Stage Eleven
Stage 11 - 11 January 2004 - MOPTI > BOBO-DIOULASSO
Neutralized stage
Today, competitors left Mali and hit the road to Burkina Faso and the city
of Bobo Dioulasso, with the motorcycles alongside the cars and trucks for
the 530km liaison on the road from Bamako. The route offered no challenges
and no difficulties. It was just a liaison on a tarred road. Around noon the
teams arrived at the bivouac in Bobo-Dioulasso. The rally-crews have now
reached Burkina-Faso.
Meanwhile some riders were getting on a plane after finally making it to the
finish line of Friday's Nema special, while others were still struggling to
get there!
Fabrizio Meoni: "I believe that Sainct and Roma will have a good battle for
victory. Richard will ride his own race without worrying about Roma. For
Nani, it'll be tougher because he has more pressure on the shoulders. He's
never won it".
"If I had to take a decision now, I would say that this is my last Dakar.
It's not a question of motivation but at 46, I think of stopping. One should
know his own limits".
Sounds like Clint Eastwood.
David Frétigné (FRA - YAMAHA - 12th overall) - 012
"I can't wait to be back in the race! [On the liaison], there were many
animals, little sheep, goats. It made things dangerous. I even used my horn
but that doesn't work. This stop in the race is not very good for our bodies
because it was used to tough conditions."
The Nissan cars of Ari Vatanen (n°205) and Colin McRae (n°202) are
struggling. McCrea took 16 1/2 hours to finish stage 9, well behind the
leaders. Vatanen had transmission and didn't finish that day. According to
Fred Gallagher, Nissan spokesman : "We're expecting Colin tomorrow in Bobo
but concerning Ari, we're not sure !"
Jean-Louis Schlesser (FRA - Ford-Schlesser - 3rd overall) - 200
"Since the beginning of the rally, the hardest moment was finishing before
the night in the stage between Tidjikja and Nema. Let me remind you that
these three stages were tough but beautiful and the road-book very well
done, although I think that the cancellation of the two stages was good for
everyone. Concerning victory, because I'm here to win, it's obvious that if
they don't have any external problems, the two cars ahead are untouchable."
KTM team-standings:
All teams, but the Spanish one have lost one rider. Gio Salo is missing
among the International team, Jean Brucy among the French team and Scot
Harden among the US-team. The two fastest riders from each team are taken
into the valuation. Only the Spanish team is still in the position to have
the advantage of three riders. The Spaniards seem to be bundled in the most
perfect way. After all Nani Roma, the current leader of the overall
standings, is a member of their team.
Points are rewarded to the two fastest members of a team for their
performance that day, e.g. place 4 is rewarded 4 points:
1st Team Repsol KTM Spain 62 points
2nd Team Gauloises KTM France 67 points
3rd Team Gauloises KTM International 113 points
4th Team Red Bull USA KTM 277 points
Jordi Arcarons, manager of the Team Repsol KTM Spain: "The team-standings
are very important to us. We want to satisfiy our sponsors. We really want
to make a great impression at his Dakar rally."
Gilles Salvador (Team Gauloises KTM France): "It is a sport for individuals
after all. Richard has a chance to win. And Cyril, too, could stand on the
podium. For us it is already a success if one member of the team ranks among
the top three finalists."
Richard Sainct: "The only thing that counts is the individual victory. If
we rank among the best as a team as well, it is even better. But I think it
is a great idea for the private riders. Due to the team-standings it will be
easier for them to step in the spotlight."
Guiliano Cecconi (Team Gauloises KTM International): "Yeah, the
team-standings. We will see how it will end up. Unfortunately, we have lost
Gio. But we still got Alfie and Fabrizio. There are still stages coming up
when Fabrizio can make the best use of his skills. We will see how everythin
g will develop. As a team manager, I want most of all that both of the
remaining riders reach Dakar."
Joe Barker, coordinator of the Team Red Bull KTM USA: "It is most important
for us to reach the finish line at Dakar. Unfortunately, Scot had to drop
out of the race. As rookies, we are collecting lots and lots of experience
at the Dakar rally. This will be highly important for the future. After all
we want to raise the Dakar's fame back home. It will already be a great
success for us if one of our riders ranks among the top 10. That will mean
that we rank up front as a team as well."
Scot Harden has returned to Los Angeles: "It was a great adventure for me.
I was able to collect many new experiences and we all became a great big
family. Never had I thought that the Dakar is so extraordinary. There are so
many nations and they all get along so well. It is like the whole world has
shrunk together. I am really happy to have been part of it, even when I had
to drop out of the race. I hope that others from the States do want to
experience the adventure Dakar just like we did. I want to thank everyone
who has supported us rookies: Carlo de Gavardo, Hans Trunkenpolz, Claudia
Patuzzi, the Spanish riders - simply everyone. Thank you very much."
