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January 12, 2009 |
The 2009 Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally was traditionally an off-road multi-stage race from Paris to Dakar, Senegal. However, due to fears of terrorist attacks, the Rally was cancelled last year - and this year moved to an entirely different continent, South America. 540 teams started the 2009 Dakar Rally in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 3rd, and, after 9,578 kilometres (5,951 mi) in 14 stages, will return to Buenos Aires on January 17th. Back in France, a small group of die-hard African Rally fans decided to stage their own version of the Dakar, folllowing the traditional route despite any terrorist threat, and have dubbed their version the "Africa Race", and 27 drivers started out from Marseille, France on December 28th. Here are some photographs of the official Dakar Rally (in South America), and a few of its shadow competition, the Africa Race. (30 photos total)

Motorcycle rider Thibault Lormand of France lies on the ground as a car passes him during the first stage of the 2009 Dakar Rally between Buenos Aires and Santa Rosa de la Pampa on January 3, 2009. Lormand fell during the stage and was later evacuated and is now out of the race. (CHRISTOPHE ENA/AFP/Getty Images) #

French rider Pascal Gilbert speaks on a phone in this January 4, 2009 file photo. Gilbert's friend and teammate Pascal Terry was found dead on the route of the Dakar rally, organisers said January 7, 2009. Terry, 49, had been missing since Sunday's second stage, and was discovered to have died from a pulmonary edema. (REUTERS/Stringer/Files) #

Qatar's Saleh Nasser Al Attiyah and co-driver Tina Thorner with BMW driving the 488 kilometres (303 miles) of the fourth stage of the South American edition of the Dakar 2009 from Ingeniero Jacobacci to Neuquen, in the Argentina's Patagonian Villa El Chocon, January 6, 2009. (REUTERS/Yamil Regules) #
More links and information
Dakar Rally - Official site
Africa Race - Official Site
Africa die-hards keep Dakar Rally spirit alive - Reuters 01/09
Dakar 2009 - Wikipedia entry