( dpa )- Buenos Aires/Santiago (dpa) - Argentina and Chile are set to host the Dakar Rally in 2009, rally authorities in both countries said Monday.
David Ely - top rally promoter in Argentina and closely involved in efforts to take the traditional competition to South America - told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the official announcement of the decision is expected to be made Tuesday.
Sebastian Etcheverry, president of Chilean motorcycling, confirmed in Santiago that officials of Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), in charge of the Dakar Rally, are expected to travel to Chile.
Etcheverry told the online edition of the daily La Tercera that "the visit from ASO will be to announce that the Dakar (rally) will go through Chile."
"We are very satisfied," Chilean Sports Vice Minister Jaime Pizarro told dpa.
Chilean government sources said the rally is set to have its departure and finish lines in Argentina, although some stages will take place in Chile.
The start and the beginning of the competition were granted to Argentina for financial reasons. It was financially unfeasible to ship all the vehicles and equipment to Chile, either through the Magellan Straits or round Cape Horn.
Pizarro confirmed that the day off during competition, which the Dakar convoy is set to spend in the Valparaiso province. During the southern hemisphere's summer, the province also hosts an ATP tennis tournament and an international singing festival.
The prestigious rally was cancelled this year shortly before its beginning in Lisbon because of security concerns in Mauritania.
The rally across the deserts of north Africa had been due to start in Lisbon on January 5 and to finish in the Senagelese capital Dakar on January 20, with stages in Mauritania January 11-19.
However, it was cancelled - for the first time in the 30-year history of the rally - on January 4.
In 2009, the Dakar Rally is set to take place January 3-18, organizers have said.