Argentina and Chile are set to host the Dakar Rally in 2009, rally authorities in both countries said Monday, according to dpa. David Ely - top rally promoter in Argentina and closely involved in efforts to take the traditional competition to South America - told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the official announcement of the decision is expected to be made Tuesday. Sebastian Etcheverry, president of Chilean motorcycling, confirmed in Santiago that officials of Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), in charge of the Dakar Rally, are expected to travel to Chile. Etcheverry told the online edition of the daily La Tercera that "the visit from ASO will be to announce that the Dakar (rally) will go through Chile." The prestigious rally was cancelled this year shortly before its beginning in Lisbon because of security concerns in Mauritania. The rally across the deserts of north Africa had been due to start in Lisbon on January 5 and to finish in the Senagelese capital Dakar on January 20, with stages in Mauritania January 11-19. However, it was cancelled - for the first time in the 30-year history of the rally - on January 4.
