Dakar Rally Fuels Cheers And Jeers Across South America
By SHANE ROMIG
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704511404576086673982114718.htmlBUENOS AIRES—The Paris-Dakar off-road rally stirred it's fair share of controversy in West Africa, but with the security threats in Mauritania, it switched to Chile and Argentina a few years ago. Now the polemic pinnacle of off-road endurance racing is kicking up a new cloud of dust and passions in South America.
Many in the region are thrilled to host the world-class event, but there's a growing chorus of critics as it becomes clear that the security threats are not just to the participants, but to spectators and environment.
The danger of hosting the race struck home last week, when 42-year old farm worker Marcelo Reales died in Argentina's Catamarca province after Argentine rally driver Eduardo Amor smashed head-on into Reales' truck on a rural road. That follows the death of a spectator in Argentina last year and French motorcycle racer Pascal Terry the year before.
The Dakar has resulted in over 50 deaths over the past three decades. Several years ago the Vatican newspaper called it "the bloody race of irresponsibility."
But that does little to dampen the enthusiasm of many Argentines. Thousands of cheering fans lined the highway leading in to Buenos Aires on Saturday to welcome the racers back. A teenage boy sitting in front of his mother's small general store in the suburb of Ingeniero Maschwitz Saturday had spent the afternoon camped out by the roadside to watch. "Did you see them?!" he asked rhetorically, eyes wide with awe.
Argentina has a new home-town hero in Alejandro Patronelli, who won the quad race despite a broken hand. "It's incredible," the champagne-drenched racer said following the awards ceremony in Buenos Aires.
With traffic deaths all too common in Argentina, many residents dismissed the race's risks.
Most don't blame the racers for the lapses, said Ronaldo Hoffman, a 24-year-old body-shop mechanic and racing fanatic in Buenos Aires.
Spanish motorcyclist Jordi Arcarons, a long-time race veteran who's made the podium half a dozen times, said "Africa is unforgettable, but there's the same spirit here."
"People were cheering, helping, and offering water all the way," said Sweden's Annie Seel, who had a disappointing race but was the top lady finisher last year.
"Safety is a big focus for the race, but "you can't have extreme sports without the risk," Mr. Arcarons said.
But some in Argentina are saying that those risks are just too much.
The race "could only be done in the third world. No developed country would allow it," said Raul Montenegro, professor at the Cordoba National University and president of the environmental defense foundation Funam.
Funam has published online a series of pictures of the Dakar cars and trucks running roughshod along the highways between stages, literally driving other motorists off the road.
It's the environmental impact that is really stirring up resistance from a number of non-governmental organizations.
Critics say the remote highlands of both Argentina and Chile, which provide such a stunning backdrop for the race, are particularly sensitive to the surface damage caused by the thousands of wheels tearing up the arid topsoil.
Llamas, condors, ostrich-like nandus, flamingos and the reclusive cousin to the llama, vicunas, scatter when the massive convoy rumbles through some of their last natural habitats. The race also barrels through areas dotted with archaeological ruins from the native cultures that thrived in the high valleys before the arrival of the Spanish.
Former environment minister Romina Picolotti opposed the rally coming to Argentina when she was in office in 2009, but the contract had already been signed before she took the post. "The Dakar looks for a place where they know there's no control," Ms. Picolotti said in an interview. "Let them do it in France."
Ms. Picolotti's husband, who is a strategic advisor to the environmental NGO Cedha, said that a big part of the problem is that race participants are used to the lawlessness of Africa. "Dakar is a free for all...anything goes and people die."
"They are treading on our laws, our environment and we're paying for it," Taillant said.
The governments of Chile and Argentina bear significant costs in terms of fire control, providing lodging and medical car to the participants. The payoff comes in the marketing boost to tourism from publicity of the countries' remote natural treasures to a world audience.
A total of 430 cars, motor bikes, quads and trucks with drivers from over 51 countries participated in the race this year, but the grueling pace saw about a quarter of the teams drop out.
The Dakar rally has been running since 1979, when the initial route carried participants from Paris to Dakar, Senegal. The rally was held in Africa until 2008, when it was cancelled due to a threat from Islamic terrorists.
The French origins of the event remain, with the Amaury Sport Organization now running the show. Over the past 30 years it's evolved from just a small number of well-heeled adrenalin junkies looking for the ultimate off-road challenge, to a largely professional event drawing sponsors from the top car-makers and a global television audience.
