euroweeklynews.com : LAST January, auto sports in general and all the Portuguese lived the frustration of the early end of the Euromilhoes Lisbon-Dakar Rally because of threats made by terrorist organizations. However, while most people accepted this end with their heads down, others immediately began to draw up plans to re-light the flame of adventure that pits man and machine against great adversity, in a struggle that has thrilled the world over the past 30 years.

Based on the experience of past editions, local organizers of the event, Joao Lagos Sports, have successfully brought back to Portugal an event of the Dakar Series, the ‘Pax Rally 2008’, which will be held between September 10 and 14, between Lisbon and Portimao. The rally will play host to the national and international elite of cross-country drivers, along with a number of amateurs, who are also eligible to enter. Following the tradition of the Dakar, the ‘Pax Rally’ is a cross-country competition open to cars, motorbikes and quads. It will represent the final battle before the Argentina-Chile Dakar.

In late April, in Budapest, Carlos Sainz (Volkswagen) won the Central Europe Rally with just 2m 01s advantage over Stephane Peterhansel (Mitsubishi) and 6m 34s over the German, Dieter Depping (Volkswagen). These three names will be once again face-to-face in the Portuguese Rally, but the victory has more suitors. Nani Roma and Luc Alphand strengthen the squad of Mitsubishi, while Volkswagen has in Giniel de Villiers, another asset to be taken into account. But if, at international level, the competition is packed with stars, the top Portuguese teams will also be present.

The possibility of confrontation with the main international teams, high media coverage (since the Pax Rally will be broadcast throughout the world through various agreements with Eurosport channel) and strong national coverage from RTP, were the main ingredients to encourage the presence of drivers like Ricardo Santos, Helder Oliveira and Filipe Campos, the current leader of the Portuguese Cross-Country Championship, who finished in a fantastic third place in the last ‘Baja Spain’.

The motorbike competition will also have some of the best in the world, including Cyrill Despres, Marc Coma and David Casteu, who won the first Dakar Series event. Among the Portuguese competitors, the emphasis will be on the presence of Algarve’s, Ruben Faria, who is considered one of the top candidates for victory. Joana Lemos, President of the Organizing Committee, said, "I am very confident in, and above all very pleased with, the high level of competitors we have in all categories. It is, without doubt, a strong guarantee for a great spectacle and high competitiveness that they will provide for all lovers of the cross-country discipline." After a short stay in Lisbon, where, after technical scrutineering, the rally will start on September 10, the competitors will face a hard five-day event, over almost 2,000km.

Each day, a special stage will be held, of between 65 and 300km in length, over varying types of terrain, aiming to force competitors to utilise all their driving skills. During the event, the drivers will head north first, from Lisbon to Castelo Branco, over a notoriously rocky landscape. Turning south, between plains and mountains, the Pax Rally will come to an end in the cosmopolitan city of Portimao.

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