2008 Dakar Rally

Cancelled off-road motorsport event in Europe and Africa Dakar Rally Dakar Rally 2008 See 2008 Central Europe Rally 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 2008 Dakar Rally canceled over terrorist threat 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 mi -1 on 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".https://www.thestar.com/news/2008/01/05/terror_threat_cancels_famed_dakar_rally.html Terror threat cancels famed Dakar Rally Toronto Star Jamie Keaton 2008-01-05 2008-01-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20080108063937/http://www.thestar.com/News/article/291241 8 January 2008 live 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.http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN648110.html Reuters News Africa – Reuters.com 6 January 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080108151924/http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN648110.html 8 January 2008 dead Future of Dakar Rally now in doubt https://web.archive.org/web/20081223164633/http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=673196 December 23, 2008 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.http://www.dakar.com/2008/DAK/RIDERS/us/r3_8-engages.html List of entrants Dakar organizers 2008-01-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20080116211404/http://www.dakar.com/2008/DAK/RIDERS/us/r3_8-engages.html 16 January 2008 dead 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 mi 0 on, of which 5732 km mi 0 on was timed special stage.The Route http://www.dakar.com/2008/DAK/presentation/us/r3_5-le-parcours.html Dakar Rally Amaury Sport Organisation 11 March 2014 There would have been a rest day in Nouakchott on 13 January.http://www.dakar.com/2008/DAK/presentation/docs/parcours_novembre.pdf Map showing 2008 planned route 2008-01-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20080829165921/http://www.dakar.com/2008/DAK/presentation/docs/parcours_novembre.pdf August 29, 2008 dead Planned stages StageDateFromToConnectionSpecialConnectionTotal km mi km mi km mi km mi15 JanuaryPOR LisbonPOR Portimão104 km mi 0 table120 km mi 0 table262 km mi 0 table486 km mi 0 table26 JanuaryPOR PortimãoESP Málaga 15 km mi 0 table60 km mi 0 table460 km mi 0 table535 km mi 0 table37 JanuaryMAR NadorMAR Er Rachidia 182 km mi 0 table372 km mi 0 table16 km mi 0 table717 km mi 0 table48 JanuaryMAR Er RachidiaMAR Ouarzazate 29 km mi 0 table356 km mi 0 table199 km mi 0 table584 km mi 0 table59 JanuaryMAR OuarzazateMAR Guelmim 188 km mi 0 table498 km mi 0 table148 km mi 0 table834 km mi 0 table610 JanuaryMAR GuelmimMAR Smara† 66 km mi 0 table454 km mi 0 table105 km mi 0 table625 km mi 0 table711 JanuaryMAR Smara†MRT 1959 Atar 198 km mi 0 table619 km mi 0 table12 km mi 0 table829 km mi 0 table812 JanuaryMRT 1959 AtarMRT 1959 Nouakchott 44 km mi 0 table450 km mi 0 table37 km mi 0 table531 km mi 0 table13 January MRT 1959 Nouakchott colspan="8" Rest day914 JanuaryMRT 1959 Nouakchott MRT 1959 Nouadhibou 37 km mi 0 table525 km mi 0 table86 km mi 0 table648 km mi 0 table1015 JanuaryMRT 1959 NouadhibouMRT 1959 Atar 111 km mi 0 table552 km mi 0 table22 km mi 0 table685 km mi 0 table1116 JanuaryMRT 1959 AtarMRT 1959 Tidjikja 35 km mi 0 table524 km mi 0 table133 km mi 0 table692 km mi 0 table1217 JanuaryMRT 1959 TidjikjaMRT 1959 Kiffa 131 km mi 0 table398 km mi 0 table2 km mi 0 table531 km mi 0 table1318 JanuaryMRT 1959 KiffaMRT 1959 Kiffa 25 km mi 0 table484 km mi 0 table6 km mi 0 table515 km mi 0 table1419 JanuaryMRT 1959 KiffaSEN Saint-Louis 326 km mi 0 table301 km mi 0 table130 km mi 0 table757 km mi 0 table1520 JanuarySEN Saint-LouisSEN Dakar 239 km mi 0 table23 km mi 0 table42 km mi 0 table304 km mi 0 table km mi km mi km mi km mi †Smara is located in the Moroccan-administered portion of the Western Sahara References Dakar Rally Category:Dakar Rally by year Dakar Rally, 2008 Dakar Rally 2008 Dakar Rally