2008-05-09 20:14:10 -

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - A three-time champion of the Dakar Rally road race is organizing his own version of the cross-continental trek after the world-famous event was canceled because of terrorism concerns.
Hubert Auriol said in a statement Friday from Dakar that he wanted to create a new race «to get the rally back to

Africa.
The Dakar Rally was canceled in January for the first time in its 30-year history because of security fears sparked after suspected al-Qaida-linked militants killed a family of French tourists Dec. 24 in the desert nation of Mauritania. Eight of the 15 stages were to have passed through the northwest African nation.
Organizers decided to hold next year's rally in South America, but have said they hope to return the race to Africa by 2011 or 2012 if security is adequate.
No starting point for Auriol's version of the race has been named, but the statement said it would start in the winter of 2008-2009 from «a major European city on the Mediterranean» and would last 15 to 17 days. The race would traverse Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, where it would wind up like its more famous predecessor in Senegal's seaside capital, Dakar.

Like the Dakar Rally, it would also include races on motorbike and trucks.
The statement said the event, dubbed the «Africa Race,» would be organized with African authorities and would «respond to strategic needs of tourism, economy and sustainable development on the African continent.
«This project holds for me especially a passion and love for these territories and their populations,» Auriol said in statement. «This test will without a doubt be a great and humane sports meeting that will give international visibility to West Africa and a fabulous continent.