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The Silk Road Race is a charity rally from Milan to the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe. The Silk Road Race is organised by Partenza Intelligente, a non-profit cultural association based in Lainate (Milan), Italy. The first edition of the rally was launched on 31 July 2010.
The Silk Road Race typically launches from Villa Litta Visconti Borromeo, a historic palace of the 16th century in Lainate near Milan, Italy, in the last week of July. The teams participate in the Start Night launch event with many people and a rock concert during the launching procedure. The teams can participate in the rally with any motor-based vehicle, there is no limit based on engine displacement or vehicle type.
There are typically three main routes to Tajikistan. The northern route, from Milan to Tajikistan via east Europe: Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan; the middle route: Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and then crossing the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan; or the south route: Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and then Tajikistan. However, the route is free; teams can choose their route to Tajikistan, but they must arrive at Dushanbe in 3 weeks to join the finish party. The Silk Road Race is approximately 8.000 km long.
The Silk Road Race charges an entry fee to cover the costs of running the event. All funds generated from charity fees are donated to a project started by Cesvi that provides water and sanitation in the south region of Tajikistan. [1] The Silk Road Race 2012 entry fee for a car or a truck team was €499 and €250 for a motorcycle. A team comprises a single vehicle: a car/truck or a motorcycle. The Silk Road Race 2012 minimum charity fee for cars/trucks teams was €950 and €300 for a motorcycle team. [2]
The Dakar Rally or simply "The Dakar", formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally", is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal; due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. Since 2020, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia. The event is open to amateur and professional entries, professionals typically making up about eighty percent of the participants.
Transport in Afghanistan is done mostly by road, rail and air. Much of the nation's road network was built in the mid-20th century but left to ruin during the last two decades of that century due to war and political turmoil. Officials of the current Islamic Emirate have continued to improve the national highways, roads, and bridges. In 2008, there were about 700,000 vehicles registered in Kabul. At least 1,314 traffic collisions were reported in 2022.
Khujand, sometimes spelled Khodjent and known as Leninabad from 1936 to 1991, is the second-largest city of Tajikistan and the capital of Tajikistan's northernmost Sughd province.
Gumball 3000 is an aspirational lifestyle brand known for the annual Gumball 3000 Rally, an international celebrity motor rally that takes place on public roads. The brand was founded in 1999 by British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper, with his vision to combine cars, music, fashion and popular culture.
The Mongol Rally is an intercontinental car rally that begins in Europe and ends in Ulan-Ude, Russia. The rally originally ended in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. However, to avoid punitive costs and taxes associated with vehicle imports and disposal, the rally now passes through Mongolia and ends in Ulan-Ude. The principal launch is from Goodwood Circuit in the United Kingdom, with subsidiary starting points in the Czech Republic. There are three fundamental rules to the rally:
The Budapest-Bamako or Great African Run is a charity car race in Africa, and the largest amateur rally in the world. It is a low-budget version of the Dakar Rally, and goes from Budapest, Hungary to Bamako, Mali through the Sahara. It passes through Hungary, Austria or Slovenia, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and Mali. The Budapest-Bamako was inspired by the Paris-Dakar Rally. There are few entry restrictions: as long as a vehicle is street legal, it can join the event.
Dushanbe International Airport is an international airport in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. It is the main hub for Somon Air and is the home base for Tajik Air, which also has its headquarters on the property.
The Indian Autorickshaw Challenge is an international autorickshaw rally. The entrants use the autorickshaw or tuk-tuk, a common vehicle of India's urban east, to cross large portions of the Indian sub-continent over a period several of days. The simple construction of the autorickshaw and the diversity of the landscape requires the participants to be resourceful and determined in order to finish the course. The event is organised by Chennai Event Management Services.
Motorsport is a popular spectator sport in Australia, although there are relatively few competitors compared to other sports due to the high costs of competing. The oldest motorsport competition in Australia is the Alpine Rally which was first staged in 1921 followed by the Australian Grand Prix, first staged in 1928. The most widely watched motorsport category is Supercars, especially at the Bathurst 1000. Other classes in Australia include Australian GT, Formula 3 and Formula Ford, Superbikes, as well as various forms of speedway racing.
