490/

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

Chilean government backs attempts to stage Dakar Rally

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/2008-01-15-1822096968_x.htm