Sport

Petrobras Lubrax Team members comment the cancellation of the 2008 Dakar Rally

A day before the world’s biggest off-road event, the Dakar Rally, was scheduled to begin, drivers and teams were surprised by the announcement that the competition had been cancelled. In its 30th edition, this had never happened before in the Dakar’s history. All of the Brazilian Petrobras Lubrax Team members were already in Lisbon getting ready to compete in all categories: bike, car, and truck.

According to Étienne Lavigne, the Dakar Rally’s director, for security reasons, the Government of France recommended the rally’s caravan not cross Mauritania, a country that would host eight of the competition’s 15 stages. According to the director, this time the terrorist threats were made directly against the competition.

"We were very sad to hear the news, particularly when we saw how disappointed the rookies were. But we know this was the right decision to make, as it is not worth it to take unnecessary risks. In my 20 participations in the Dakar, I have experienced tough moments in the middle of the desert. One of them, in 1991, was the death of a truck driver, victim of machine gun shots in Mali, a country located next to Mauritania. We, competitors, consider accidents in the competition itself as a given, but not something external to it, such as terrorism," explained André Azevedo, a Petrobras Lubrax Team truck driver who would be participating in the event for the 21st time.

Rodolpho Mattheis, who was going to debut in the Bike category, had to postpone his dream of participating in the rally. “I’m very sad. It is very disappointing to have the Dakar cancelled when I was just about to debut in it. But I now have to keep the future in mind and think about the Brazilian Championship stages," he said. Jean Azevedo, who competes in the same category and was going to participate in the Dakar for the 10th time, was also saddened by the news, although he agrees with the Dakar organizers’ decision. “I prepared for the event all year long and, as a rider, I’m very frustrated. On the other hand, I know safety is essential for the rally to progress well, and we must have that guarantee,” he concluded.

Another Dakar Rally rookie, João Franciosi, talked about the event’s cancellation. "It is disappointing. Our car (Mitsubishi Pajero Full) was good, and I was perfectly in tune with my navigator, Lourival Roldan. To get the news a day before the rally was scheduled to start was devastating," he said.

After the death of four French tourists on December 24 in Aleg, a town located 250 km Southeast of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, the French authorities were concerned about the Dakar Rally’s security. According to the event’s announcement, “considering the current international political tension condition, the murder of four French tourists last December 24, attributed to a branch of the Al-Qaida, in the Islamic Mahgreb, and, above all, the direct threats terrorist organizations made against the rally, the A.S.O. (Amaury Sports Organization, which organized the rally) could make no decision other than to annul the event."

In spite of the announcement, the Dakar’s organizers said the annulment of this edition of the rally will not hinder its future. "The Dakar is a symbol. Nothing can destroy symbols."