AutoblogGreen

The Dakar is amazing.

In a world full of pre-packaged entertainment posing as racing, the Dakar is still real human drama on a grand scale. And likely the only event at this level of competition in any sport that still accepts both professional and amateur entrants.

A nit to pick: This upcoming Dakar, at 9,273 planned kilometers, isn't anywhere near the longest rally. The route has varied wildly over the years, and has sometimes had to change on the fly (the airlift during the 2000 event to avoid terrorism threats is particularly notable). But a number of the rallies have topped out at over 10,000 kilometers, including 1992, which took the rally from Paris all the way down to Cape Town (12,427 km).

It's hard to claim any racing is "green", but the Dakar has been trying to understand its impact and how it can improve. They claim to be supplying, for the first time, a motorcycle fuel that is, in part, biofuel, and includes additives to help reduce consumption. Interestingly, a carbon footprint study commissioned by the rally determined that the largest single source is electricity consumption by rally viewers! Dakar environmental impact info:

http://www.dakar.com/2008/DAK/presentation/us/r2_4-impact_environnemental.html#

A cool but lengthy history of the rally, with an outrageous amount of detail:

http://www.dakar.com/2008/DAK/presentation/docs/histo_1979_2006_us.pdf

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"While the production Touaregs use a 3.0L V-6 TDI, the race version uses a 2.5L inline-five that puts out 285 hp in the 2007 race."

There is also a production version I-5 Touareg as the entry level model.

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I feel like the organizers are trying to pay us back for last 'short' race. At least this one won't be the longest ever. I'm not sure I could handle it ;)

http://www.robbysuprising.com/profile/bobbychuck

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