The Anzob Tunnel, Istiqlol tunnel or Ushtur Tunnel is a 5,040 m long tunnel located 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe, at an elevation of 2,720 m (8,920 ft). The tunnel is part of the M34 highway and connects the Tajik capital to the country's second largest city, Khujand. The tunnel was opened in 2006 despite being only partially finished. In 2014 Iran's government signed an agreement to finish the tunnel and the tunnel was reopened in late 2015. The tunnel saves drivers at least 4 hours when traveling between Dushanbe and Khujand and allows travelers to avoid having to pass through Uzbekistan.
Rally raid is a type of off-road motorsport event for automobiles and motorcycles. Along with shorter baja rallies, rally raid constitutes cross-country rallying. Both the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) co-organise a common World Rally-Raid Championship featuring the same events for both types of vehicle.
The Mongolia Charity Rally is the charity rally from London to the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. The Mongolia Charity Rally is organised by Charity Rallies, part of Go Help, a UK-based charity.
The 2001 Dakar Rally, also known as the 2001 Paris–Dakar Rally, was the 23rd running of the Dakar Rally event. The format was revised to reduce the amount of airborne assistance to competitors in favour of assistance vehicles. The 2001 rally was 6,600 miles (10,600 km) long and began in Paris, France, on New Year's Day, passing through Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali before finishing at Dakar in Senegal. This was the last Paris-Dakar Rally that commenced and finished in the same locations as the original race. Jean-Louis Schlesser won the penultimate stage of the rally to take the lead but was penalised one hour for unsportsmanlike conduct. The rally was won by German Jutta Kleinschmidt, who became the first woman to win the event. The motorcycle class of the rally was won by Italian Fabrizio Meoni, with Karel Loprais winning the truck class.
The Modball Rally is an international driving tour with a different route each year. Founded in 2007 it sees an entry of around 100-180 cars per event which are mostly modified supercars. However, modified cars do not stop at sports cars and the rally has resulted in entries including fire engines, Ferraris, Limousines and everything else you can imagine. The Rally is not a race nor a rally in the traditional sense such as the WRC; there is no prize for being fastest nor official timekeeping of any sort. Organizers emphasize that it is a road trip adventure and not a race.
The Dakar Series was an annual series of rally raid off-road races, organised by the A.S.O.. The series groups together events similar in style to the Dakar Rally and was founded in 2008 after the cancellation of the 2008 edition of the rally.
The Silk Way Rally is an annual rally raid type of off-road race. The first Silk Way Rally was raced in 2009 from Kazan, Russia to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. From 2010 to 2013, the race has taken place in Russia. The 2016 edition had a Moscow-Astana-Beijing route, the 2017 edition starts in Moscow and finishes in Xi'an, China.
Africa Eco Race is an annual rally raid, organised in France and run in North and West Africa, launched after the cancellation of 2008 Dakar Rally, and the subsequent moving of the rally to South America.
The 2019 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies was the 27th season of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies; an annual competition for rally raid events for cars, buggies, side-by-sides, and trucks held in multiple countries.
The 2020 Dakar Rally was the 42nd edition of the event and the first edition held in Saudi Arabia. The event started in Jeddah on 5 January and finished in Al-Qiddiya on 17 January after 12 stages of the competition.
The 2021 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 43rd edition of the Dakar Rally. The event was held for 14 days, starting from 3 January and ended 15 January 2021. It was the second time Saudi Arabia had hosted the event, with support from the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. The race started and ended in Jeddah, allowing the competitors to venture through the desert and alongside the Red Sea. The route consists of one prologue stage and 12 normal stages, with one rest day in Ha'il on 9 January. The rally was originally intended to run through 2–3 additional countries, with Egypt and Jordan being rumoured likely candidates. However, due to travel and border restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the route stayed entirely within Saudi Arabian territory.