Dakar has started...Yam 450 2 wheel in first!!

Enduro_Nut

~SPONSOR~
Feb 7, 2002
1,155
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Hope this is the correct area...

THE tuffest race in the world has started..DAKAR!

WOW Yamaha's 2 wheels drive(1 of 50 made!)450 is leading the bikes in the DAKAR followed by KTM's.
As Larry Roeseller(sp??) mentioned "It's like a 6 days."
Paul Krause is also running the Dakar...nice tho see the Americans.

Thanks to SPEED! :thumb:
 

Gary B.

~SPONSOR~
Apr 17, 2000
684
0
God I love Dakar!! It's gotta be the ultimate off road adventure. I'm gonna be glued to the TV for the next 17 or so days. :aj:
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
For those without cable (or even TV in my case) I will post the daily info from the Yahoo KTM site that Tom writes up.

Stage 1: REGION D'AUVERGNE > NARBONNE Special 1 km Liaison 395 km Total
396 km

Four hundred competing vehicles including 195 bikes, 142 cars, 63 trucks
were on the start line of the 2004 Telefonica Dakar rally. Add 195
assistance vehicles, close to 600 vehicles took off from the Auvergne area
to head to Narbonne. Add to that a total of 1800 people following the
event in the early stages.

The Dakar Rally is popular; somewhere between 5000 (according to web news
sources) and 35 000 spectators (according to the police) braved the
extremely snowy conditions to watch.

PG Lundmark*: "The prologue was wet, to say the least. We ran in reversed
order so I started sixth from last. Lukas was still pulling dust but when 25
bikes remained there was sleet. And slippery, like the chalk dirt at the
Gotland Grand National. I rode like a chicken." PG is riding a 660 Rally,
not the 950 that I erroneously suggested yesterday.

Cyril Despres: "This snow was great. I don't know how many snowmen were in
the crowd, but with the number of fans I really felt like a rock star. . .
It really is strange to see all this snow and all these people, whereas in a
week or two, we'll be really hot alone in the desert."

These early European stages give lesser known riders a chance for glory:
take a smaller bike and ride aggressively, finish in the top three, and get
interviewed on international sports news. This 1.5 km was won by Matteo
Graziani of Italy on a KTM 450 EXC. However, standings at this point mean
little, and the goal is to avoid crashing, and show off the bike and all its
sponsor stickers to the crowds and news media cameras.

Nani Roma: "It was absolute fun today. It was like a show-off for the
audience. But I didn't risk to much. The race is only starting."

Jordi Arcarons: "The prologue was surely a spectacle for the visitors. But
for us it was more important not to take any risks. We can live with the
results which make up tomorrows starting order."

The usual suspects accounted for the top positions Despres, Sainct, and
Pujol in 2, 3, and 4. David Fretigne on the two wheeled drive Yamaha
finished 5th. I'm excited to see how that new technology fairs this year.

Fabrizio Meoni: "This year the race is tougher on me than before. I've got a
daughter waiting at home. She is only 10 months old. Oh well, I don't have
any illusions. I get older and there are many top riders here this year
which are able to decide the race for themselves."

Alfie Cox: "It gets harder and harder in the motorcycle category. It's not
just the close competition between our team riders. There is also
competition between the private drivers and the team drivers. Each were
equipped by KTM with the same material. I hope, that I can keep up with the
best for the whole race. . . When I left home (in South Africa) it was
35C°, so it was tough for me. This weather is not for me, I'm a man for the
sun. "

In the cars, Kenjiro Shinozuka set the fastest time in his Nissan. Shinozuka
suffered terrible head injuries last year when he misjudged a dune, taking
it at high speed and smashing his head on the steering wheel. Saw that on
SpeedTV - it was gruesome. His life was in danger but the 55-year old
pulled through and was back to his brilliant best on today.

Lundmark*: The VW team has two racing Touareg where I hope that my personal
favorite Jutta Kleinschmidt will win. They can't complain of lack of
service, the German organization is faultless with a staff of 53 people.

Apparently some anti-global activists have barricaded the planned transport
stage so there was a detour of some 100 km, to Narbonne for tomorrow's
stage.

