Motorsport Listings of New and Used Cars Reviews

Many people have died during this event. Maggie Thatcher's son caused consternation in Britain some years ago by getting lost while participating. Broken bones are quite common every time the event is held. I'm talking about the Dakar Rally, which was famously known as the Paris-Dakar.

They say that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Well, the Dakar Rally is probably the best way of checking out how tough you are by battling and overcoming tough, inhospitable terrain - not for just a day, but over a fortnight. The event came into existence when the founder Thierry Sabine, while participating in a race, got lost in the desert and hit upon the idea of holding a regular rally.
Originally, the cars, bikes and trucks started from Paris, France, to Dakar in Senegal but varying political situations in the countries the rally passes through has meant the route has changed several times. Because the Dakar Rally terrain is a superb natural testing ground, many manufacturers like Land Rover, Toyota, Mercedes and Pinzgauer, as well as Citroen and even Porsche have chosen to participate. Nissan and Mitsubishi also take the rally very seriously indeed.

In fact, 2008 will see Mitsubishi defending its 8 consecutive victories in what has been acknowledged as the toughest endurance race on the planet. The 2008 event is being looked upon as a source of technical feedback from the 2008 Dakar Pajero Evolution in terms of durability and endurance as this will influence the all-new range of high performance clean diesel engines slated for 2009.
Mitsubishi's chief rival manufacturer is Volkswagen, and the German team has readied its Tdi-powered Race Touareg 2s. VW will field four cars but Jutta Kleinschmidt, the first woman to have won the Dakar Rally (in a VW) will not be with them. VW is hoping to become the first manufacturer to win the Dakar with Diesel power, just like sister company Audi has done at Le Mans for the past two years. The route for the 2008 Dakar Rally is 9,273km long, of which 5,736km will be treacherous special stages. The rally starts in Lisbon on the 5th of January and is scheduled to reach Dakar on the 20th of January after wending its way through Spain, Morocco & Mauritania.
Narain's flawless performance should remind those who've have cast him aside that he's still very much a force to be reckoned with on the world motorsport stage. In all fairness though, he was a little lucky to inherit first position when Neel Jani of Switzerland, who was leading comfortably, had trouble in the pits. But, more often than not, you need lady luck in your corner in order to win a race. Narain, on his part, put in quick laps when it counted, and set one fastest lap after another to secure his position.

During the closing stages of the race, Narain also soaked up an enormous amount of pressure from Jonny Reid of New Zealand to finish the 45-lap feature race just half a second ahead - his first major win since his Formula 3 days in the UK several years ago. Having proven that he still has the ability to win, Narain feels he's due another shot at F1.

At the end of the day, this is a great win for team India. It's sure to be a huge morale booster for a team that is still developing and getting better all the time - hopefully it's also sign of many more wins to come. On the whole, you've got to say, it's looking relatively good for the Indian racing scene at the moment.