New Route of Paris-Dakar Rally Unveiled

Topics:  Dakar Rally

VOA Sports
November 11, 2004

Organizers have unveiled the route for this year's Dakar Rally. It's a shorter, but more intense course that starts in Barcelona, Spain December 31.

The race covers 8,956 kilometers in 16 stages, 2,000 kilometers shorter than last year's race. However, the rally has several sand dune crossings in succession, including six stages in Mauritania.

The race starts with a four-kilometer special stage around Barcelona and then heads to Granada before passing into Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, and ending in Senegal January 16.

In the motorcycle section, no rider will wear the number-one jersey out of respect for the late Richard Sainct, a three-time Dakar Rally champion who was killed in September during the Rally of the Pharaohs in Egypt.

Some information for this report provided by AP.