Mongolians at Dakar Rally

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Three Mongolians are competing at the Dakar Rally, a 14-day and 8,000-kilometer odyssey through three countries. At the end of the first day, Tuesday, D.Boldbaatar came 77th among 174, while his teammates N.Lkhamaa and Kh.Batbold placed at 141st and 169th, respectively. The Dakar Rally is an annual off-road race. Part of the Dakar Series, it is organized by the Amaury Sport Organization. Most events since the inception in 1978 were from Paris to Dakar, Senegal, but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, the 2009 Dakar Rally was run in South America (Argentina and Chile). It has been held in South America each year since 2009. The race is open to amateur and professional entries, amateurs typically making up about eighty percent of the participants. The 2014 Dakar Rally is the 35th running of the event and the sixth successive year that the event is held in South America. The event starts in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina on January 5 and finishes in Valparaiso, Chile on January 18 after thirteen stages of competition. For many years, the Dakar organizers have endeavored to adapt the race route to South America’s open terrain, enabling all categories of vehicle to explore the routes which are best suited to them. For the 2014 edition, five special stages have been marked out on completely separate routes, with motorcycles and quad bikes on one hand and cars and trucks on the other. Overall, the ‘separation’ includes around 2,000 kilometers of timed sections, covering more than 40% of the distance.