Dakar Rally canceled after terror threat
What had been set to be the longest edition yet of the Dakar Rally now won't happen at all. A day before the race was due to kick off in Lisbon on Saturday, organizers decided to cancel the entire event. A series of terrorist attacks, including the Dec. 24 killing of a French family in Mauritania and another where several soldiers were killed along with direct threats against the race, triggered the first cancellation in the race's thirty year history. Both Mitsubishi and Volkswagen were expected to campaign squads of clean diesel-powered off-road racers. In total, 550 cars, trucks and motorcycles were expected to compete. The race has long been considered one of the most difficult rallies in the world and in the past individual stages have been canceled for various regions. At this point the future of the race is uncertain.
[Source: Associated Press]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ale 9:54PM (1/04/2008)
That's a shame... :[ I was really looking forward to this long race and witness the diesels and Robby Gordon's triumph to a possible overall victory in the car division. So many people have tried to stop this race and it seems terrorism has done just that, stronger than any (my apology to other posters, but my point is clear) environmentalists concerned with cubic meters of sand dune being driven through or pollution.. who knows. Even though this race has historically taken lives, it has given awareness to the places it visits. I hope a resolution can be settled for next year.. hmph. i guess Daytona Speedweeks will have to try to cheer me for this upcoming racing season across the world.
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Nickolas 7:09AM (1/05/2008)
I think that the Dakar Rally should be run in central Australia. The conditions are equally challenging but there are support systems of a developed & safe country available there.
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voitoi 9:08AM (1/05/2008)
But Dakar is not in Australia ...
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Tim 9:48AM (1/05/2008)
All beaches are closed on threat of skin cancer.
Driving is outlawed on threat of accident.
and so on…
Have we all become Spineless Cowards?
Cowards die a thousand times, yet the brave die but once.
Freedom never dies, it is just goes under paranoid arrest.
This just goes to prove that Idiots learn nothing from history and whacko extremists can win with only a whisper!
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jeremie 10:03AM (1/05/2008)
If the terrorist or other groups don't want the race... so be it. It's their home that part of the planet.
If Australia or anywhere else wants, let's make it happen.
You can fight terrorism by isolating them. Put the countries, companies, groups, or religions in a closed box and leave them to them selves.
Total isolation. No business, No communication, No internet, No transport, No nothing.... Alone
They will realize sooner or later that they do need the rest of the world.
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Guenther 9:04PM (1/07/2008)
Tim- As much as we all like the big pep-talk scene from Braveheart....
The key factor is that it is a competitive racing event. Racers know, that safety is above ALL. If safety of the participants and the hundreds of support personnel cannot be reasonably assured, it it simply irresponsible to proceed. Simple as that.
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