In an email released to would-be participants of the canceled 2008 Dakar Rally, the ASO promise a "surprise" to be announced on Feb 4 at the Dakar.com website.

Stay tuned to RallyRAIDio.net for more details as they become available...

Nate

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The story continues. And this is just the beginning...

It’s now three weeks since we took our leave from each other is Lisbon, still half stunned from the shock that having to cancel the Dakar 2008 left us all in. Given these unusual circumstances, our teams made it their priority to respond to the most pressing requirements, and to meet our commitments towards the rally’s competitors. Our efforts were therefore focused on reimbursing registrations fees. This procedure is now coming to an end: for most of you, this was the necessary prerequisite to a new sports event.

Motivated by the legitimate demands some of you have made, and which we can guess others have, we have also been working on putting together new challenges. Your passion for rally adventures has tested our imagination: our prime mission is to make you want to want. It’s in this frame of mind that we will soon be inviting you to join us at an event that’s already close to our hearts. Listen out on 4 February, and visit [url]www.dakar.com[/url]. We have a surprise for you, and appreciate your confidence in us.

Etienne Lavigne
Director of the Dakar

Call in coverage from the Tough One Extreme Enduro/Harescramble in England. Participants include David Knight, current Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres, and current Last Man Standing champion Taddy Blazusiak. Special thanks to Chris from Adventure Spec for being our reporter on the ground today. If you're in the market for Adventure Tested kit, check them out online at http://adventure-spec.com Thanks for listening! Nate

The upset has been upset, but not for the reason you might expect! Call in coverage from the Tough One Extreme Enduro/Harescramble in England. Participants include David Knight, current Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres, and current Last Man Standing champion Taddy Blazusiak. Special thanks to Chris from Adventure Spec for being our reporter on the ground today. If you're in the market for Adventure Tested kit, check them out online at http://adventure-spec.com Thanks for listening! Nate

Call in coverage from the Tough One Extreme Enduro/Harescramble in England. Participants include David Knight, current Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres, and current Last Man Standing champion Taddy Blazusiak. Special thanks to Chris from Adventure Spec for being our reporter on the ground today. If you're in the market for Adventure Tested kit, check them out online at http://adventure-spec.com Thanks for listening! Nate

Chris calls in after surveying the bikes with some surprising news! Call in coverage from the Tough One Extreme Enduro/Harescramble in England. Participants include David Knight, current Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres, and current Last Man Standing champion Taddy Blazusiak. Special thanks to Chris from Adventure Spec for being our reporter on the ground today. If you're in the market for Adventure Tested kit, check them out online at http://adventure-spec.com Thanks for listening! Nate

Chris catches up with Dakar Champion Cyril Despres who talks about the Dakar Cancellation and the future of Rally Raid, as well as his continuting charitable work in Africa. Thanks for chattin with us, Cyril! Call in coverage from the Tough One Extreme Enduro/Harescramble in England. Participants include David Knight, current Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres, and current Last Man Standing champion Taddy Blazusiak. Special thanks to Chris from Adventure Spec for being our reporter on the ground today. If you're in the market for Adventure Tested kit, check them out online at http://adventure-spec.com Thanks for listening! Nate

David shares with us his thoughts on the day, and also talks about future participation in Rally Raid events!  Call in coverage from the Tough One Extreme Enduro/Harescramble in England. Participants include David Knight, current Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres, and current Last Man Standing champion Taddy Blazusiak. Special thanks to Chris from Adventure Spec for being our reporter on the ground today. If you're in the market for Adventure Tested kit, check them out online at http://adventure-spec.com Thanks for listening! Nate

Craig Bounds describes the course after his inspection, and compares it to the Red Bull Romaniacs course. Call in coverage from the Tough One Extreme Enduro/Harescramble in England. Participants include David Knight, current Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres, and current Last Man Standing champion Taddy Blazusiak. Special thanks to Chris from Adventure Spec for being our reporter on the ground today. If you're in the market for Adventure Tested kit, check them out online at http://adventure-spec.com Thanks for listening! Nate

Call in coverage from the Tough One Extreme Enduro/Harescramble in England. Participants include David Knight, current Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres, and current Last Man Standing champion Taddy Blazusiak. Special thanks to Chris from Adventure Spec for being our reporter on the ground today. If you're in the market for Adventure Tested kit, check them out online at http://adventure-spec.com Thanks for listening! Nate

Call in coverage from the Tough One Extreme Enduro/Harescramble in England. Participants include David Knight, current Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres, and current Last Man Standing champion Taddy Blazusiak. Special thanks to Chris from Adventure Spec for being our reporter on the ground today. If you're in the market for Adventure Tested kit, check them out online at http://adventure-spec.com Thanks for listening! Nate

Amazing press conference from the Dakar Technical Director.  Found on YouTube.

