Dakar 2014 to Pass Through Bolivia

Bolivia will be on the itinerary for the 2014 edition of the Dakar Rally for the first time, albeit just for the motorbikes and quadbikes, organizers announced Wednesday.

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2 months ago

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Sports, Technology

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Pro Sports, Motorcycles

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Etienne Lavigne

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Bolivia

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SHOTLIST DATE: MARCH 20, 2013 LOCATION: PARIS SOURCE: ASO No resale for non-editorial purposes SOUNDBITE 1 Etienne Lavigne, Director, Rallye Dakar (French, 24 sec): "The Dakar race will always be tough, always difficult and here we have the promise of a renewed special track, different specialities, much larger distances, much longer ... so the new itinerary for 2014 will have rocky features and great sand features, dunes and obstacles, in short everything that Dakar participants look for." "Le Dakar ce sera toujours corsé, toujours difficile et c'est vrai que là, c'est la promesse, avec ce parcours de spéciales renouvelées, de spéciales différentes, avec des formats en termes de distances beaucoup plus importants, beaucoup plus long// donc un parcours renouvelé sur cette édition 2014 avec alternance de spéciales caillouteuses et puis les grandes spéciales de sable, de dunes et de franchissement, tout ce que viennent chercher les concurrents du Dakar." - Map of Rallye 2014 - VAR news conference - VAR journalists - Family picture ------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY Auto-moto-rally-Dakar-BOL-ARG-CHI Rallying: Dakar 2014 to pass through Bolivia PARIS, March 20, 2013 (AFP) - Bolivia will be on the itinerary for the 2014 edition of the Dakar Rally for the first time, albeit just for the motorbikes and quadbikes, organisers announced Wednesday. The 2014 Dakar will kick off on January 5 in Rosario, Argentina, and finish in the Chilean city of Valparaiso on January 18. But for the first time, competitors will bivaouac in two different countries as the cars and lorries bypass Bolivia and remain in Argentina and Chile, "for geographical and logisitical reasons", according to organiser Etienne Lavigne. Bolivia becomes the fourth South American country (after Argentina, Chile and Peru) to be included on the Dakar route since the gruelling event was relocated from Africa in 2009. Peru will miss out in 2014. The towns hosting stages will be unveiled to the relevant countries at the start of April, with the definitive course made public in November. fbr/lp13