THE famed Dakar rally will bypass Europe in 2000, beginning in Senegal and ending in Egypt, the event’s organisers announced on Tuesday. For the first time in the race’s history it will be an all-African affair. The race is scheduled to begin on January 6 in Dakar and to end in Cairo on January 23. The gruelling rally used to begin in Paris and end in Dakar. This year, the route changed, with competitors starting in Granada, Spain. Participants will gather in Paris in late December for technical check-ups, after which their cars will be paraded past Parisian monuments, including the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, as part of France’s millennium celebrations, organisers said. It will be the 22nd edition of the race.