Autoblog

Following terrorist threats that forced the cancellation of this year's Dakar Rally, race organizers ASO went searching the world for alternative locations. They settled on South America, with plans to hold additional events in Central Europe. However, if the geopolitical situation changes, Dakar could be back in Africa by 2012. ASO chief Patrice Clerc has expressed his desire to bring the event back to its roots. In order for the Dakar Rally to return to Dakar, however, the threats made against the event, its spectators and participants by local cells of al-Qaeda would need to have been eliminated, which sounds ominous for whoever made the threats.

[Source: PistonHeads]

After the cancellation of the Dakar Rally due to terrorist threats, the Amaury Sport Organization decided to bump up its launch of the Dakar Series, a new campaign that attempts to bring the thrills of the Dakar to venues around the globe.

The first event of the series, the Central Europe Rally, will begin on April 20th and run through the 26th, and Mitsubishi is one of the first major teams to confirm participation. Mitsubishi walked away with the Dakar title last year and had already been signed up to compete in the traditional Dakar Rally before its untimely demise. The Central Europe Rally won't replace the Dakar event, as it's been rescheduled for a future date in South America.

Mitsubishi's press release is posted after the jump with the team's complete driver lineup. And we're still waiting to see if BMW, Volkswagen and KTM are planning to participate.

Amaury Sport Organization, the group behind the Dakar Rally, has found a new venue after threats of terrorism caused the group to cancel the annual rally last month. The newly rescheduled and renamed race will be held April 20th through 26th in Romania and Hungary, offering a markedly different venue for an event that would otherwise be held in the arid landscape of the Sahara.

The Central Europe Rally will cover some 3,000 kilometers over the course of six days, with around half of the competitions taking place on special stages. While the title is different, all the big name teams from Dakar will be in attendance, including BMW, KTM, Mitsubishi, Schlesser and Volkswagen.

This first event also stands as the inaugural race of the "Dakar Series," which was supposed start in 2009, but will now begin a year ahead of schedule. The new series seeks to bring the excitement and media attention of the Dakar Rally to a number of other events spread across the globe and has been in the works for the last several years. Here's to the A.S.O. for turning lemons into Margaritas. The full press release is after the jump.

[Source: Amaury Sport Organization via WCF]

The head of Chilean Tourism, Oscar Santelices, has offered up his homeland as a possible venue for the recently cancelled Dakar Rally. The grueling event, which was recently cancelled due to terrorist threats, might be rescheduled in a different location sometime in February and Chile is now in the running with Australia, China and Russia.

If the event would take place in Chile, parts of the race would be held through the northern Atacama Desert, apparently the world's driest arid landsacape, and the local for the annual Patagonia-Atacama rally. We're sure that Santelices offer is more than just a goodwill gesture, considering the amount of revenue the event could provide, however, he made it clear to local media that no financial support would be offered from the government.

Thanks to all that tipped in!

[Source: ESPN]

Since 1979, the Dakar Rally has never been canceled. Individual stages have been eliminated, but never the entire rally. This year is marks the end of the run: Dakar organizer ASO have decided to cancel the race in light of terrorist threats from Mauritania. The rally was to run from Lisbon, Portugal to Dakar, Senegal from January 5-20.

Mauritania was formerly a French colony, and the ASO (Amaury Sport Organization, the same folks who put on the Tour de France) is a French organization. It appears that anything French is a target for the time being: on December 28, 2007, four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania by "a branch of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb," and threats have also been made directly against the race.

Eight of the race's fifteen stages were to take place in Mauritania. After being advised not to hold the race by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ASO felt it had no choice but to cancel this year's edition. It's regrettable, and a sad day for motorsport, but it had to be done. Follow the jump to read the full press release.

Thanks for the tip, Young!

[Source: BBC]

Mitsubishi has announced that its new Delica D:5 minivan will serve as a support vehicle for the automaker's factory Dakar effort, which will feature another new product, the restyled 2-door Pajero, in the starring role. The stylish new Delica -- a Japan-only model, unfortunately -- was revealed by Mitsubishi at the end of last month. The consumer version receives power from its 2.4-liter engine, channeled through an AWD system. The Delica's role in the Dakar rally will undoubtedly help the people mover bolster its modest soft-roading pretensions with its home-market customers.

The actual Dakar Delica will be suitably modified to handle the 8,000 KM trek. Naturally, safety equipment such as a roll cage and proper bucket seats will be fitted, and the van's mechanicals will be fortified to survive the punishment it's likely to face as it bounces across the desert. The standard suspension will be reinforced and see rally-spec shocks and springs added. The same goes for the wheels and tires, obviously, and the van's fuel tank will get added capacity to help minimize the risk of running out of fuel during the rally's extensive driving days.

We're looking forward to seeing how the D:5 looks in full racing livery, a preview of which you see above. If Mitsubishi's confident it can complete the event, that's enough for us. They've been at this for a while now, so they know what they're doing and how to prepare a vehicle for the event.

[Source: Carview]