>From Dakar Magazine, on the Dakar web page:
Luc PAGNON - PLANETE AVENTURE - 056
RETURN FROM HELL
Luc Pagnon is one of the few survivors of the Tidjikja-Nema stage he
finished 26 hours after taking off.
"In my life, I've always been lucky", admits the Frenchman who went through
all the different nightmares of this special.
The most smiling Marseilles native of the Dakar, indeed had made it to Nema
outside the authorised time, and therefore should have been forced to
retire. "I injured a shoulder after a fall. When I went through CP2, I knew
that something was going on."
Lost with three other bikers, Pagnon changed strategy. Exhausted after hours
wandering around, Pagnon told his colleagues : "I'm tired, I'm sleeping
here". At that moment it was 22h55, the four were to wake up at around 5h00
to hit the rroad again al the way to Nema. at 10h00. "We only had the time
to stop, jump on the plane taking us to Bamako".
Like all the other competitors that arrived late, Pagnon was given a 20h
penalty on Nani Roma (1st overall). Not important for the Frenchman : "Today
I'm given hours and hours in the face but that doesn't change anything. For
me, a rally raid has to be difficult. That's what I love although I never
fell as much in my life. In the desert I saw a herd of donkeys, it was
magnificent. I'm far from being discouraged from riding and that's the most
important thing !"
More human interest stuff:
Yuki Tanaka is the only woman on a motorbike who has made it so far. The
31-year-old Japanese woman participates for the first time at the Dakar
rally. She rides a KTM 660. She bought the support-package from KTM. If you
watch Yuki, you can't help but marvel about her. The woman is 1.60 meter (5'
2") tall, weighs 53 kg (116 lbs).
She just loves the challenge: "I like the desert and I love motorbikes,"
explains Yuki, who looks scarred and bruised from her crashes. "I suppose
that has got to do with my job as a journalist for several motorcycle
magazines." The delicate KTM-rider collected first experiences in the desert
in Dubai and Morocco. However, riding the Dakar rally is a whole new
experience for her.
"I'm missing a stamp from CP 2 from the stage on Friday," explains Yuki, "I
hope the jury can accept that. It really was a brutal special after all. And
I really want to go on. Overall I'm gratified with everything, my motorbike,
my mechanic and with the support I receive from KTM. I can just hope and
pray."
Unfortunately, all hope was in vain. This afternoon the jury decided that
Yuki Tanaka is cancelled from the race. As a small comfort she's allowed to
fly along to Dakar and to experience the end of the rally by the end of next
week. At the moment the small Japanese woman is very disappointed.
Wow - too strict - she should be allowed to continue in the Rally, if you
ask me. She was in 75th.
We're having an intersting discussion on the Pars-Dakar list: How can
competitors in the Dakar can get lost if they have a GPS unit?
Apparently, the GPS units the competitors are allowed to use are special
items that don't have map overlays like the Garmin GPSs we are used to
using. Competitors rent the GPS from the organizers, and each evening at
bivouac you turn it in and they program it with the waypoints for the next
day. These units only give limited information: waypoints and an arrow
pointing at them, possibly also mileage to next waypoint. Riders can't
enter waypoints, back track, etc. Just a blank screen and an arrow - no
moving map.
I guess these GPS units don't even have odometer function: Fretigne got
even more lost the other day because the odometer on his 2WD Yamaha was
inaccurate, which made his roadbook more confusing. Hooked to his front
tire, the odo was off by 40 km, because his front tire was spinning so much!
The main source of navigational information is the Roadbook. The rider
navigates using the roll chart and ICO computers. Sometimes riders use a
compass as a back up.
The GPS is secondary to the Roadbook, and a few days ago many of the
competitors were reminded of this in a harsh manner. If you followed the
Roadbook it directed the riders to turn right at the entrance to a large
canyon. If you used the GPS alone you ended up running straight into the
canyon, which was very long and dead-ended, resulting in many miles of
back-tracking.
As if this year's Rally weren't tough enough, already, organizers have
emphasized how they are making stages longer with less GPS way points, to
make it more challenging.
Although this is cruel in away it makes the competitor actually work in his
head instead of just following a blinking light. Speed is not all. The
Pilot as they say in Europe is a necessary component of the winning package.
This link was proviced by Andrew Bartlett - thanks, as I was wondering what
happened to these the two Team Dome BMW riders, Pavey and Plumb:
http://www.worldofbmw.com/newsstories/040110dakar.htm
36-year-old Australian, Simon Pavey retired after breaking his collarbone on
the ninth stage. He was just 30 km from the finish of the 750km special.
Pavey had been riding with British rider Mick Extance and had been helping
him navigate in the darkness because he didn't have any lights. Pavey hit a
large bump that unbalanced his F650 GS rally bike and caused him to crash
heavily, injuring his collarbone and causing him to retire from the rally.
And,
25-year-old Brit, Nick Plumb has returned to safety after being stranded
alone in the African desert. He was reported lost after the 8th stage, but
by sheer wits and determination, successfully managed to find his way back
to civilisation.
