Dakar 2010 is nearly here, and with the changes to the rulebook, we look forward to what could be the most wide-open competition in recent memory.  How that all plays out, of course, remains to be seen.

 

Here is an excellent interview with Cyril Despres and Marc Coma with commentary on the restrictor for the bikes larger than 450cc's, as well as their thoughts on racing in South America.  Video posted by KTM.

 

Part 2 of JennyMo's post-event wrap up. Splendid stuff, Jenny. Thanks for letting us ride "Inside the Helmet" on this year's Heroes.

A coffee-deprived JennyMo rings in from the Madrid airport at oh-dark-thirty with her post-event wrap up. Splendid stuff, Jenny. Thanks for letting us ride "Inside the Helmet" on this year's Heroes!

Incredible. If you've ever wondered what the Heroes Legend was really like, or thought that it might be a "tourist trip" along the old Dakar route, listen in and think again.


"Mr. Yamaha" dropped in after Rallye Maroc and checked out the new generation Tenere. Wonder if we'll see some of the big boys at the Heroes next year...?


Hope to hear from you at the Pink Lake tomorrow, Jenny!.

Safely through the no-man's land and across the border into Mauritania, Jenny rings in as they prepare to tackle the monster dune stages ahead. The Desert Rose riders are doing well, and as often goes for support crews during rallies, they've adopted some new hangers-on.

Jenny's loving the Tenere and is finding it an excellent companion in the desert.

Jenny rings in from the Atlantic coast of Morocco, after having secured 3rd position on today's stage! Way to go, Jenny!

Jenny calls in before the start, 8 days into the rallye. Still in Morocco, they've a long way to go yet. I think she's got the knack of this call in thing -- what do you guys think?

Jenny rings in after a brutal day on the piste in Morocco. Mick has crashed out with a hard concussion, and is currently in hospital with injured vertebrae. Clive (Patsy's husband) cut his hand. Jenny lost rear wheel bearing at 60km/h and took the caliper bracket with it, which she thought would take her out of the rally but thank heavens for the service crew (who had their own troubles!).

Hopefully the days ahead will be a bit more kind, as they're only about 1/4 through the event so far!

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Jenny's rung in with her first call-in. The weather's thrown them a curveball thusfar, but the tone of her voice says she's having a grand time.

David Dickinson catches us up to speed as well as sharing a "day in the life" on the rallye. For those who wondered why he wasn't show on the starting list today, he explains that as well.

Good luck tomorrow, David!

Cummo chats with ADV Inmate Rick Hatswell whose Dakar plans for this year are in dire jeopardy after breaking his leg on the Rallye yesterday. In fact, if you'd like, you can buy a ready-to-go package for El Dakaro in January...

Rick sounds in better spirits than I'd expect to be...

Cummo tracks down Sherco pilot Philippe Jacquet to hear how development of the Sherco Rallye Bike is coming along. KTM 690 pilot Stephane Hamard also fills us in on his experiences thusfar.

Cummo on the phone with quad rider Lionel Laine, who is leading the Overall Cross-country rallye standings for the year.

Don Hatton on the line with a report from Day 2.  Sad news in the bivouac as two event staff are killed in an accident on the piste, with others injured.  Don's had a rough go of it but is still hanging in there, while ADV inmate Rick is out with a broken leg.  Don's hoping tomorrow's terrain suits him and the 690 Enduro better than the first two days.


Rick, hope you're back to fighting shape by Dakar...!

David's left word from the sweltering bivouac after the first day's stages. Like Don, his mechanics were delayed at sea and so getting through scrutineering was a bit of a crunch. Hopefully they don't have too much to attend to tonight.

He's looking forward to faster, longer stages tomorrow.


Thanks, David!

An upbeat Don Hatton calls in after scrutineering. They had a bit of a challenge as the bike and team were delayed at sea due to a storm, then needed to rectify some wiring issues, but all is well now and he's looking forward to getting on with things tomorrow.

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Our man on the scene, Cummo, catches up with rallye circuit regular Pal Anders Ullevalseter, of Norway. As a perennial front-running privateer, Pal Anders fills us in on his plans for the Dakar this year and gives some thoughts on the 690/450 debate.

