Dakar Rally will weather crisis say organisers

Dakar Rally organisers remain optimistic amid a global economic downturn that has raised doubts about competitor turnout in 2010.

"The international context is one of crisis," said Dakar director Etienne Lavigne during the rally's launch on Monday in the Argentine presidential palace. "It's difficult to anticipate what the impact will be on the number of competitors."

While tight credit due to the international financial crisis has already forced Mitsubishi out of the race, Lavigne brushed aside rumors that Volkswagen would follow in the Japanese automaker's footsteps. Volkswagen's Giniel de Villiers of South Africa took victory in the 2009 rally and teammate Mark Miller of the United States finished second.

The event was staged in South America for the first time after the 2008 race was canceled because of fears of terrorist attacks in Mauritania, Africa. The success of the 14-stage rally this year - which crossed the towering Andes separating Argentina and Chile - led organisers to hold the race in South America again, Lavigne said.

"The 2009 event was a real success in the history of the Dakar," he said. "It awoke great passions and emotions. The competitors unanimously expressed their surprise at the landscapes they discovered."

The rally will again start in Buenos Aires on 2 January, crossing over into Chile and then returning to finish in the Argentine capital on the 17th.

Unlike this year's event, the stages will be split between the neighboring countries, meaning more stages in Chile. While the exact route has yet to be decided, organisers said there would be more dunes along the way and less territory covered on the windy steppes of Patagonia.

Lavigne said organisers are still investigating the death of Frenchman Pascal Terry, 49, who was found dead on 7 January, three days after he'd gone missing. An autopsy revealed he died of a pulmonary oedema not associated with his participation on the event.

Despite calling the Dakar "the safest competition in the world," Lavigne acknowledged that "we are worried about the drama we underwent with Pascal and about security."