The World's Largest Trans-Saharan Rally Is To Start This Saturday From Budapest

The grueling, two week endurance rally from Budapest to Bamako will take its 630 participants across two continents and eight countries. Participants will race across some of the world's most politically volatile countries amid tight security to bring humanitarian aid. 

  The region has always been politically very volatile. We try to do everything possible to ensure safety. However we continually ask all participants to carefully evaluate the risks of their participation. 

Budapest, Hungary (PRWEB) January 15, 2009 -- The 630 participants of the Budapest-Bamako, trans-Saharan rally will set out on their grueling two week journey from the Hungarian capital this Saturday morning at nine o'clock. After the withdrawal of the Dakar Rally from Africa, the Budapest-Bamako is now the largest off-road, endurance race in the region covering two continents, eight countries and nearly 10,000 kilometers. 

Budapest is the backdrop to the start of the rally

Teams have to complete the route from the heart of Europe to West Africa, driving on harsh desert terrain in the Sahara and several difficult stages in the African bush. "This will be our most difficult rally to date," said Andrew G. Szabo the founder of the event. 

Amid tight security a record number of 212 cars, 31 motorcycles, 6 trucks and 3 buses are to take place in the long distance race. Participants will go through Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali before arriving in Bamako. 

This year's event is off to a tense start due to security concerns in Mauritania and Mali. The 2008 Dakar was cancelled because of terror threats. The recent Mauritanian coup d'etat and the prolonged touareg uprising in Mali are both strong causes for concern. The renewed fighting between the rebels and government forces left three people dead this week north of Bamako. 

The Budapest-Bamako will spend more than a week in the troubled West African countries. "The region has always been politically very volatile. We try to do everything possible to ensure safety. However we continually ask all participants to carefully evaluate the risks of their participation," added Mr. Szabo. The Mauritanian government ensured organizers of the Budapest-Bamako to provide several thousand armed men and tactical vehicles along the rally route. The rally is a strong source of revenue for the Saharan country. It accounts for more than 5% of the annual tourist traffic in Mauritania. The security forces will strengthen their presence in Mali as well in light of the recent events. 

The Budapest-Bamako is a zero assistance, extreme endurance rally where teams have to rely on their own resources in case of emergencies. The event was created four years ago for those who have always dreamt of joining more prestigious desert races but never had the proper funding. In recent years it's been billed as a "low-budget Dakar" or the "poor man's Dakar". 

There's a racing and touring category. In racing, teams have to finish daily stages on time and complete orienteering challenges along the way to earn points. The race is not held on closed roads and is not a timed rally. The emphasis is on endurance and navigation. In touring category drivers have to complete 16 stages to reach Bamako on some of the world's most inhospitable terrain. 

The field of competitors features three-time winner and defending champion, Juraj and Daniela Ulrich, a husband-wife duo from the Slovak Republic. This year, veteran Dakar driver Mila Janacek from the Czech Republic will attempt to dethrone the Slovak couple as captain of the Hummer Racing Team. There are crews from 45 different countries, some from as far as Iran, New Zealand or South Africa. 

In addition to the well prepared off-road cars, there will be some Eastern European automotive relics, a Norwegian Citroen-DS, a Mini Morris, the organizer's 40 year old Peugeot 504, a 1961 Hungarian fire engine, a vintage Polish ambulance, a rare Austin Montego and a Volkswagen Passat, which can be powered by bicycle pedals if the engine fails. In recent years an ice cream truck, a 3 wheeled Velorex, and an Ikarus articulated bus enrolled in the event too. 

The Budapest-Bamako is also a unique exercise in direct charitable giving.Teams are bringing 700,000Euros worth of direct aid to the world's 4th and 5th poorest nation. Miss Hungary 2005 who is completing the course on a KTM motorcycle will deliver many of those gifts to impoverished villages, clinics and rural schools. 

