2008 Central Europe Rally

2008 Central Europe Rally
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Host country	Hungary  Romania
Stages	7 (1,092 km; 679 mi)
Overall distance	2,671 km (1,660 mi)
Results
Cars winner	Carlos Sainz and Michel Périn Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
Bikes winner	David Casteu KTM
Trucks winner	Hans Stacey, Eddy Chevaillier, Bernard der Kinderen, MAN

The Central Europe Rally was a rally raid endurance race held in Romania and Hungary, and served as the relocated 2008 edition of the Dakar Rally, marking the 30th running of the event.^[1]

The Amaury Sport Organisation created this event as the relocated Dakar Rally for 2008 after 2007 killing of French tourists in Mauritania (the event is owned by a French organisation) less than two weeks before the originally scheduled start of the race, and the decisions of organisers to defer all Dakar entrants to this event technically made this part of the Dakar.^[2]

In the Cars category, Carlos Sainz Sr. won his first Dakar by 2:01 over Stéphane Peterhansel.

In the Trucks division, Hans Stacey won his second Dakar.

In the Bikes division, David Casteu won his first Dakar.

The event began in Budapest on April 19 and finished at Lake Balaton in Hungary on April 26, 2008.^[1]

Below is a table with the locations of the start and finish points of each stage of the Rally, as well as each stage's distance.^[3]

Date	Stage	Start	Finish	Special Stage (km)	Road Section (km)	Total	Stage winners
							Bikes	Quads	Cars	Trucks
20 April	1	Budapest	Baia Mare	63	468	531	M. Coma	L. Szabo	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
21 April	2	Baia Mare		152	140	292	D. Casteu	R. Irimescu	S. Peterhansel	H. Stacey
22 April	3	Baia Mare	Debrecen	152	285	437	J. Katriňák	R. Irimescu	G. de Villiers	A. Loprais
23 April	4	Debrecen	Veszprém	150	430	580	C. Despres	H. Deltrieu	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
24 April	5	Veszprém		210	107	317	D. Casteu	N. Nemeth	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
25 April	6	Veszprém		210	107	317	C. Despres	H. Deltrieu	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
26 April	7	Veszprém	Balatonfüred	155	42	197	J. Katriňák	C. Declerck	C. Sainz	H. Stacey
				1,092	1,579	2,671

1. David Casteu (KTM) 12:21:14^[4]
2. Francisco López (KTM) +2:58^[4]
3. Alain Duclos (KTM) +19:39^[4]
4. José Manuel Pellicer (Yamaha) +21:20^[4]
5. Cyril Despres (KTM) +22:50^[4]

1. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn, Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, 11h18m08s^[5]
2. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret, Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, + 2.01m^[5]
3. Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk, Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, + 6.34m^[5]
4. Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard, Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, + 7.28m^[5]
5. Carlos Sousa/Andreas Schulz, Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, + 33.45m^[5]
6. Bruno Saby/Alain Guehennec, BMW X3 CC, + 46.30m^[5]
7. Robert Baldwin/Kevin Heath, Hummer H3, + 56.02m^[5]
8. Philippe Gache/François Flick, SMG, + 1h07m08s^[5]
9. Miroslav Zapletal/Valdimir Nemajer, Mitsubishi L200, + 1h12m19s^[5]
10. Robby Gordon/Andy Grider, Hummer H3, + 1h25m38s^[5]

1. Hans Stacey, Eddy Chevaillier, Bernard der Kinderen, MAN TGA, 11:43:20^[6]
2. Wulfer van Ginkel, Daniël Bruinsma, Richard de Rooy, GINAF X2222, +0:33:43^[6]
3. Aleš Loprais, Ladislav Lála, Milan Holáň, Tatra T815-2, +0:53:18^[6]
4. Marek Spáčil, Jiří Žák, Zdeněk Němec, LIAZ 151154, +1:27:42^[6]
5. Marco Dono, Andrea Bettiga, Angelo Fumagalli, Iveco, +1:28:27^[6]