The Dakar Rally could be called off in '19.getty images
The fate of the 2019 Dakar Rally "appears to be hanging in the balance," with sole host country Peru "reportedly threatening to pull out over financial concerns," according to Sergio Lillo of AUTOSPORT. Last month, Dakar organizer Amaury Sport Organisation announced a '19 route "taking place entirely inside Peru" following Bolivia's withdrawal and Chile dropping out of a planned return "at the last minute." It "has emerged the agreement made between ASO and the Peruvian government is merely a preliminary document," with a final agreement needing to be made no later than June 30. Several media outlets in Peru have reported that the country "is considering pulling out" because the government's "preliminary economic analysis" of hosting the event is negative. It is understood Peru would have to pay around $6M to ASO as a hosting fee "in addition to other expenses in infrastructure, security and logistics" worth up to $25M. The economic return that Peru received for hosting the first five stages of this year's event "is estimated to be" around $40.5M (AUTOSPORT, 6/21).
