Budapest-Bamako Rally tweaks route amidst Senegalese crisis

The Budapest–Bamako Rally, the largest amateur rally raid in the world, had to make a slight detour from its intended route through Senegal as the country’s constitutional crisis and resulting protests continue.

Tuesday was supposed to be the ninth stage of the rally, taking competitors from the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott across the border into Senegal before finishing in Richard Toll. However, Richard Toll will no longer be on the route and organisers plan to provide a new location for the bivouac in the morning.

Demonstrations have been ongoing in Senegal since June 2023 after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was arrested and his party disbanded by President Macky Sall‘s administration. Although Sall is not running for re-election in 2024, he indefinitely postponed the presidential election scheduled for 25 February while various opposition members of parliament were physically barred from voting against his decree. The National Assembly voted on Monday to move the election to 15 December, which critics state would keep Sall in power beyond his scheduled term. As additional protests mounted in Dakar, internet services were restricted following the announcement to prevent them from organising, and rally officials warned that “mobile internet is limited” once they cross the border. At least twenty-three people have died in the protests.

With how quickly the situation can evolve, race organiser Géza Villám warned that “the plan we put together today might not be relevant tomorrow or the day after,” though he added he trusts Senegalese police to keep racers safe. Once they complete the Senegal portion of the route, however, rally founder András Gál Szabó noted Stages #12 through #14, which run through the Guinean cities of Labé and Kindia, could present challenges as the country continues to struggle with fuel shortages after an oil depot exploded in December.

As its name suggests, the Budapest–Bamako Rally runs from Europe and along West Africa, typically starting in Hungary before wrapping up in Mali. Budapest remained the starting point for the 2024 edition, but the finish was moved to Siaka Stevens National Stadium in Freetown, Sierra Leone, due to the ongoing civil war in Mali. Sierra Leone also underwent a coup d’état in 2023 that ultimately failed.

While Senegal is historically a stable democracy, its neighbours throughout West Africa and the Maghreb have been embroiled in conflicts since the 20th century following decolonisation from Europe, which has affected rallies going through the regions like the Dakar Rally and Africa Eco Race. The Dakar abandoned its historic route from Paris to its namesake city in Senegal in 2008 after French tourists were killed in Mauritania. The Africa Eco Race, which took over the Dakar’s path, has occasionally been stopped by protesters who did not want them to race through Western Sahara, which has seen decades of fighting between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; the latter’s ruling party Polisario Front also issues annual warnings to the AER to avoid the region.

In response to these crises, Budapest–Bamako Rally organisers stress they maintain the right to modify the route at any time.