Hundreds of thousands of people overwhelmed the center of Buenos Aires on Friday to see the 500 vehicles competing in the first Dakar Rally in South America.

After 80,000 people watched the scrutineering on Thursday, rally organizers expected 500,000 to cram the parade route past the Obelisk in Plaza de Republica, and along Avenida 9 de Julio, said to be the world's widest avenue.

The vehicles headed to a park in Palermo suburb, where the rally was to officially begin yesterday with a 733-kilometer stage south to Santa Rosa in the Pampas.

The 30th Dakar features 177 cars, 217 motorcycles, 81 trucks and 25 quad bikes with drivers from 49 countries. After 14 stages and 9,574 kilometers, it will finish on January 18 back in Buenos Aires.

"I expect to suffer," said Cyril Despres of France, the defending motorbike champion. "The race is never easy. All the ingredients are there to make this challenge particularly hard: The heat, the length of the stages, and the altitude."

After Pampas, the rally heads into Patagonia, arrives at the Andes next Thursday, drives into Chile the following day, cruises up alongside the Pacific for 5 days including a loop in the Atacama Desert, then heads back to the start.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily January 4, 2009)