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off-road
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racing news
Dakar Rally Rescheduled to Central Europe, Next Year in South America!
After the 2008 Dakar Rally was canceled in January due to security threats, everyone wondered if and when it would return. A few days ago, this years' race was confirmed to run from April 20 to 26 in sections of Central Europe. The 3000-kilometer race will start in Budapest, head east the Romanian city of Sovata, then head back to Hungary and finish in the town of Balatonfured. That is news on its own, but the bigger more interesting news is the 2009 Rally. More » -
racing news
Chile Offers To Host 2008 Dakar Rally, So Long As They Race Latitudinally
If you were all bummed about Al Qaeda forcing the cancelation of the Dakar Rally, have no fear. Chile is here! The South American country has offered up their exceptionally long country for the marathon race. Chile is pointing out it has the required safety, infrastructure and geography to hold such an event (and earthquakes, which should add yet another fun twist to the event). Argentina and some Central European countries have also indicated they were interested in hosting the 30th anniversary race. Arica to Lebu anyone? Prague to Sofia? [AFP via Google] -
racing news
2008 Dakar Rally Canceled
We were eagerly anticipating Saturday's start to the running of the 2008 Dakar Rally. Unfortunately, the fifteen day, 9,723 kilometer race has been canceled due to concerns of terrorist sabotage. Multiple sources are reporting that local tensions resulting from the December murders of four French tourists in Mauritania and threats from North African terror organizations have pushed the risks beyond reasonable. More » -
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beyond bruce
Porsche 959 at the 1986 Paris Dakar
We have but two things to say. Number one, our new goal in life is to hammer on a 959. And we mean it – literally hammer. Number two, this video could have been several hundred minutes longer. All hail the 959. Make the jump to hear some nice engine noise. More » -
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they could've won the russo-japanese war!
KAMAZkaze! Tatar Hoon Trucks Galore!
Dakar rally trucks never cease to amaze us. Neither do vehicles from the former Soviet Bloc. In that spirit, we present to you footage that involuntarily made us giggle. Seeing a beefcake brick drift a dirt-road corner like that indicates the driver's testes must sport an atomic number somewhere in the transuranic range. That said, given the rigors of Dakar, we're not entirely sure their half-life is exactly within the realm of accurate prediction. Oh, and avoid the soundtrack of this vid. Pick a song of your choice with a high BPM quotient, mute the clip and enjoy. We recommend Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown. Or something by Boyzone. Anything but this. More » -
car hack's notebook
Car Hack's Notebook: The Dakar
Last month, St phane Peterhansel, Cyril Despres and Hans Stacey cemented their status as legends with victory in arguably the scariest, most hardcore event in the world, and yet their wins on an event simply known as The Dakar barely registered a blip on the news. When a ChampCar driver next complains about a bump in mid-corner, he might want to consider being shot at by Algerian rebels intent on theft and kidnap, lions waiting in the pit lane or even cresting a hill to find the shifting road surface has left a 40-foot drop on the other side. These men are heroes. More »
1:00 PM on Tue Feb 13 2007
By Mike Spinelli
401 views, 4 commentsLatest by Turboner: Dakar, hell, I will just be happy when/if I can do the Alcan winter rally... more »
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daf
Double-Rad DAF TurboTwin X1 Video!
We're rue to post this clip as the weirdo editing almost makes it a snuff film, but the mind-boggling majestic-ness of the 2,400hp twin-engined DAF over-taking a Peugeot 205 in open-desert trumps all niggling concerns. Seriously, imagine you are an eleven-year-old Bedouin girl tending to the camels when suddenly one of these massive motherfuckers jumps the dune, belching black smoke. I mean... totally fricking amazing. Watch with respect. Apologies in advance for the crap 80s soundtrack. [Thanks to pollux111 for the tip] More » -
rallying
The Angst of Dakar
Watching this clip, replete with melodramatic Ibanez-woodla-ballad guitar, one might get the impression that it's amateur hour out at the Imperial Dunes in eastern SoCal. But it's not. These riders are some of the best in the world, and they were out in the African desert a year ago during stage eight of the Dakar Rally. If this doesn't illustrate how tough the conditions can be out there, nothing will. And again, we apologize for the six-string wankery. We had no control over that aspect of the clip. More » -
news: racing
Fiat Panda Off to Dakar
We dig minicars. We also dig Italian cars. And we dig the Dakar Rally very much. Fiat, knowing this, has decided to enter two 4x4 Pandas in the Dakar Rally. They turned the diminutive hatch into a panel van, filled it full of goodies helpful for survival in the desert, and left the 105-horse 1.3L turbodiesel alone. We're interested to see how it fares. The understressed motor should be reliable in the desert, but raw speed won't exactly be the car's forte. An interesting entry in a race chock full of interesting entries. More »
