体坛英语新闻：Bolivia to officially launch 2014 Dakar Rally in April

LA PAZ, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales and Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) will officially launch the 2014 Dakar Rally on April 16 in La Paz, to inform about the tourist potential that the South American country offers for the event, Bolivia's Presidency Minister Juan Ramon Quintana confirmed on Wednesday.

Quintana, together with Tourism Minister Pablo Groux, asked the local authorities, businessmen and social organizations to unite and offer the visitors the best hospitality, safety and the best of Bolivia.

This call was made for "the world to know that Bolivia is extraordinary and concentrates the attention of the international community and the tourists in a global scale", Quintana affirmed in a press conference held in La Paz on Wednesday.

Quintana said that for the Dakar Rally organization, President Morales ordered the conformation of an inter-institutional committee with ministers, the authorities of Potosi department (state) and businessmen.

The Dakar Rally organizers expect to "break the 2013 profit record", considering the incorporation of Bolivia, which caused "an extraordinary expectation" in the world, Quintana said.

He said Bolivia will pay 2 million dollars for the Dakar Rally franchise, from which a first payment of one million dollars will be done in May and the second in September.

Dakar Rally in Bolivia will only be included in the motorcycle and quad race in a two-day competition, while the cars and trucks will have a different route.

The race will enter through southern Bolivia one day after the rest day (Jan. 11) in Salta, Argentina. This will be the competition's 7th day which will probably end in Uyuni. The 8th day will also travel through Bolivian territory to continue later in Chile.