The Dutch all-woman team of Nynke Doorenbos és Amarja Niehof has already shipped 230 bicycles to Women On Bikes, an NGO that helps women in Mali learn to ride bicycles. The bikes and other donations will be given out in Bamako on February 1. 

Quick facts at a glance:

Start: January 17, 2009 8:45AM. Heroes's Square, Budapest, Hungary

Finish: January 31, 2009: 11:00AM Mobido Keita Memorial, Bamako, Mali

Distance:5468 miles (8896kms)

Number of teams: 252

Cheapest vehicle: 272Euro ($380) Austin Montego

Avarage daily distance: 347miles (556km)

Youngest participant: 17 years old

Oldest participant: 74 years old

Stages of the rally in racing category:

 

Jan 18, Brescia, Italy-851km

Jan 20, Merzouga, Morocco via Montpellier, Barcelona, Alicante, Murcia, Almeria, Nador, 2740km

Jan 22, Foum Zgid, Morocco 410km

Jan 23, Assa, Morocco 450km

Jan 24, Smara, Western Sahara 437km

Jan 25, Bou Lanoar, Mauritania 370km

Jan 26, Atar, Mauritania 480km

Jan 27, Tidjikja, Mauritania 430km

Jan 28, Kiffa, Mauritania 420km

Jan 29, Korera Kore, Mali 320km

Jan 30, Banamba 375km

Jan 31, Bamako 250km

 

For further information:

http://www.BudapestBamako.org

Like in the Dakar

When racing the Dakar Rally you never know what route you will be taking the next day, you may have an idea, but just a slight one. In our daily lives we wake up in the morning and start our normal activities. We then leave home to work or travel, etc, but we don’t know what comes next, what we will be experiencing that day or the following, like in the Dakar. In the Dakar Rally, the drivers have just a slim idea of the terrain they will be traversing but cannot know in advance what kind of obstacles lie ahead and how difficult things may get. They must be fast but careful, be wise and persevere when difficulties abound; they may have to stop and repair their vehicles, but also not give in, and seek help from the other participants if they want to keep going. Crews are given a road-book everyday, with indications of the windings of the road, obstacles, timings, GPS, etc. All that is a like a map to follow, but the map is not the territory, so they must be extremely careful and intelligent to be able to reach the chequered flag that day, the next and the following… Similarly, we plan our lives in a certain way, but the roads we take go twisting that aim constantly. We sometimes encounter huge ‘dunes’ to overtake, some seem insurmountable, but with patience and dedication, intelligence and heart we can always circumvent or climb them altogether, like in the Dakar. Our road-book is ready for us every single day, but we must be willing to ‘see’ it (“Those who have eyes to see…”), read it and follow it. But beware, simply following our road-book is not like being on auto-pilot; we must use eyes, ears, intuition, wisdom, body, heart and soul to follow it. We must root ourselves in the terrain itself, be part but not attached to it, feel it, enjoy it, listen to its heartbeats, like in the Dakar. In that way we will be guided to the finish line unscathed, otherwise we shall suffer all sorts of difficulties, penuries, defeats, deceptions. However, by starting all over, repairing, learning from our experiences, incorporating, ingraining them in our souls not to make the same mistakes again, we can overcome them, like in the Dakar. With resolution and control of our desires and senses we will be driving our own life through the deserts, the mud lands, the forests, the mountains; we will cross the rivers and oceans, entire continents, and even jump into space. But nothing of this is possible if our drive is selfish. It will only take us ever so far from the chequered flag, unless we are prepared to help and lend a loving hand to all those who are alongside us, maybe suffering the same difficulties or worse. Only with camaraderie, solidarity and love, shall we reach our destination, the real one, like in the Dakar. We may have to postpone our victory that day, but we will taste the real triumph. In the end, we may not win the Dakar, but we will certainly win ‘our own Dakar.’ (by Marcos, a friend of mine)

