In past years there were safety concerns for the drivers/riders and spectators alike, but never enough to actually cancel the whole race. This really sucks as I'm a fan of this rally. NPR had a pretty lengthy story on this topic this evening, but it's not on their Web site yet. I'll try to find it later on tonight.
(FIFA) Women's World Cup 2003 was out of China due to SARS-related scare. and while not as big as either Dakar or the WWC, the 2003 IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship that was to be held in Beijing was cancelled completely, also due to SARS.
I am absolutely gutted about this. I have three racing highlights in my year. The Le Mans 24hr race, the Nurburgring 24hr race, and the Dakar. I wouldn't be surprised if the threats against the race story is bogus. (Yes I heard it said at the press conference.) Just an attempt to try and save face. I mean honestly, this isn't a circuit race. It's a trek through the desert. To get into the bivouac you have to have the right credentials. I'd dearly love to know exactly how "terrorists" would attack the rally when on the stages, a bomb, if even such a thing was tried (which I HIGHLY doubt it would) would be utterly pointless. I guarantee competitors are at more risk from the bloody sand dunes than the boogeyman from Al Quaeda (or however the fuck it's being spelt/pronounced this week). Everyone always said that with terrorism (before it became such a comedy catch all word for bloody everything) that the best way to fight it was too carry on as normal. Don't let them effect daily life. Standing up to terrorism by canceling a globally renowned sporting event? Yeah, that makes sense. There's been stages cancelled before for security reasons, but the entire event? What a joke.:(