David Dickinson rings in from Marrakesh on the eve of the Rallye. From his post on Adventure Rider:

I'm in - (No 17) and also being supported by Patsy's Desert Rose Racing. Looking forward to meeting the Canadians and the one other Brit in this essentially French race.

I've not had great preparation with my Enduro bike being stolen in May (don't ask )!! and me not managing to replace it until late August. I don't suppose riding my 990 R all summer counts for much. Still I'm really looking forward to it, an English description of the route is here:

http://www.npo.fr/maroc2009/pdf/CP5-MAR09-230909EN.pdf

The main site for the Event is here, they may have a tracking feature once the Rallye starts:

http://www.npo.fr/maroc2009/

And if you fancy supporting the charity I am doing it for please visit this site:

http://www.justgiving.com/David-Dickinson/

Many thanks

David



Good luck, David!  Can't wait to hear more updates on the rally.

Mick finds himself not at all where he expected to be half way through his 1000-mile C90 ride, in the hospital after an off.


Get well, Mick!

Mick is off on another 1000 mile ride to raise funds for another good cause, this time on a diminutive C90.  He's making steady progress early in the ride.

John Bouwknegt rings in with his impressions on the inaugural Yilgarn Rallye, which proved every bit the challenge (and maybe then some) that competitors expected.  Well done, John!

Garry regales us with the tale of the Yilgarn IronMan -- a competitor who rode his 950se to the event, offroad, and then home again via the same route in time to make it to work again the next day.  Hardcore.

Garry calls in with the comprehensive event report.  Absolutely incredible effort getting this event organized from the ground up, Garry.  Hopefully the first of many successful years and rallies to come!  Your fellow rallye enthusiasts owe you a debt of gratitude.

The quad boys are starting to get into the nav rallye scene, and Garry chats with one of them after the event.

Garry Connell, event organizer for the first annual Yilgarn Rallye in Western Australia, rings in with an overview of the event and some last minute news regarding a necessary change to the format.

Garry chats with perennial front-runner Jacob Smith after day 1.

Garry Connell, from the Husaberg Rallye team rings in.

Greg gets us started with an intro to the two-day navigation rallye down under.

 Out but not down, Youcef and Rob are both tending to injuries suffered in separate incidents.  Rob's circumstances are particularly bizarre.  Get well soon, guys!

Youcef chats with a man who's fast becoming one of my favorite RallyRAIDio storytellers, Simon Pavey.  Hear Simon's take on the Desert Challenge, as well as some riveting behind the scenes stories from El Dakaro.  Pull up a chair. This stuff is better than gold.

Youcef chats with Italian Aprilla works riders Alex Zanotti and Paolo Cici about their unique (in the rallye world) machines and their experiences thusfar.


Rally on, guys!

Youcef catches up with the UAE KTM team manager for a chat on Day 2.

Youcef Cummings (Cummo on Adventure Rider) gets us started with the coverage of the 2009 Abu Dhabi (formerly UAE) Desert Challenge, and speaks with members of the UAE KTM team.

Good luck, guys, and have a great rally!

Garry chats with Welshman Craig Bounds following Stage 8.  Boundsey is riding well, despite a major off that fractured his sternum only weeks before the event.  Hardcore.

Annie Seel calls in mid way through what has to be the toughest rally of her life.  Bruised and battered, she continues on despite having shattered her helmet chinbar and breaking her nose.

Is the South American Dakar tough?  You better believe it.

Stan calls in after a tough day that saw a track with many potential pitfalls and long drop offs for the competitors.

We appear to be experiencing intermittent server issues.  Please bear with us if you are experiencing download issues.  Click the embedded player -- it'll load eventually.


Fear not, calls are still being captured.


Thanks,
Nate

Garry has a great chat with Thomas Berglund, riding his second Dakar with the Sweedish Army team. ARMY. Not bikini. But anyway -- Thomas fills us in on his race to date, including overshooting a corner and ending up several hundred meters off piste... Other than that, going quite well, and hoping for a finish inside the top 15.



Good luck, Thomas. Hope to hear from you again.

Garry chats with Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues, multi-stage winner in previous Dakar's, who voices perhaps the first leanings toward Africa that I've heard yet thusfar.