Dakar 2009 - Volkswagen by the numbers

9 days until the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile

Number games: with 182 litres of water 9,578 km through

Wolfsburg (25 December 2008). 530 teams from 49 nations set off for new pastures on 3 January. This is not just figuratively but quite literally as the first Dakar Rally in South America runs not only to the Atlantic but also to the Pacific Ocean. The competitors in cars, motorbikes, quads or trucks conquer completely new terrain along the 9,500 kilometre route through Argentina and Chile. There are a huge amount of interesting facts regarding the first running of the cross country classic far away from Africa about the Volkswagen team and the four Race Touaregs for Carlos Sainz/Michel Perin (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D), Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) and Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D).

For example, did you know that ...

... the driver and co-driver have 13 litres of water each day on board the Race Touareg and the drinking supply can even be activated at the press of a button?

... fluid is hugely important? It is summer in South America and therefore hot. Furthermore, the Atacama Desert to be crossed has 100 times less moisture than the notorious Death Valley.

... just the special stages at a combined length of 5,656 kilometres easily exceed the distance covered during an entire Formula 1 season? The longest stage covers 837 kilometres, including liaison stages the 2009 "Dakar" ends after 9,578 kilometres.

... the loading list for one Service Truck belonging to the Volkswagen teams comprises of 60 DIN A4 pages?

... on every Service Truck a tool box with 27 sets of pliers, 58 spanners and 48 screwdrivers is transported? In addition, in a personal case every mechanic carries just the tools that are absolutely necessary for his work on the Race Touareg 2.

... Volkswagen Motorsport sends a total of 23 vehicle and 80 team members to South America?

... the Volkswagen Race Touareg is already a race winner? Since its debut in 2004 it has taken nine wins, 29 podium finishes, 79 stage victories and spent 70 days in the lead in 29 starts.

... the carbon bodywork of a Race Touareg only weighs 50 kilograms? Even more impressive is the weight of the spare parts that Volkswagen carries for all for cars: 50 tons.

... the participants will be confronted with temperature differences of up to 40 degrees Celsius and altitude differences of 4,700 metres?

... the rally armada crosses eleven Argentinean and three Chilean provinces on its way through South America?

-credit: volkswagen

Mitsubishi aims for eight Dakars in a row

GIVING JAPANESE FANS SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT


READY FOR ANYTHING: A "formal" team portrait of the works Mitsubishi entries for the 2009 'Dakar' rally.

December 29, 2008

Mitsubishi aims to lift the recent gloom which has enveloped Japan's motorsport industry by winning an eighth consecutive "Dakar" rally in January 2009.

The gruelling two-week race will start on January 3 in the relative stability of Argentina and Chile rather than in north Africa after the 2008 Dakar was cancelled because of security fears after the murders of four French tourists in Mauritania.

It was the first cancellation in the 30-year history of the race.

Mitsubishi won the previous seven Dakar rallies; French driver Stephane Peterhansel won in 2004, 2005 and 2007 with compatriot and former skiing ace Luc Alphand taking the 2006 titleDrivers and navigators underwent tough, physical fitness tests.

Japan's Hiroshi Masuoka won in 2002 and 2003 and will return for the 2009 race Spain's Joan Roma, a former winner in the motorcycle category, making up Mitsubishi's four-car assault.

All four drivers and their navigators underwent a series of tough, physical fitness tests in France before flying out to Buenos Aires where the race will start on January 3.

Masuoka said: "We have a new place for the 'Dakar', a new world, with a new engine and a new car. This will be my 21st Dakar Rally and I'll be hoping for my third win.

CHALLENGE FROM VW

There will be added interest in Mitsubishi's campaign in South America after the global financial crisis dealt a series of body blows to motorsport in Japan with Honda quitting Formula 1 and Subaru and Suzuki pulling out of the World Rally championship.

