The annual Dakar Rally was canceled Friday on the eve of the race because of terror threats and the recent slaying of a French family in Mauritania blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants. It was the first time in the 30-year history of the automobile, motorcycle and truck race across the Sahara Desert that it has been called off. In a statement, organizers blamed international tensions, the tourists' Dec. 24 murders and "threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organizations."
"No other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken," they said. France, where the race organizers are based, had urged the rally to avoid Mauritania after the slaying of the four family members in an attack blamed on a terror cell that uses the Mauritanian desert as a hideout. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner "hailed the organizers' courage and wisdom" in calling off the rally, said a spokeswoman for his ministry, Pascale Andreani. The race, organized by the France-based Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), had been due to start in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday and finish in Dakar, Senegal, on Jan. 20. Eight of the stages had been set to take place in Mauritania. Some 550 car, truck and motorcycle drivers were expected for the 5,760-mile trek. The race's central appeal -- its course through African deserts, scrubland and savannas -- is also a weak point for security, making it difficult to protect thousands of people as they traverse such remote regions.(
AP/ESPN.com/
Dakar.com/
Robbygordon.com), Sprint Cup driver,
#7-Robby Gordon had been scheduled to run the race, unknown if he will test at Daytona in the Sprint Cup test, Brendan Gaughan was to sub for Gordon.(1-4-2008)