Christophe Ena / AP

Competitors stand near their cars as the organizers, ASO (Amaury Sport Organization) decided to cancel the Dakar Rally on the eve of the race in Lisbon, Portugal, on Friday.

The race’s central appeal — its course through African deserts, scrubland and savannas — is also a weak point for security, making it difficult to protect competitors and race workers as they cross remote regions.

Terrorism fears have previously forced organizers to cancel individual stages or reroute the race. In 2000, several legs were scrapped after a threat forced organizers to airlift the entire race from Niger to Libya to avoid danger zones. Several stages were also called off in 2004, reportedly because of terror threats in Mali.

Rally director Etienne Lavigne only recently approved the Mauritanian legs after two stages planned for Mali were scrapped over concerns about al-Qaida’s north Africa affiliate there.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he did not want to “stigmatize” Mauritania, but warned on French radio RTL that there were risks “in a very uncertain region and one crossed by the networks of al-Qaida in North Africa.”

Mauritania’s government had said last week that it would mobilize a 3,000-man security force to ensure race safety. Its foreign minister complained the cancellation was not justified.

“We have taken every measure to ensure that the rally goes forward without incident,” Babah Sidi Abdallah said on RTL TV.

Clerc suggested the threat this year was different from in years past.

“This year — and only in very recent days — the nature of the threat changed, and neither the Mauritanians, the French nor anyone had the means to respond,” he told AP.

For would-be racers, sponsors, teams and vehicle manufacturers, the disappointment was palpable.

“While canceling is obviously the right thing to do for safety and security reasons, there’s no reason why we couldn’t have raced a few stages in Morocco or Portugal where there wasn’t the same risk,” NASCAR driver Robby Gordon, who was planning to compete, said in a statement.

Organizers said the cancellation would not mean the death of the Dakar, but it cast doubt on the rally’s long-term future. The race’s tough geography is a both an organizational headache and a main ingredient of its charm. Going from Europe to west Africa inevitably means traversing inhospitable territory.

“Unless you want to turn this into a yacht race, I don’t see an alternative,” Clerc said.