We catch up with Canadian privateer Don Hatton, who finds himself in Spain rather than living out his Dakar dream in the desert.  How has the passage of seven days affected his reaction?  Listen in to find out...

In a chat with Rally PanAm team manager Charlie Rauseo, he reveals that the ASO has essentially confirmed that a rally of their organization will occur in South America in January 2009. Stay tuned to RallyRAIDio for further details of this breaking story!

Conclusion of our chat with Tod Davidson. Some great stuff in here about what makes the Dakar special, and why it must continue!

If anyone has contacts at British Airways, and can help Don out with his predicament, please email me at RallyRAIDio at g mail . com (no spaces) Thanks!

Tod and I chat about RallyRAIDio and its future, as well as what his teammates Don Hatton and Jonah Street must be going through.

Tod and I chat about the whirlwind events of the day over a couple of beers. Tod was scheduled to run the Dakar before having a life-threatening crash only two weeks before the event. Was his fate more or less frustrating than those denied within hours of the start? Good question.

Richard gives us his completely candid reaction to the cancellation of the 2008 Dakar Rally. He is not impressed, to say the least. A bit of audio garble in a few spots -- I apolgize for that and have tried to clean it up as best I can.

This is one of the most gut wrenching things I've ever heard. If this doesn't hit you, go watch some Nascar. You don't belong here.

Charlie's comments after the cancellation.  The wiley veteran.

Toby Moody reacts to the news of the cancellation of the 2008 Dakar rally in part two of our chat.

Chat with Toby Moody and his expert reaction to the cancellation of the 2008 Dakar Rally

Chat with Stan from FrontrowGB as he reacts to the cancelation of the 2008 Dakar rally only hours before the scheduled start.

Chat with Robb from back at the hotel post cancelation. Raw stuff.

This impromptu chat with Dave immediately after the announcement does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Team FrontrowGB or Adventure-spec. It does reflect the opinions of RallyRAIDio.

Dave rings in with reaction from Great Britain with the terrible news.

Jonah Street, contender for the overall motorcycle win, calls in with his gutted reaction just moments after the announcement of cancellation of the rally.

Robb confirms from Lisbon. The rally is done this year due to terrorist concerns.

Robb's headed to a meeting -- major development!

Interview with Dakar finisher Chris Jones, shortly after he returned home. Incredible stories!

Interview with Dakar finisher Chris Jones, shortly after he returned home. Incredible stories!

Interview with Dakar finisher Chris Jones, shortly after he returned home. Incredible stories!

Interview with Dakar finisher Chris Jones, shortly after he returned home. Incredible stories!

Interview with Dakar finisher Chris Jones, shortly after he returned home. Incredible stories!

Interview with Dakar finisher Chris Jones, shortly after he returned home. Incredible stories!  Part 1 of our interview.  Stay tuned for the rest!

Dave Lomax from Adventure-spec.com calls in to promo their support of Team FrontrowGB. Thanks for the hard work, lads!

Richard's spent the entire afternoon going through scrutineering, but has made it through without a hitch. The bike is now in Parc Ferme, so nothing left but to sit back and enjoy the atmosphere until the start! Cheers, Richard!

Don calls in from Lisbon as the excitement mounts! Standing on the Starting Podium was a dream (before the security guards kicked him off, but he'll get his chance in a couple of days again), and there's an Olympic buzz about the city. Thanks for bringing us alongside you, Don!

Robb calls in and details the plan for a very busy day, as they put the final preparations in place!

Charlie calls from the hotel in Lisbon, and puts Phillip Symmons on the spot for a report. Robb then disconnects the phone. Way to go, Robb.

Jonah and the boys are putting the finishing touches on the bikes, and trying to stay dry in Lisbon.

A quick Skype chat with Richard as he awaits scrutineering. Documents are in, weather is very rainy. Good luck tomorrow, Richard!