Mitsubishi's main challenge will come from Volkswagen whose four-car bid will be led by former World rally champion Carlos Sainz, who's no stranger to South America – he won the Rally of Argentina in 1992, 2002 and 2004.

South Africa's Giniel de Villiers, Germany's Dieter Depping and Mark Miller of the United States make up the VW team. – AFP

Mitsubishi Racing LANCER

Dakar 2009 - Francisco Otaño: «I will get a tattoo of my race number»

The dream of his life. Francisco admits he has been waiting 20 years to participate on the Dakar. He knew that one day or another he’d be able to do it. «It is so important to me, I will get a tattoo of my race number and I don’t have any tattoos. » Francisco, ‘Patxi’ to his followers, has been making motor racing news in Argentina for 30 years. On a motorcycle or in a car, he has raced everywhere in the country. He has won the Patagonia-Atacama in two different categories. Coming from a motor racing family, he will also be racing in this Dakar for his father. «He is 88 and has suffered from cancer for the past three years. He told me no matter what happens, don’t change your ideas or stop chasing your dream. So, for me it is like I have a mission on this Dakar. » Used to running up front in other races, Francisco Otaño, admits he wants to have a strong result on the 31st Dakar. «We want to put in a credible race, » says Francisco. «We want to do better than just finish. » Having already gotten the better of the Mitsubishis and Volkswagens in Argentina, ’Patxi’ says he too wants to be one of the front runners in the rally. «I know we will do something on the La Serena and Copiapo stages. » Co-driver, Leonardo Monti confirms he would like a top 20 finish but has another preoccupation. « It is the start of a new adventure. We will race with the first example of a new prototype that we are developing. This is the beginning of a 15-year project. Patxi Otaño has number 411. »

Dakar 2009 - Cristian Romero: “I feel confident”

In 1998 he wore the 118 bib on his back. Cristian Romero was at the time the first Argentinian to live the Dakar adventure on a bike. The attempt stopped in Mauritania, close to Atar after nine stages. The Buenos Aires native then failed to find the time to take on the Dakar again. Competition indeed isn’t his cup of tea: “I don’t compete in races anymore. On the other hand I often take off on tracks with a bunch of friends in Argentina or Chile. During four or five days we travel through the regions where the rally will go”. After being a good rugby second row player at CASI, one of the San Isidro clubs where his friend Agustin Pichot started, Cristian Romero switched to bike motorsports and worked on his technique: “My body forces me to be in shape and on a bike I don’t have strong assets. On the other hand I’m an all-rounder”. He was also helped out and given advice by biking references like Cris Hayden, Franco Picco, and his 11 appearances on the Dakar, or Kenny Roberts in his biking school of Barcelona. Used to riding a 990 KTM during his journeys with his friends, he will however go for a 690 on the Dakar that he just hopes to finish: “I feel confident at the idea of competing on the terrain here. I know that the Dakar has nothing to do with the other rallies that I have competed in but I know that I can make it to the finish”.

Volkswagen tests its Race Touaregs for the upcoming Dakar

The Volkswagen team is preparing for the upcoming Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile at the beginning of January with further tests.

 From 18 to 26 October suspension set-ups and long runs of the Race Touareg 2 around Erfoud, Morocco, are on the agenda.

 The tests are run with two of the 280-hp "Dakar" prototypes and the driver pairings Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA).

A new continent, the same challenge: on 03 January 2009 – after 29 rounds in Africa – the legendary Dakar Rally 2009 will start in South America for the first time in its history.

 Among the vehicles moving across the starting ramp in Buenos Aires will be four Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 cars. The countdown for the desert classic has long begun. It will cover 15 legs through Argentina and Chile from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back, crossing landscapes that make extreme demands on man and material. The Volkswagen team is tackling the hot phase before the start to this new era backed by the self-confidence of successfully completed rallies and the awareness of facing a big task.

