Dakar rally returns

The Dakar is back! After the late can- cellation of this year’s event, organisers have confirmed that the 2009 rally will take place in South America.

For the first time in the event’s history, the competitors will race outside Africa. Instead, they will switch continents and take in a route that winds through Argentina and Chile. Starting in Buenos Aires on 3 January, the cars, bikes and trucks will cover a gruelling 5,600 miles over 15 days.

From the start, the route heads south into Patagonia, then goes into the treacherous Andes mountains. Finally, crews will face familiar sandy terrain in the form of the Atacama desert, before arriving back in the Argentine capital on 18 January. Ter-rorist threats forced organisers to pull the plug on the eve of the 2008 race, after many entrants had assembled in Paris for the start. As as a result, these teams will be offered first refusal on starting positions for 2009.

Despite the change of venue, race bosses are confident that the famous event’s unique challenges will remain intact. Director of the race Etienne Lavigne claimed: “There will be sand, because that’s typical of the Dakar, but there will also be new terrains. In South America, there is a special culture and a passion for motorsport.”

Teams will be able to sign up for the competition on 15 May, although none of the frontrunners has yet to make a decision about their plans. It is also not clear whether organisers will continue to use the famous Dakar name for the relocated rally.