Hubert Auriol: "Africa Race will take place!"

On Wednesday 6th August, the Mauritanian President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, the first democratically elected Head of State - in March 2007 - since the country's independence in 1960, and the Prime Minister were detained by a military junta, now in power. The situation in the region having been one of the reasons for the cancelation of the last Dakar, will this event mark the end of great African Rally Raids? Hubert Auriol, organiser of Africa Race which will start on the 26th December in Marseille and pass through Mauritania, was in Nouakchott during the events.

Can you give us an account of the situation on the ground?

Honestly everything was fine. I was away for a week or so doing reconnaissance work and as it turns out we happened to come back to Nouakchott on Wednesday, the day of the event. Nothing had changed. We walked around the town, ate out... there was nothing happening in the streets that could have made you think that the country was in a state of crisis. The airport was only shut for a few hours. By late afternoon everything was back to normal. Nothing has changed on the borders. It all happened quite calmly.

Still, could this endanger the smooth running of your event, Africa Race, which will pass through Mauritania as well as Morocco and Senegal?

Before leaving I met again with the people in charge and the authorities. They repeated their confidence and impatience to welcome our event. Rally Raids are a way of boosting tourism and they obviously don't want to waste this opportunity for visibility.

We know the reasons that pushed the organisers of the Dakar to cancel their event last December. Since last Wednesday, have you received a call from the Foreign Office?

No. Since the start of the project, I've been in regular contact with the French Foreign Office. We're not new at organising this type of event and we're keeping them informed as matters progress. I think we need to put the facts into perspective. Africa Race will still take place!