To cancel this Year's Dakar RallyThe A.S.O. – the organising body of the Dakar Rally – announced on the morning of January 4 that this year's event will not go ahead.
After a lengthy dialogue with the French government, and in particular the country's foreign office,
the Dakar Rally organisers decided to cancel the rally on governmental advice. The 2008 event would have started in Lisbon on January 5 and ended in the Senegalese capital on January 20.
Frédéric Henry-Biabaud, BFGOODRICH'S competitions director, commented: « BFGOODRICH is the benchmark tyre manufacturer on the Dakar Rally, equipping more than 80% of competitors in the car section. This year, our tyres obviously won't be out on the stages, but the safety of competitors has to come first. It's obviously deeply regrettable for us along with everybody else that this classic event is not now going ahead. But the A.S.O. has taken this decision on the grounds of safety, so we can only respect it. The organising body retains our full support for future years. We are confident that they will bounce back in order to underline again this event's monumental status on the international motorsport calendar. »
He added: « We feel very sorry for all those people who spent so much time, energy and money in their quest to reach the Lac Rose at Dakar.
In particular we sympathise with all the amateur drivers, whom we hope to see back with us next year. We are determined to accompany them once more on the epic journey to conquer the huge challenge that is the Dakar. »
Press Release BFGoodrich
