It’s gonna be more than just an endurance test in next year’s Dakar Rally.

Dakar rally, popularly known as “The Dakar,” is an annual off-road endurance race headed by the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO). It will take the challenge of racing through the Chilean deserts down to Argentina and other parts of South America for the first time.

For the past thirty years, the race has been passing through Africa so it is expected that next year will be a new and greater test for highly-spirited and adventurous amateur and professional racers who will participate either in the rally’s bike class or car class.  The Dakar rally unites up to 52 nationalities around the world.  Next year it will feature a 6,000-kilometer of unique stages over a 9,000-kilometer long course.  Just enough distance to test your window motor’s adaptive qualities too.

“It’s good news, one month after the cancellation of the 2008 rally,” said Mitsubishi Motorsport Head Dominique Serieys at news.ph.msn. 

ASO was lured by Argentina and Chile’s sand and crossing navigation terrains that match the exotic African savannahs.

According to Wikipedia, the rally started in 1979 when Thierry Sabine, a racer, found himself lost in the desert only to discover that it was a good location for a regular rally. The Dakar rally originated its name from Dakar, Senegal - one of the first Dakar rally sites.

This year’s Dakar rally, supposedly en route for Hungary to Romania, was cancelled due to threats of terrorist attacks. On December 28, four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania by suspected Al-Qaida members.  ASO deemed that cancellation of the event was the best decision to protect the security of those who will participate in the rally.

Meanwhile, next year’s Dakar Rally is set between January 3 to 18, 2009.  Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, will be the starting point and finish city of the said event.