Disclaimer:
As a service to the sport we all love and follow, Rally-Raid Network posts numerous media releases from a wide variety of sources on our website. Due to the large number, and some times short time available, it is nearly impossible to review each public release. These articles are written by reporters or press officers who work for various organizers, teams, drivers, riders, and other parties, and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rally-Raid Network.
Africa Race 2023: Organizers cancel the 2023 edition of Africa Eco Race
Here is the official statement from AER organizers:
Dear friends,
After several editions impacted by the Covid 19 pandemic, we did everything possible to go on the adventure again in March 2023.
However, despite all our commitment, and in consultation with the Senegalese Federation of Motor Sports and Motorcycling, we have regretfully taken the decision to postpone the 15th edition of the AFRICA ECO RACE.
Indeed, like other sporting events, the current climatic upheavals are forcing us to rethink and adapt our human activities.
Other races have also been hit hard at the beginning of 2023, like the one that has just ended in Saudi Arabia in harsh and unsatisfactory conditions.
The AFRICA ECO RACE is an adventure rally-raid that challenges athletes to go beyond their limits.
As we are writing these lines, the mythical Lac Rose in Dakar, the finish line of our race, is in the grip of major flooding, with water levels rising by almost three meters on its banks*.
Mauritania and its wild landscapes, awaited by all on our event, is one of the most fragile territories due to the extreme events that occur there, such as the sandstorms or the extreme heat that we experienced during our 14th edition, in October 2022.
Based on these observations, we have decided to postpone our event.
As you know, the strength of the AFRICA ECO RACE is its resilience, its history but also its capacity to innovate.
Thus, the 15th edition will return to its historical dates, and will start on December 30th 2023 to finish on the shores of the Lac Rose on January 14th 2024. The weather will be more clement, and less likely to cause extreme events. This edition will innovate, by allowing the greatest number of participants to follow in the footsteps of Thierry Sabine.
True to itself, our race will retain its values of mutual aid, benevolence and friendship.
We are counting on you, but above all, you can count on us,
More information is available on the race's official site: https://www.africarace.com/
Source: Africa Eco Race
Helder