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Mitsubishi, VW set to duel in Dakar

French racers Carole Montillet, left, and co-driver Melanie Suchet pose for photographers in front of their Nissan on Friday in Lisbon. The 29th edition of the Dakar Rally was scheduled to depart from Lisbon yesterday and will end in Dakar on Jan. 21. PHOTO: AFP

Mitsubishi and Volkswagen have been hard at work preparing for what is likely to be a close duel in the annual Dakar Rally, which started yesterday.

Mitsubishi has dominated the world's most arduous motor race and secured its sixth consecutive win last year.

France's Luc Alphand, 41, a former ski champion, will be defending his title in a race that starts with two stages in Portugal. The rally covers a different course each year, although this is the second straight year the race has started in Lisbon.

"We will try and maintain our title and for that we cannot make any mistakes," Mistubishi director Dominique Serieys said.

However, Volkswagen has invested heavily and entered four prototypes in a bid to snap Mitsubishi's dominance and produce the first diesel-powered winner.

VW is fielding two former world rally champions in Carlos Sainz and Ari Vatanen and also backs last year's runner-up, Giniel de Villiers of South Africa.

"We have evolved a lot and hope to rise a step above what we did in 2006," Volkswagen director Kris Niessen said.

The 29th Dakar Rally features a record number of competitors, with 525 teams taking part. In all, 42 nationalities are represented.

Lining up at the start line in Lisbon were 250 motorcycles, 187 cars and 88 trucks for the race over 7,915km in Europe and Africa.

The first stage was to take the racers south to Portimao, on Portugal's Algarve coast, where today's second stage will be held.

Then the teams head into tough African terrain in Morocco, Mauritania and Mali before reaching the Senegalese capital on Jan. 20, where the final overall standings will be established.

The following day, the remaining competitors will take part in the first Grand Prix du Lac Rose, an exhibition race.

Three deaths occurred during last year's event. A boy was killed in Senegal when he was hit by a support truck and another boy died in Guinea when he was struck by a car as he crossed the track.

Australian motorcyclist Andy Caldecott died in a fatal crash during a stage in Mauritania, becoming the 23rd competitor to die in the rally.

Organizers have denied media reports of terrorist threats to the event.

Race director Etienne Lavigne said last November that French authorities had raised security concerns without identifying specific risks.

In 2000 and 2004, organizers changed the race route for security reasons.
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