X-Country - Dakar 2006 route released
Nov-23 2005 / 17:08 EST | posted by Peter Steinman

This morning, the organisers of the Euromilhoes Dakar unveiled the route of the 28th edition of the race, which will take place from the 31st of December to the 15th of January next. The rally, with entries completely full since the month of July in all categories, will set off for the first time from Portugal, with 508 teams in the race. To be precise, 240 motorbikes, 188 cars and 80 trucks, along with 240 assistance vehicles, will be in Lisbon from the 28th of December for scrutineering and the start of the race.

After two new style specials on European soil, as competitors will be timed over approximately 200 kilometres, the caravan will arrive in Africa where it will cross Morocco, Mauritania (rest day in Nouakchott), Mali, Guinea and Senegal, the ultimate finish of the race being judged on the banks of Lac Rose. During this long trip, a total of 9043 km including almost 5000 km of special, the emphasis is on a return to navigating, the founding principle of rally raids. GPS functions are deliberately reduced, obliging drivers and co-drivers to navigate exclusively according to information given in the road-book. Moreover, several measures, such as fixing a speed limit (160 km/h) and reducing autonomy for bikes, have been adopted with a view to improving safety conditions for competitors and local populations.

The titleholders, Cyril Despres in the bike category, Stéphane Peterhansel in the car category and Firdaus Kabirov in the truck category, will all be faced with tough competition. For Despres (KTM) this will essentially be in the form of Spanish riders, with Marc Coma, Isidre Esteve Pujol and the young Jordi Duran all riding the same machine as him. But David Frétigné, on his « little Yamaha » could also be a potential threat. In the car category, « Peter » will already have a serious rival within the Mitsubishi team, in the form of Luc Alphand. In the opposing Volkswagen team, the new Touareg should add impetus to events, just like the top-flight profiles of the competitors in the five vehicles entered: Jutta Kleinschmidt, Bruno Saby, Giniel De Villiers, Mark Miller and in particular the newcomer to the rally, Carlos Sainz. The former winners, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Hiroshi Masuoka, Kenjiro Shinozuka and Hubert Auriol, could also play a major role. In the truck category, Kamaz, who have dominated the competition with Tchaguine and Kabirov since 2002, will fight off counter-attacks from DAF, Tatra, Hino and Mercedes.