2016 Dakar Rally: Peru withdraws as host

Lima, Aug 25: Peru said that it is withdrawing as host of the 2016 Dakar Rally due to concerns about the El Nino weather phenomenon, a media report said.

The country's ministry of foreign trade and tourism issued a statement on Monday, saying the government was cancelling its participation in both the 2015 Desafio Inca (or Dakar Challenge), scheduled for September, and next year's rally, Xinhua reported

"Due to the impact the El Nino phenomenon may have in different parts of the country, and as a precaution of its possible effects on the population, we have decided to cancel our participation in the automotive events," the ministry said.

According to Peru's specialised El Nino commission (ENFEN), "a powerful weather event" is expected around the same time as next year's rally was set to kick off in Peru's capital Lima on January 3, before racing on to Bolivia and Argentina.