 The preparations of the four-factory fielded Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 vehicles for Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (RSA/D), Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/RSA) and Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D) as well as logistics planning are in full swing. By 15 November the parts and equipment will be loaded on the service trucks, on 26 and 27 November the technical scrutineering of the support vehicles and subsequent shipping to South America is scheduled to take place in Le Havre (F).

 "Already now the whole team is looking forward to the event with incredibly eager anticipation. The Dakar Rally’s debut in South America is one of the greatest challenges Volkswagen Motorsport has tackled so far,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "With two victories and a second place at three events, the Race Touareg 2 has been one of the most successful cars in 2008. At the ‘Dakar’ we will give everything to add an important win to this tally. Everyone in the team knows that we’re strong enough to achieve this goal. But we also know that in sport – and particularly at the Dakar Rally – there are no guarantees, that we need to work with concentration and without compromise and that we’ve got strong rivals to beat."

 New challenges every day: 9,000 km through Argentina and Chile

 The 2009 "Dakar” offers new challenges galore. For the first time, the rally will be staged in South America. In a loop of roughly 9,000 kilometres, 6,000 of which are special stages, the route will lead from the start and finish in Buenos Aires through Argentina and Chile. Not only for the drivers and co-drivers this is truly new territory. Due to the constantly changing landscapes along the route, the technicians and engineers will be put to the test in terms of vehicle set-up and maintenance as well. Maximum demands will be made on the logisticians before and during the "Dakar". The smooth supply with spare parts, the preparation of the support vehicles as well as meals and accommodation for the crew on location have to be organised for the desert classic in advance and during the event. More than 500 teams will tackle this challenge. As in previous years, the starting slots have been booked out for months.

 Landscape of extremes: heat and dryness, cold and altitude 

The "Dakar” principle, "Expect the Unexpected” applies particularly to the four teams. Twice during the rally the crossing of the Andes is on the agenda. Extreme heights of up to 3,250 metres above normal zero during the special stages and up to 4,600 metres during the liaison stages must be mastered. As usual, man and machine are preparing themselves for these strains in their typical, professional manner: the Volkswagen drivers completed an altitude training in the Alps, the 280-hp 2.5-litre TDI diesel engine is subjected to test runs in an environmental chamber simulating the thin air. Aside from the extreme elevation, the teams will be facing a mix of highly varied terrain in the midst of the South American summer. In addition to hard and stony sections at the beginning of the rally, the passage through the Atacama desert is on the agenda – the driest desert of the world with the highest dune fields.

 Good omen: first victory for the Race Touareg in Argentina

 The evolution of the Race Tourareg 2 powered by a 280-hp TDI diesel engine was driven by the dictum of "evolution, not revolution”. Optimisations of rear suspension kinematics and changes to the dampers were made. In addition, the driver’s vision was improved by a flatter bonnet and modified seating positions. The development stages were subjected to extensive testing for durability over thousands of kilometres. During the tests the distance of a Dakar Rally was simulated several times.

 But also in competitive conditions the interaction between technology, team and drivers was extensively tested. During the preparation for the 2009 Dakar Rally the driver/co-driver pairings contested at least two rallies. The cross-country rally year of 2008 marked a successful season for Volkswagen: at the two rounds of the newly incepted Dakar Series Sainz/Périn secured victory in Central Europe and second place in Portugal. De Villiers/von Zitzewitz and Miller/Pitchford celebrated the one-two victory with Volkswagen at the Rallye dos Sertões in Brazil. The Race Touareg is ready to compete in Argentina – and thus is ready for the terrain on which - in 2005 at the Rallye Por las Pampas – it clinched its first ever victory. Altogether, the "Dakar” prototype scored nine wins at 24 events and 29 podium results.

