2008 Central Europe Rally

For the World Rally Championship event held in Central Europe, see Central European Rally.

2008 Central Europe Rally
Host country	Hungary   Romania
Stages	7 (1,092 km; 679 mi)
Overall distance	2,671 km (1,660 mi)
Results
Cars winner	Carlos Sainz and Michel Périn Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
Bikes winner	David Casteu KTM
Trucks winner	Hans Stacey, Eddy Chevaillier, Bernard der Kinderen, MAN

The Central Europe Rally was a rally raid endurance race held in Romania and Hungary following the cancellation of the 2008 edition of the Dakar Rally, marking the debut of the Dakar Series. ^[1]

The Amaury Sport Organisation created this event to fill the gap created by the cancellation of the 2008 Dakar Rally after 2007 killing of French tourists in Mauritania less than two weeks before the originally scheduled start of the race. ^[2]

In the Cars category, Carlos Sainz Sr. won his first Dakar by 2:01 over Stéphane Peterhansel.

In the Trucks division, Hans Stacey won his second Dakar.

In the Bikes division, David Casteu won his first Dakar.

Route

The event began in Budapest on April 19 and finished at Lake Balaton in Hungary on April 26, 2008. ^[1]

Below is a table with the locations of the start and finish points of each stage of the Rally, as well as each stage's distance. ^[3]

Date	Stage	Start	Finish	Special Stage (km)	Road Section (km)	Total	Stage winners
							Bikes	Quads	Cars	Trucks
20 April	1	Budapest	Baia Mare	63	468	531	M. Coma	L. Szabo	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
21 April	2	Baia Mare		152	140	292	D. Casteu	R. Irimescu	S. Peterhansel	H. Stacey
22 April	3	Baia Mare	Debrecen	152	285	437	J. Katriňák	R. Irimescu	G. de Villiers	A. Loprais
23 April	4	Debrecen	Veszprém	150	430	580	C. Despres	H. Deltrieu	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
24 April	5	Veszprém		210	107	317	D. Casteu	N. Nemeth	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
25 April	6	Veszprém		210	107	317	C. Despres	H. Deltrieu	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
26 April	7	Veszprém	Balatonfüred	155	42	197	J. Katriňák	C. Declerck	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
				1,092	1,579	2,671

Results

Motorcycles

1. David Casteu (KTM) 12:21:14 ^[4]
2. Francisco López (KTM) +2:58 ^[4]
3. Alain Duclos (KTM) +19:39 ^[4]
4. José Manuel Pellicer (Yamaha) +21:20 ^[4]
5. Cyril Despres (KTM) +22:50 ^[4]

Cars

1. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn, Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 11h18m08s ^[5]
2. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret, Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, + 2.01m ^[5]
3. Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk, Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, + 6.34m ^[5]
4. Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard, Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, + 7.28m ^[5]
5. Carlos Sousa/Andreas Schulz, Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, + 33.45m ^[5]
6. Bruno Saby/Alain Guehennec, BMW X3 CC, + 46.30m ^[5]
7. Robert Baldwin/Kevin Heath, Hummer H3, + 56.02m ^[5]
8. Philippe Gache/François Flick, SMG, + 1h07m08s ^[5]
9. Miroslav Zapletal/Valdimir Nemajer, Mitsubishi L200, + 1h12m19s ^[5]
10. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider, Hummer H3, + 1h25m38s ^[5]

Trucks

1. Hans Stacey, Eddy Chevaillier, Bernard der Kinderen, MAN TGA, 11:43:20 ^[6]
2. Wulfer van Ginkel, Daniël Bruinsma, Richard de Rooy, GINAF X2222, +0:33:43 ^[6]
3. Aleš Loprais, Ladislav Lála, Milan Holáň, Tatra T815-2, +0:53:18 ^[6]
4. Marek Spáčil, Jiří Žák, Zdeněk Němec, LIAZ 151154, +1:27:42 ^[6]
5. Marco Dono, Andrea Bettiga, Angelo Fumagalli, Iveco, +1:28:27 ^[6]

References

1. Central Europe Rally 2008: 2008 Edition > The Route Archived 2008-04-28 at the Wayback Machine
2. Central Europe Rally 2008: 2008 Edition > Sporting Aspects Archived April 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
3. "The route". Archived from the original on 2008-04-28. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
4. Central Europe Rally – Victory for Sainz and Casteu - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
5. "RallySport Magazine – Sainz wins Central Europe Rally". Archived from the original on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
6. "Motorsport.com: News channel". Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2008-04-30.