SPORTING ASPECTS
The orientation given to the Dakar by changes made to the regulations over the years corresponds to the wishes of everyone involved in the race. The rally will once again become a grand adventure, this time even closer to its values. It will please its fans, which delight in the unpredictable flurry of events, and competitors, especially amateurs, who can demonstrate their skills. The emphasis placed on navigation will help balance the odds for professional and amateur drivers.
Equity
Noting an increase in the number of competitors registered, specific classifications will be published for quads, as well as for motorcycles with an engine size of less than 450 cm³.
Two stages without assistance vehicles are scheduled. As only mutual assistance between competitors is accepted, the difference in resources between professionals and amateurs is thus reduced.
Enhancing the amateur competition. For the 2008 rally, the “motorcycle pannier” challenge, which involves all motorcyclists competing without assistance, will be considerable upgraded. In partnership with Elf, an award of 15,000 Euros will be given to the best riders at the end of the rally.
Two stages will involve dual routes, with one itinerary especially for motorcyclists and another for cars and trucks. With a common start and finish, this will restrict the amount of overtaking in certain areas with narrow roads. It is also an opportunity to offer motorcyclists more difficult and more technical routes.
As the Foum Zguid bivouac experiment was conclusive, two bivouacs reserved for motorcyclists will be erected on a Moroccan and a Mauritanian stage. There, motorcyclists will be located in a work area where only competitors can work on their machines. This will also reduce linking mileage by nearly 300 km for motorcyclists.
This year the Dakar is reviving an old tradition, with the finish in the Senegalese capital on Sunday, the last day of the rally. The Saint-Louis to route has not been used since the 1999 rally.
The rules applicable to trucks, significantly modified by the FIA this year, have led to a split into two groups, according to the model used in the car category. Thus, advanced vehicles will be registered as “Super Production”, while trucks which have not been modified in relation to the production line model will be registered as “Production”.
New talent
Dakar Enduro Challenge FFM – In 2006, a contest was held in conjunction with the French Enduro Championship in which the winner was exempted from his 2007 Dakar registration fees. Fabien Planet won, and lived up to expectations by finishing the Dakar rally in 12th place. Therefore competition will be held again for the 2008 rally. It will be open to all drivers participating in all legs of the French Enduro Championship and who have never signed up for Dakar rally or a World Championship rally.
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