It is back to Dakar
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Alanie Botha
Maybe this will help Toyota to join the action!
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The 2004 Telefonica Dakar marathon rally raid will once again finish in Dakar, Senegal the traditional end of this event. The Dakar will start in France on January 1 and two special sections will be held before the competitors cross to Morocco for the start of the African section.
Telefonica, the Spanish telecommunication company is the naming right sponsor and TOTAL the official partner of the Dakar. The event will comprise of 16 special stages in 2004. The fourteen special stages in Africa will be held in Morocco, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. The finish will be at the famous Lake Rose in Dakar on January 18.
The African section of the event starts in Algericas in Morocco. The first three days on African soil will allow both professional and amateur participants to get to grips with the rally. Professionals will be able to measure their performance against the competition, and amateurs will get to know the terrain and its difficulties.
The Mauritania stage features some genuine hurdles: navigating across the Ergs, many crossings and a succession of long-distance stages with no stopover fraught with obstacles on the stony trails of the Adrar heights.
The rest day will be in Burkina Faso. After the hardships of the desert, participants can enjoy an oasis of peace and greenery in Bobo-dioulasso, the pearl of Burkina Faso.
The final stage of the rally will be structured in the same way, with a series of stages in the Sahel desert, taking the caravan to the plains of Senegal, before finally reaching Dakar and the finishing line.
The 2004 Telefonica-Dakar features longer stages than in 2003, with a great many crossings and lots of navigating; in such a context, endurance will be a key factor, especially for amateurs.
Two marathon stages will once again be part of the event and they will be held without the assistance of service vehicles. At the various rest areas on the marathon stages the competitors will this year be held in parc ferme to prevent any outside assistance.
According to the organisers, ASO, the stages will tend to be longer than in 2003 and navigation will play an important role. Endurance and reliability will be a key factor on the Dakar, especially for the amateurs.
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