Dakar Rally

It’s a sad year for motor sport fans when the world’s ultimate rally of off road driving is cancelled because of concerns over safety. 2008 should have been the 30th year of the annual Dakar Rally, but the epic cross-country rally was called off due to the perceived risks of holding eight of the race’s fifteen stages in Mauritania.

Formerly known as the ‘Paris Dakar’ or ‘Paris to Dakar Rally’, the endurance race is now simply known as the ‘Dakar Rally’ or ‘Dakar’ since the course changes slightly every year, and has recently been starting from Lisbon. From Portugal, the race was scheduled to traverse Morocco, Western Sahara, and Mauritania to the Senegalese capital, Dakar. Basically it’s a lot of awesome 4x4 driving across sands and grasslands. The race is famed for stunning images of cars, bikes, quads and trucks in a desert abyss and video clips of these vehicles hurdling through the unknown of each stage. Over 500 teams take part in the event, with the vast majority of competitors taking motorbikes or cars. A truly international event, the 2008 rally participants were set to represent fifty nationa lities.

So what’s the solution? I think the answer is simple. The time has come for all my fellow couch-potatoes to get out there and partake in a little extreme do-it-yourself. Why not recreate your own Dakar Rally with a few mates and a driving gift experience? There are plenty of centres and organisations offering driving gift vouchers – just a quick search online reveals a whole host of unbelievable adrenaline-rush afternoons and weekends away. Don’t procrastinate and put it off for some Christmas gift ideas, treat yourself and your mates today – get out there and have the experience of a lifetime!

February 27, 2008 - 10:20 AM | Posted in -

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