2008 was supposed to
have marked the 30th anniversary of the Dakar Rally. Instead, and for the first time since
its inception in 1978, this year will go down in history as the first
time the Dakar was cancelled.
With less than 24 hours
before the official start of the 2008 Dakar, Amaury Sport
Organisation (A.S.O.) announced in a press release this morning that
the rally would not be held, due to security concerns. The decision
was made after lengthy discussions with the French Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and was partly based on the December 24th murder of a French family on holiday in Mauritania.
Mauritania, which
gained its independence from France in 1960 and has a history of
political unrest, was one of the countries the 9,273 km Dakar Rally
was scheduled to pass through. Local authorities have blamed a
terrorist "sleeper cell," linked to a North African faction
of al-Qaida, for the slaughter of the tourists.
The A.S.O. also claimed
that direct threats had been made against the race by terrorist
organisations, although specific details of those threats were not
made available. Organisers condemned “the terrorist menace that
annihilated a year of hard work in preparation for the world’s
biggest off-road rally.”
The news will no doubt
come as a bitter shock to everyone impassioned by the legendary
event. The Dakar has a long history of overcoming adversity, and has
persevered through terrorist threats, land mines, sand storms and the
deaths of competitors, spectators and organisers. Even the death of
the rally’s founder Thiery Sabine during the 1986 edition wasn’t
enough to stop the spectacle from being held.
A.S.O.’s first
responsibility is to guarantee the safety of all: that of the
populations in the countries visited, of the competitors, of the
technical assistance personnel, of the journalists, partners and
rally collaborators. We therefore reaffirm that security is not, has
never been, and will never be, a subject of compromise for the Dakar
rally.”
For Canadians Don
Hatton and Tod Davidson, who were set to participate in this year’s
race, this will be a time of mixed emotion and bizarre coincidence.
Hatton, a 49-year-old
insurance broker from Vancouver Island, should have been spending
today dealing with the formalities of scrutineering and the
inevitable case of pre-race nerves. Instead he’ll be faced with the
disappointment of having a dream crushed, and the nightmarish
logistics of ending his rally two weeks before planned.
Ironically,
it’s a situation that Brampton, Ontario resident Davidson is
already all too familiar with. For him, the Dakar had already been
cancelled on Dec. 9.
With
less than a month before the scheduled start of the rally, Davidson
suffered the effects of crashing his motorcycle while on a final training
session in California. The result of the impact was several broken
ribs and a punctured right lung.
Given the amount of
time and resources it takes to prepare for the Dakar, you have to
wonder what will be in the minds of those preparing for the 2009
edition. With the first ever cancellation, precedent has been set.
The likelihood of future races being held will remain from now on an
open question. However, the A.S.O. is remaining optimistic: “The
Dakar is a symbol and nothing can destroy symbols. The cancellation
of the 2008 edition does not endanger the future of the Dakar.”
Ah yes, that would seem to be it. Fixed now but thanks for the heads up.
R.
[b][/b]”a long history of overcoming diversity.” ??
Do you mean adversity?
If the two gentleman riders read this, let it be known how crushed I’d feel. I live and breath motorcycles and the Dakar is a challenge of a lifetime. I can only imagine how I’d feel after spending the time and money to have this classic event canceled.
One day the BS of this false war and imaginary terrorists will go by the wayside and we can enjoy life again.