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YEAR 2002 | |||
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HISTORY On July 9, 1993 the first Rally of the Sertões, organized by Adventure Eventos, set out from Campos do Jordão in the state of São Paulo for Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte. racing over these 3.500 kilometers were sixty motorcyclists;no other vehicles took part. The historical theme for the route showed parts of the life of the poet, composer, and singer Luiz Gonzaga, and went through Exú, where he was born and lived, and Asa Branca, the town that inspired the name of his best known song. In 1994, still organized by Adventure, the second rally, the destination of which was also Natal, ran along a totally different route and, consequently, a new story. Its theme was based on a book by Guimarães Rosa, Grande Sertão Veredas, the route of which went through Montes Claros, Monte Azul, Bom Jesus da Lapa in the state of Bahia, and coasted the São Francisco River. With forty-four drivers from all over Brazil, plus foreign competitors, this edition of the rally completed its 4.500 kilometers route in eleven days at high speed. In 1995, by which time the FIN had approved and anointed it, the race had Lampião (the most famous of the Northeast´s gunslingers, oft thought of as a Robin Hood type by his fellow Northeasteners) as its theme, which took to Serra Talhada, where lampião lived with Maria Bonita. Top of the line world-class drivers who had driven in events like the Paris Dakar Rally came: formidable drivers like Edie Oriolli from Italy (1st in Paris Dakar 1996), Fernando Gil and Jordi Rossel from Spain. This was also the year 4x4 cars were included. The year of 1996 and the Rally dos Sertões IV arrived, the latter with its most revolutionary configuration: a new company structure was created, with new collaboration and business associates focusing exclusively on the rally. Dunas Race was born and trained and developed the know-how of a team of more than one hundred professionals directly involved with the rally. The rally set off from the city of São Paulo´s Vale de Anhangabaú (a valley that is now the locale for a tunnel facilitating traffic in the center of the city of São Paulo), on June 27, 1996 with Fortaleza in Ceará as destination. In 1997 60 4x4 automobiles and 85 motorbikes ran the race. The theme chosen this time was based on Coluna Prestes, a 1920´s anti-government military movement, and the event once again had Natal as its final destination. The rally grew over the following three years. New sponsors, a large number of drivers in all categories, with a record number of cars in 2000, the introduction of the category Trucks, overseas promotion, and a return of 20 million in 2000, among other factors, have shored up the competition for the new millenium. As well as this, historical themes have been combined with ecological and social action, contributing to the development of a country still largely unknown to most Brazilians.
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