Tubus Racing

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Hundreds of thousands of people overwhelmed the capital of Argentina on Friday to see the vehicles competing in the first Dakar Rally in South America.

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, where the rally will officially begin Saturday with a 456-mile stage south to Santa Rosa in the Pampas.

The 30th Dakar Rally -- and the first outside Africa -- features 177 cars, 217 motorcycles, 81 trucks and 25 quad bikes with drivers from 49 countries.

After 14 stages and 5,950 miles, it will finish on Jan. 18 in Buenos Aires.

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

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

"There will be surprises every day," said Stephane Peterhansel, who has won three Dakars in a car, including the last, and six more on a motorcycle. "We're relying on comments, various information sources and, in any case, we know how to adapt."

The 2008 race was canceled because of the possibility of terrorist attacks in Mauritania.