Great to hear from you, Helder.  Good luck on the rest of the Rally! (And what kind of fairing is that on your KTM?  Hmm?)

Garry gets Pal Anders on the phone after stage 8. The call is dropped, unfortunately, but it's an honor to hear from the Man in Green -- long, LONG, flying the flag for privateers on the Rallye circuit.


Good luck, Pal Anders! Hope to hear from you again, and hope you finally get that podium finish you've been working for.

The title pretty much says it all.  After heroically riding through the pain of an existing wrist injury, Jonah has several crashes today and makes the gut wrenching decision to live to fight another day.


Jonah's performance and that of Team Rally PanAmerica have been nothing short of spectacular this year.  We hope to see them return next year, and perhaps even for the entire World Championship calendar (dare we hope!) -- continuing the dream that a privateer can end up on the podium of the greatest race on earth.


Thank you, Jonah Street, for allowing us to believe that dreams are still achievable. 

Garry interviews David after the rest day. Steady as she goes for David, who finds himself transitioning from an "attack" mentality, to a "bring it home safely" approach.  Sounds pretty damn prudent given the attrition of late.

Don Hatton calls in after escaping from the hospital following his stage 4 crash and medivac. So good to hear from you, Don. You had us all worried there for a while.


Don, it's been a privilege to follow your maturation as a rallye rider. THANK YOU for allowing us to ride over your shoulder, across the world. We hope to hear more about your days before your crash, living the dream we all share.

Mend well. Mend completely. Dakar 2010.

Garry calls in from the streets of Valparaiso on the (so called) "rest" day. The service crews have had a busy day, including motor changes for both Jonah and David (who has put impressive mileage on the 690 including multiple rallies). Better safe than sorry. This does put an end to the marathon class, however.


A great look at what goes on in the service camp. Thanks, Garry!

For those of you who've seen Race to Dakar, listening to Simon Pavey chat with Garry will be like listening to an old friend regale you with tales at the local pub. I can see his easy going, ear-to-ear grin right now.


Thanks for talking with us, Simon. Hope to hear from you again! Enjoy the rest day.

Penalized 4 hours for missing a CP by 60m, Garry (our intrepid reporter) has managed to get the assessment reversed, preserving David's spot at the pointy end of the field.


Get up to speed with David's race to date.

Crewman for Dutchman Henk Knuiman, riding a 690 Enduro based bike, chats with Garry on how the rally is going for them up to this point. Browsing the lists, there are an amazing number of Dutchmen in the race.


Good luck, guys!  Enjoy the rest day.

Riding the Dakar is tough. Riding it without a clutch is even tougher...


Also a quick update on Jon Stamper who crashed heavily and retired on stage 5. Heal up, Jon!

An absolutely fabulous call from Jonah and Garry.  A lot of insight into what the race strategy will be from here on out.


Thanks guys, enjoy the rest day!

Phil Noone from Ireland relates the tale of his incredible night last night. We knew he traveled to the bivouac to retrieve parts for the bike -- we didn't know that that journey was on HORSEBACK!!


With all due respect to our other callers, this may be the most incredible tale ever related on RallyRAIDio.



Incredible, Phil. 

Stan Watt rings in after the abbreviated stage.  Having injured his knee yesterday in the "debacle", he took it easy today.


He also mentions that yesterday's stage was neutralized, and that it sucks for Jonah.  Obviously that doesn't jive with the timing as we're seeing it today, so either the riders have been given a false impression, or something is afoot that we're yet to hear about.  Lets hope the former.  :nod

Garry calls in from the bivouac after the weather-shortened stage 6. As good as Jonah's day was yesterday, David Schwarz had a tough one, missing a CP by 60m and incurring a very hefty penalty.



Thanks, Garry!

Jonah's Eurosport interview following his impressive win on Stage 5.  Check out eurosport.com for more of their great coverage.

Garry heads off to bed, but not before speaking with Marc Coma.  Tomorrow will be a big day, with competitors encountering the first dunes of the rally.



WE should get to hear from Marc tomorrow, all things going as planned. In the meantime, Garry fills us in on some followup with Frans Verhoeven on the future of El Dakaro, and gives us a glimpse of what it's like over in the Elf Box camp, with the truly unsupported privateers.