"After the suspension problems I had on Tuesday, (team mate) Simon and I
finally arrived at the Bivouac at 1.30am. However, we were due to depart for
the next stage just one hour later! The race organisers were not going to
let us compete because we hadn't had any sleep. So we went to the medics and
convinced them that if we got some sleep that we could continue in the
event. So Si and I had a quick sleep while our support team worked on the
bikes."
"We started stage seven (Wednesday) at the back of the field and everything
went really well for most of the day. We came across a huge sand dune where
lots of cars and bikes had stopped and I assumed they were stuck. Simon and
I decided that we had to try and get around the sand dune so we split up.
Then I had a problem with the battery and I really couldn't go anywhere."
"From where I was stuck I could still see all the cars and bikes at the sand
dune but it was quite a long way off and it was getting dark. I decided to
leave the bike and take my GPS and emergency beacon and try and find some
help. I was walking through the desert and yelling out for someone's
attention. Ironically the person that came to my aid was Simon. We went back
to my bike and tried swapping the batteries on both bikes and a few other
options. Eventually we were up and running, although we could only ride
slowly.
"We were about six kilometres from Check Point 4 and that's when the battery
really gave out. We just couldn't get it started. Si and decided that he
should continue and I should be collected by the sweeper vehicle. I stayed
by the course and waited. It was dark by then but I thought I might be able
to find an abandoned bike back at the dunes with a battery I could use.
"I walked toward the dunes, but they were really far. I hadn't slept or
eaten and it was really dark. I had to keep stopping to rest. I decided that
it was too far and I might get in trouble if I ventured way off course. So I
walked back to my bike and tried to sleep.
"It was freezing. I left my helmet and goggles on so that I could protect
myself from the sand and the cold wind. Luckily I was wearing a Gore-Tex
suit and that helped to keep me a little warm, but I had to keep getting up
and walking around to warm up.
"In the morning I woke to the sight of five camels staring at me - very
surreal! Later a French rider came by who had swapped his broken bike for an
injured rider's one. He couldn't speak English but I managed to convince him
that we should swap the batteries on our bikes.
"Christoph (the French rider) agreed and we were able to get the bikes
going. We managed to ride back to the Bivouac but almost everyone had gone.
An hour after we arrived, five of us were packed into a car and driven 500km
to Mauritania Airport. It was an eight or nine hour trip. We were then flown
to Tunisia from where we caught a flight to Paris.
"I hadn't eaten in days. we weren't given any food or water when we arrived
at the Bivouac. The first time we ate was on the plane. We haven't had a
chance to shower and I'm still wearing my race suit because all of my
clothes have moved on with the race."
Fun, eh?
And finally, PG Lundmark's Diary:
http://www.pgdakar.com/race/2004_dakar/en/dagar/dag_10_en.html
While we're racing in a country where the political situation is unstable,
we will not ride today or tomorrow. This is the second time this happens to
me, the first time was in 2000 just before we were to cross the Ténéré when
the race was stopped and we were air chartered to Libya.
I wonder what an insurance against terrorism would cost the organiser. The
Swedish insurance companies wouldn't touch it. Last year I tried to sign a
life insurance but reading the small print I saw that already injured body
parts could not be insured so the only thing I could insure was my right
arm. I am left-handed so the insurance was of no use to me.
Another mindless piece of information are the number of injuries. When I
broke my kneecap in 1988, the doctor asked what it is that drives me to
shorten my life. If he was working down here he would have more food for his
prejudices. There were 195 motorcycle riders at the start, now there are 60
left and half of those walk with a limp.
Alfie Cox analysed the situation last night, when he said: "One day you're
up at the top, the next day you're ****ing gone. That's the rules, they're
crazy!"
[Lundmark is wrecking front wheels]: A prognosis for the last half of the
race indicates that I will break the budget by 90-100 percent. I have simply
overlooked the fact that some of the terrain is very rocky. Combined with my
wish to move the motorcycle across the same terrain at a rate to avoid
embarrassment when I come home, this has created a financial crisis. The
rules of capitalism are valid here and I haven't dared asked for the price
of a complete wheel in the open market down here.
Overshooting is necessary, meaning you have to brake so late that on the
average you overshoot every 30th corner. It is mostly possible to steer back
on the road again, without much damage. I was talking to Pål about this and
also told him how in one corner I had gone straight on but there was cliff
and I jumped from it, having the luck of an idiot. He asked me if it had
been about 3 metres and I asked him why. Then he told me how he had gone
straight on in the tyre tracks where some idiot had gone straight on and he
too had to jump. The cliff was marked in the roadbook but there were at
least two Scandinavians missing the point. I can finish with a proverb,
suitable for all enduros: The only way around is straight through.
Tomorrow it is the official rest-day at Bobo-Diolasso. We will keep you
updated with news from the bivouac.
Tom Warr