Dakar Rally Moves Into Argentine Desert

LA RIOJA, Argentina — More than 350 competitors in the Dakar Rally, the four-wheelers led by Volkswagen driver Nasser Al-Attiyah, were to head for the white sand dunes of the Andes high-desert country en route to Fiambalá as the Dakar Rally enters its fourth day. The first day was marred by the death of a spectator, a 28-year-old woman who was struck by one of the racing vehicles. Four others were injured in the accident.

The event, previously known as the Paris-Dakar Rally and relocated from its Europe-Africa setting last season to South America, had its ceremonial opening on New Year's Day, and actual stage competition began Saturday. It features stage competition on a variety of surfaces for cars, motorcycles and trucks.

Al-Attiyah, from the United Arab Emirates nation of Qatar, is a former rally champion and also competed in the Olympic Games, finishing 4th in 2004 in clay pigeon shooting. He won the event's second stage Sunday.

American driver Robby Gordon, a veteran off-road racer and NASCAR regular, is competing in the Dakar for the sixth time in a Hummer. Gordon won his class and finished 3rd overall last year.

The Dakar Rally was held annually from 1979 through 2007, but the 2008 event was canceled because of political upheaval in countries that were part of the traditional route through North Africa to the conclusion in Dakar, Senegal.

Giniel de Villiers and Dirk Von Zitzewitz were overall winners last year in the first South American event in a Volkswagen Touareg.

Inside Line says: At least 58 people, including 25 competitors, have perished in this event since its inception. In this hemisphere, the threat of death at the hands of political terrorists is minimized. — David Green, Correspondent