Dakar: Volkswagen drivers undertake high altitude training

Racing series	DAKAR
Date	2008-10-03

92 days until the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile

From the Alps to the Andes: altitude training of the Volkswagen drivers

Wolfsburg. Rally drivers as mountaineers: the Volkswagen squad prepared for the Dakar Rally from 3 to 18 January 2009 with a five-day fitness training camp in the Swiss Alps. For the first time, the motorsport marathon on its route through Argentina and Chile will lead across the huge mountain ranges of the Andes -- at the "Dakar" this represents a new and extreme challenge for man and material, for which the four Race Touareg pairings, Carlos Sainz/Michel Perin (E/F), Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (RSA/D), Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford (USA/RSA) as well as Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D), intensively train. 

"The 2009 Dakar Rally poses an enormous challenge to all participants. There's not much experience to draw on, many things are new. We know that, among other things, the rally will lead across sections at extreme altitudes, for which we prepare as best we can," says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "Our training camp in the Alps offered the drivers and co-drivers the opportunity to adjust to unusual heights while optimising their personal fitness with individual training regimes."

In Arosa, Switzerland, surrounded by peaks with heights of up to 3,000 metres, a diverse and sweat-inducing programme - individually developed and accompanied by physiotherapists and license

Carlos Sainz and Michel Périn

 physical education instructors from the Bad Nauheim Sports Clinic - was on the agenda. "Altitude training offers the athletes several positive effects. For one, a higher, specificcardiovascular stress level is achieved, and thus an increase in performance capacity. For the other, our regime is designed to be gentle on joints and muscles," says MD Johannes Peil, the director of the Bad Nauheim Sports Clinic

At 4000 metres: crossing the Andes with the Race Touareg at the 2009 "Dakar"

Endurance was systematically addressed by running and mountain biking activities beyond the snow line. "The training in the Alps was an important part of our physical preparation for the 'Dakar'. During the rally we'll be driving at altitudes of up to 4,000 metres," says Volkswagen driver Carlos Sainz. "Extreme mountains always pose a big challenge and I'm eager to cross the mighty Andes with the Race Touareg." Climbing the "Hoernli" steep face towering above the roofs of Arosa, led by experienced mountain guides, required utmost concentration of the athletes. "Climbing was a completely new experience. At first, the mountain seems to be insurmountable, but then you accept the challenge anyhow. After reaching the peak, you're rewarded with adrenalin and self-confidence," says Volkswagen co-driver Timo Gottschalk. "This is the motivation with which we'll tackle the 'Dakar' as well."

-credit: vw

KIA Official Team to race Dakar

KIA Motors confirmed its participation in the 2009 Dakar Rally Raid in Argentina and Chile. More than 9,000 km shall be traversed through deserts, sabanas, pampas, mountains, etc, from 3 to 18 January next year.

A new generation motor for the Kia Sorento EX, turbodiesel, shall be used with a variable turbo charger and 200 HP. Team Kia Rally Raid shall have Guillermo y Fernando Arrieta, as driver and co-driver respectively, who have already participated in the Rally Por Las Pampas-Patagonia Atacama 2007.

The team's aim is to test the Kia Sorento EX and demonstrate that it is capable of enduring the Dakar, the toughest race in the world, even at heights of more than 4,000 metres.

5th Gear BMW X5 E53 DAKAR

This is a wonderful video about how a biker needs a support vehicle for the Dakar race. Here a challenge between both bike and it's support.

Rally Raid Dos Sertôes - 2008

The Rally Dos Sertôes took place in Brazil in June 2008, it was like a preview of what will come next in the 2009 all new Dakar Rally-Raid (3 to 18 January) in Argentina and Chile. Here the first part of four: 



Rally Dos Sertôes 2nd part

Rally Dos Sertôes 3rd part

Rally Dos Sertôes 4th and last part

Rally Dos Sertôes summary

Dakar 2009 Rally Raid - Argentina & Chile

The 2009 Dakar Rally Raid will take place on its 30th anniversary in South America, in Argentina and Chile. Here is a preview of the landscapes the competitors will encounter on the new road.

A promotional video of Argentina and Chile