'BACK TO AFRICA? THE EAST OR SOUTH, PERHAPS'

+ Click to Enlarge NOT ALL DESERT: The world's highest desert, the Atacama in South America, is not all rocks and sand dunes but also home to beautiful landscapes, crystal lakes, hot springs and snow-capped peaks.

November 25, 2009

Dakar Rally chief Etienne Lavigne won't rule out the possibility of the race returning to Africa but, if it did, it would be in the east or south of the continent - not in the troublesome north-west.

In 2008 the organisers cancelled the event, being raced from Lisbon to Dakar, after the murder of four French citizens and three Mauritanian soldiers only a few days before the start.

Uncertainty about security in the western Sahara prompted organisers to stage the 2009 race exclusively in South America, taking in Argentina and Chile, for what turned out to be a successful and trouble-free edition.

Although the 2010 that will start in January will follow a similar route, a return to Africa in 2011 - where organisers have held talks with officials from the east and southern parts of the continent - has not been ruled out.

"We've worked hard this year in South America but we've also been looking at possibilities in southern Africa and the east of the continent," Lavigne said. "Alternating the race between both continents is something we could realistically consider."

Lavigne, however, was keen to focus his attention on the huge success of the 2009 edition which, according to organisers ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation), attracted 600 000 fans for the start in Buenos Aires.

2010's edition will also start and end in the Argentinian capital but there will be one main addition to the race route - the Atacama desert.

It's a virtually rainless plateau to the west of the Andes mountains on the Pacific coast, and, according to Nasa, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world.

"We skirted the Atacama last year," Lavigne said, "and spent two days there. This time we'll be spending a week going through it."

The 2010 race will run from January 1 - January 16.

The race will cover about 9000km and pass through Chile, cross the Andes mountains and spend seven days in the Atacama desert, the driest desert in the world.

The route for the 32nd Dakar Rally that will start in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 1 2010 and end there on January 16 (total distances/specials in brackets will be…

January 1: Buenos Aires-Colon (317km).
January 2: Colon-Cordoba (652km/219km special for motorbikes, 684km/251km special for cars).
January 3: Cordoba-La Rioja (626km/294km special for motorbikes, 687km/355km special for cars).
January 4: La Rioja-Fiambala (441km/182km special).
January 5: Fiambala-Copiapo (629km/203km special).
January 6: Copiapo-Antofagasta (670km/483km special).
January 7: Antofagasta-Iquique (598km/418km special).
January 8: Iquique-Antofagasta (641km/600km special).
January 9: Rest day.
January 10: Antofagasta-Copiapo (568km/472km special).
January 11: Copiapo-La Serena (547km/338km special).
January 12: La Serena-Santiago (586km/238km special).
January 13: Santiago-San Juan (434km/220km special).
January 14: San Juan-San Rafael (796km/476km special).
January 15: San Rafael-Santa Rosa (725km/368km special).
January 16: Santa Rosa-Buenos Aires (707km/206km special). - Reuters