Dakar Rally hit by deaths following road accident

The Dakar rally, which moved from Africa to South America for security reasons in 2009, is notoriously dangerous and has claimed a number of lives in its history, both among competitors and spectators.

The race was the idea of Frenchman Thierry Sabine after he got lost on his motorbike in the desert during the Abidjan-Nice Rally back in 1977. "A challenge for those who go, a dream for those who stay behind," is how Sabine described the inaugural Dakar.

Sabine, French singer Daniel Balavoine, journalist Nathaly Odent, pilot François Xavier-Bagnoud and radio technician Jean-Paul Le Fur were killed in a helicopter accident during the Dakar in 1983. Sabine's ashes were scattered in the desert and his father Gilbert, aided by Patrick Verdoy, took over the race's running.

In 1982, the son of then British Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher was stranded in the desert while competing in the Paris-Dakar Rally. "Being without a radio, I couldn't listen to the World Service and so had no idea of all the drama this was causing back home," Mark Thatcher told the Guardian newspaper in 2004. "I later found out that half of Fleet Street was in Tamanrasset and that the other half was trying to fly down there."

During the 1989 Dakar, Peugeot was fighting for victory with Ari Vatanen (R) and Jacky Ickx both driving identical cars. The former boss of Peugeot Jean Todt, who is now FIA president, became so concerned both might crash he opted to implement team orders. Taking a 10-franc piece out of his pocket, Todt flipped the coin -- with Vatanen winning the toss. Vatanen is pictured with Auriol during 1987 race.

Former motorcycle winner of the Dakar Hubert Auriol became the first driver to win in both the bike and car categories in 1992. That year the race comprised 22 stages and passed through 10 countries -- running from the north to Africa's southernmost tip of Africa -- on its 12,427 kilometer route.

Jutta Kleinschmidt made her first appearance in the Dakar in 1988 in the bike category. Thirteen years later the German -- at the wheel of a Mitsubishi -- became the first woman to win the prestigious car competition.

During the 2005 Dakar, motorbike riders Jose Manual Pérez and Fabrizio Meoni died in consecutive days after separate crashes. That year motorcyclist Cyril Despres dedicated his victory to Meoni and Richard Sainct, who had died a few weeks earlier during the Pharaohs Rally.

Driving a Mitsubishi, the 1997 World Cup skiing champion Luc Alphand won the 2006 Dakar. However his win was overshadowed by the deaths of two young spectators and Australian motorcyclist Andy Caldecott, who died on stage nine.

The Dakar has been canceled just once -- in 2008. After four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania on December 24, 2007, organizers chose not to run the event due to "direct threats against the race issued by terrorist groups." Eight of the rally's 15 stages had been due to pass through Mauritania.

The cancellation of the 2008 Dakar prompted the the 31st edition of the race to be moved to South America. There were victories for Marc Coma in the bike category, Josef Machacek in the quad category, Giniel De Villiers in the car category and Firdaus Kabirov in the truck category.

Last year Stephane Peterhansel of France won an unprecedented 10th Dakar title by the car class for the fourth time. It was the six-time motorcycle champion's first victory since the race left Africa.

HIDE CAPTION

Dangerous drive

Founding father

Dakar's dark year

Diplomatic incident

Toss of a coin

Double winner

'Miss Dakar'

Bike deaths

World Cup skiing champion

Terrorism stalks Dakar

South America switch

Historic triumph

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(CNN) -- The Race to Dakar has been marred by injuries to three Britons after they were involved in a road traffic accident in South America, which left two others dead.

The support vehicle, a Land Rover Defender, was involved in a head-on collision in the town of Tacna, Peru, close to the Chilean border.

Two other vehicles were involved in the smash, in which two lost their lives and others were injured.

The three Race2Recovery members were taken to hospital and later flown to hospital in Lima, where they are said to be "stable and conscious". The injuries have been described as "non-life threatening".

The three men, who are part of a team of injured soldiers taking part in the challenge, were named as Justin Birchall, 40, a team driver and civilian volunteer, whose Wildcat vehicle retired earlier in the race, former Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer and Gulf War and Falklands war veteran Lee Townsend, a team mechanic, and retired Army Major John Winskill, the team logistics expert.

Team leader Captain Tony Harris said: "Our hearts go out to the families and relatives of those who have died in this tragic accident and we offer them our condolences and sympathy.

"Our entire team has been struck by the friendliness and support we have received from the Peruvian people since arriving for the Dakar Rally.

Triple amputee takes on world's most dangerous race

"The team decided before we even started that we would continue our endeavour. This is obviously a huge shock but we know that we have the blessing of the injured. They want the team to finish," he said.

The Race2Recovery team is hoping to become the first disability team to complete the challenge, which takes in around 9,000 kilometers of extreme mountain and desert terrain.

The squad of 28 includes both British and U.S. service people who were wounded during combat and have missing limbs, spinal injuries and psychological injuries.

The race is scheduled to finish in Santiago, Chile on January 20.

Since the inaugural race in 1978, 25 competitors have lost their lives, while more than 50 have died overall. Only 74 of the original 182 participants made it to Dakar in the first year.

Although the race used to be held in Europe with the climax in Senegal, Africa, it was moved to South America in 2009 following threats of terrorism.