We didn't know it then, but the only time we got to drive our service Touaregs was back and forth from the hotel.
It looked like the entire VW team was there. There was a sea of blue jackets collecting by the revolving door, and some of the team leaders were having small group discussions. I had never seen the whole team gathered in one place before. When I asked one of them what was going on, he said that there were rumors about the race being called off.
At the time, it sounded like there was some drama playing out over the route the race was going to take through Mauritania. From what our German team was telling us, the A.S.O was trying to decide if we could still go through Mauritania.
Mitsubishi and Volkswagen's Dakar teams were both staying at the same hotel. So, even parking became part of the competition.
I was aware that four French travelers had been killed in Mauritania the week before, but I was under the impression that the safety issues for the race had been resolved before I left the U.S.. Now we were down to the day before the race was to start, and the French government, the A.S.O., and Mauritania were unable to agree on how safe the current route was. A rumor that the race was to be canceled quickly began floating around. Our VW representative said he didn't know how long it would take the three parties to decide the outcome. He said it is like "when they choose a new Pope in Rome. All we can do is wait to see the smoke. And see if it is white or gray." Official word was to come from the A.S.O. at noon. It was not looking good.
The morning before the race, rumors began spreading that the Dakar might be canceled. Team Manager Peter Utoft (blue polo shirt and glasses) kept his troops focused on the task at hand while we waited for the official word.
DAY 4, 12:17 PM
LISBON, PORTUGAL
The press conference had just finished. We listened to the A.S.O. Dakar Director, Etienne Lavicne, speak in French and got the translation via headphones.