Check out the new features on our Forum!

Dakar Rally Kicks Off Saturday

VOA Sports
January 5, 2007

The 29th edition of the Dakar Rally starts Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal, with Mitsubishi and Volkswagen set to battle in the car division while KTM is expected to dominate the motorcycles.

This year's Rally covers 7,915 kilometers in Europe and Africa. Mitsubishi has won the title six years in a row. Frenchman Luc Alphand, a 41-year-old former downhill ski racer, is the Japanese team's lead driver.

However, Volkswagen has entered a prototype car with former world rally champion Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ari Vatanen of Finland and last year's runner-up of Giniel de Villiers of South Africa as drivers. Spain's Marc Coma will defend his title in the motorcycle division on a KTM.

This year a record 525 teams representing 42 nations are entered. The first stage features a 464-kilometer ride from Lisbon to Portimao in Portugal with 117 kilometers a special stage. The event moves from Portugal to Spain Sunday and will start its first African stage in Morocco Monday. The rally ends in Dakar, Senegal, January 21.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP.

---

Any trademarks or service marks appearing here in nominative use are property of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with or in any way endorse The Crittenden Automotive Library.

Most of the collectibles lists on the site (including model kits, die cast cars and cards), due to the enormous volume of information available, are not complete listings of all available collectibles.  The driver Win Lists usually consist of major event wins, and include minor events only when the information is available.

To notify the staff of CarsAndRacingStuff.com/The Crittenden Automotive Library of errors, to contribute information or to ask a question e-mail us.

We're always looking for more sources and material for the Library.  You can promote your automotive-related or photography business by contributing to the Library.  See our Advertising page for more information.

Disclaimer, Liability and Legal Information