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This morning (11/5), the Dakar organisers have unveiled the major lines
of the 28th edition that will take place from the 31st of December to
the 15th of January 2006.
After the rally had already started in France and Spain, it will this
time take off from Portugal and its capital Lisbon before heading to
Africa.
The technical and administrative scrutineering will be held
in the
‘White city’ on the 28th, 29th and 30th of December and will be
followed by a first very demanding special.
Once the Mediterranean Sea
crossed, the rally caravan will head to Dakar going through Morocco,
Mauritania, Mali and Guinea (that hasn’t been visited by the Dakar
since 1986) and finally Senegal.
 The course that is currently
being
prepared will be a trademark of the new team built around Etienne
Lavigne, organisation director.
Stéphane Le Bail, in charge of the car race and David Castera,
in
charge of the bike race, will bring their enthusiasm and their
experience of rally-raid to carry on the progression of the Dakar.
The experiences and concerns of the past few years have decided the
organisers to adopt a series of new measures with a goal to improve the
security of the competitors and the populations of the countries
travelled through.
As of 2006, the speed will be forbidden above
150km/h for the bikes and trucks.
For the cars, A.S.O. is studying with
the different federations a possibility to set a maximum speed on all
or some parts of the specials that could prove to have risks linked to
high speeds.
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In addition, the Iritrack
position system for the competitors that was
tested during the 2005 rally will be mandatory for the drivers and
teams in the race as well as on the assistance course.
 Editorial
Preparation for the next edition of the DAKAR is already
underway – and we’re in it heart and soul.
Continuing in the
event’s historic vein, the latest in line will also be open to change
and adaptations, so that this tremendous human adventure
may go on.
It is in this spirit that we have built up a new team. Co-driver and
course-setter of renown in our discipline, Stéphane LE BAIL
will be ready for DAKAR duty, contributing his refined knowledge
of Africa as car race organizer.
3rd in the 1997 DAKAR and
last winner of the “Gilles Lalay Classic”, David CASTERA will be
bringing a fresh approach to the event together with all his
bike-racing experience.
The tone is set. Being attentive to you will be our priority.
This is also one of the missions assigned since last year to
Frédéric LEQUIEN, an invaluable relay in the organization
as
manager of competitor relations.
The 2006 enrolment brochure, in which all the event’s developments
will be set out, will be sent to you at the beginning of
June for the opening of entries.
With enhanced information our
constant concern, and before the announcement of the new
course, this first DAKAR NEWS gives you a glimpse of the new
measures and adaptations which will help you to begin your
preparation.
From the 13th May 2005, discover the main information about
the next course and all new sporting events for 2006 on
www.dakar.com.
Be seeing you soon.
Etienne Lavigne - Dakar Director
Motorcyle Update
With the help and backing of the F.F.M, A.S.O. has proposed a
change in the regulations concerning the +450ccs to the F.I.M.
It
will enable DAKAR 2006 competitors to individually choose their
capacity.
This request will be submitted for approval to the world F.I.M
meeting in June 2005.
Fuel range will change from 350 kms to 250 kms. The advantage
of this reduction is that competitors will no longer be
forced to fit a large tank.
Since machines will be around 20 kgs
lighter, bikes will be all the more manœuvrable.
In addition,
more frequent refuelling halts, where 15-minute breaks will be
respected, will enable longer recovery times.
The satellite monitoring system (IriTrack) and excess speed
warning (Sentinel) will be mandatory, and included in the
vehicle lump sum, for all race competitors in 2006.
More on the DAKAR site !
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