There's some digital break-up in parts of the call (from wind noise, I believe), so bear with us.


Cheers, and G'night Garry!

Garry speaks with the lone Kiwi on the rally, privateer moto Michael Shepherd.  Great chat on what brought him to the rally, and what it's like to get passed flat out by the cars and trucks.



Thanks Mike, and good luck!

After finishing his roadbook for the night, the man in second place overall, Jonah Street, gives us a quick call.  Get some rest tonight, Jonah!

Garry chats with Italian quad rider Camelia Liparoti, who shares her perspectives on the rally with us in this great(!) call.


Here's the Dakar profile for Camelia:

She has been thinking about it for 12 years. Her uncle, a mechanic in her native Tuscany had her cleaning the spark plugs in her car. “I never got dirty”, she says laughingly. “I was fascinated by engine noise”.

It runs through Carmélia Liparoti’s veins. This petite lady’s passion is the quad; she seeks adventure and has dreamed about the Dakar for quite awhile.” I have covered the rally three times as a journalist”. These elements came into focus for the photographer. Camélia has had this challenge in the back of her mind since she decided to return but on the other side of the lens as a competitor. “I want to be the first woman to reach Dakar on a quad”.

Since discovering the rally she has prepared to take it on. In the three years she has amassed experience on raid adventures on every continent. Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, Russia, Finland, Canada even Madagascar were all stops along the way. Colleague and past Dakar competitor, Francis Guérand is lending Carmélia a hand. He too ran a quad on the Dakar. He acted as a “Sherpa” over the entire rally distance.

The Italian lady lives in Chamonix, France and at home skiing is her first love. “Skiing… the lines and slopes are a great to learn more about riding a quad. It’s all about sliding which is also how you attack a valley of dunes.” Luc Alphand, her ‘Godfather, on the Dakar wouldn’t disagree.

Aussie Christophe Barriere Varju fills us in on his race to date, and what the dust is doing to man and machine alike.

Thanks Christophe, and hope to hear from you again soon!  Safe racing!




Christophe is running race number 205

Garry rings in with an awesome update of the rally from the perspective of a support team member (as well as EveryMan rallye nut).  Ever wonder what goes on when a rider pulls into the pit?  Listen in.  Garry's also got a great description of how the Rally is being received in SA.


Thanks, Garry!

Garry has Frans Verhoeven, former KTM factory (now Vectra teammate to Casteu) rider and winner of Stage 2, on the line.  Thanks, Frans, and continued good luck!

Aussie privateer David Schwarz calls from the Day 4 bivouac with a brief update.  A bit of nav trouble today, but still riding high in the overall order.  Keep it steady, David!

Stage 4 interview audio interview with Jonah street.  Check out eurosport.com for more of their comprehensive Dakar coverage.

Robb calls in after Jonah finishes 3rd on the day, now sitting 2nd overall after 4 stages.  Way to go, guys!

Jonah Street interviewed on Eurosport after stage 2.  Check out eurosport.com for their comprehensive coverage of the Dakar.

Team manager for Rally PanAm, Robb McElroy calls in from Puerto Madrid, a "proper Dakar bivouac" lacking the niceties of yesterday's accommodations.  Steady progress for the team today, who benefited from Coma's mechanical issues (which Robb details).

Another long, hot day awaits the competitors tomorrow.


Thanks, Robb!

Garry Connell rings in from the bivouac with the report of his first day "on the Dakar".  Thanks for being our roving reporter, Garry!

 Jonah calls in after finishing 5th on Day 1.  Dusty, tough to pass, and tire melting all accurate descriptors for the longest first day in Dakar history.

Stan Watt, from Team FrontrowGB rings in after the ceremonial start, ready to rip for tomorrow.  Good luck, Stan!

Garry rings in from the Ceremonial Start podium, amidst a crowd that would do a MotoGP round proud.

Garry continues his call with a look around Parc Ferme at the assembled field, including some unlikely candidates.

Garry Connell rings in with a bit of introduction from Buenos Aires, and describes his first days in Rallye Fan heaven as they go through briefings and scrutineering.  Garry is riding with Rally PanAm and supporting Aussie David Schwarz, as well as serving as our intrepid reporter.


Thanks, Garry!