*I have another, new source of information about this year's Rally. PG
Lundmark is posting a daily diary, and Mikael Laine of the paris-dakar list
is translating it to english. Those who want to read it can certainly log
onto that list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Paris-Dakar/

Tom Warr
drthomaswarr@bresnan.net
 
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Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Here is Stage Two :thumb:

Stage 2 - 2 January 2004 - NARBONNE > CASTELLÓN
Liaison 6 km Special 25 km Liaison 532 km Total 563 km

Snow in Clermont-Ferrand, mud in Narbonne. Today's special was 25km staged
around Narbonne, through the hillcrests of the Pays d*Oc just over the abbey
of Fontfroide. The track was very technical. Nobody likes these short and
wet European winter tracks where nothing can be won, but so much can be
lost.

Muddy conditions favored lighter bikes, and especially the two wheeled drive
Yamaha WR 450 of Frenchman David Fretigne.

Fretigne: "I clock the best time without really taking any risks. I didn't
feel I was riding fast. Having a two-wheel drive bike helps a lot going out
of bends. Winning the special and leading the overall is of course good. I
don't think the going will be quite as twisty or muddy when we get to
Africa. Still I was very impressed with how well the two-wheel drive system
performed here. It allowed me to come out of the corners much quicker than I
would normally have been able to and gave me much more stability on the
straights. The hardest is yet to come however."

Second on the day and fifteen seconds slower was Cyril
Despres appeared to be loving these European stages in front
of thousands of fans. "Once again, I was impressed by the huge crowd. This
time, I felt like Gronholm or Makinen."

Meanwhile, heavier bikes were a liability. Fabrizio Meoni on the KTM 950
finishing 11th, over 2 minutes back: "I'm 50% responsible, the other half
is
for the bike." American Paul Krause is the only other rider on the KTM 950
(that I know of), and he is currently in 44th.

Interestingly, two wheel drive was also best in the car category.
Jose-Maria Servia is a former Formula 1 racer and Dakar veteran who raced a
very tricked out and cool two wheeled drive Schlesser-Ford buggy to first
place.

Servia: "We really went well all along the course and overtook 4 or 5 cars
that were nice enough to let me go by. It's an advantage compared to those
who were stuck behind other competitors. It's a big surprise to have clocked
the best time because we don't really have the kind of car made for such a
course. But we managed not to make any mistakes."

Hiroshi Masuoka (Mitsubish Evo2): "It's the kind of special where you have
to enjoy yourself, have fun, be spectacular for the crowd. But still and
most of all be careful and not damage the car."

Here is an interesting story - Race Dakar without any motorcycle
experience? 41-year-old Thierry Hupin took off on the Telefonica
Dakar for the very first time on a KTM 650CC bike with a license he
only got two weeks ago and no experience on two wheels. "I lost too
much time. I thought it would be easier."

During the prologue in Auvergne when he really discovered
the machine that he is supposed to take all the way to Dakar. The 1.5km
bumpy track, under snow was to be his baptism of fire. "I even choked in
the
middle of the special. It was tougher than I thought. But the important
thing was not to fall after the first turn so I took it easily. I have to
learn."

Despite all this, 'super newcomer' was far from ridiculous. Of course, it
took Hupin 2min 40s to complete the prologue but with his 181st position, he
finishes ahead of 14 other riders, including two who had already finished
the rally in good position.

If this stage went without worries, the biker remains extremely cautious and
heads for the upcoming stages with as much modesty as possible. *I only rode
1.5kms. I still have 11 000 to go and I don't know if I'll make it. All I
know is that I'll give everything to go as far as possible."

What a nut! Hard to believe, but I'm not making this up. After two
stages, Thierry is in 192nd.

After the special, all the motorcycle competitors once again had the luxury
of loading their bikes into trucks for the long 563km liaison to Castellon
60km north of Valencia in the heart of the Costa Blanca area in Spain where
tomorrow they will race the last European special before heading off to the
deserts of Africa, where the event starts in earnest.

Standings mean little so early in the Rally, but nonetheless, Team Red Bull
is behind all 9 riders for KTM Teams France, Spain, and International:
20th Larry Roeseler +3*16
36th Scott Harden +4*24
44th Paul Krause (KTM 950) +5*06

Pictures of the race on line are hard to find. To get an idea of what the
conditions were like, you can find some at these links (looked cold to
me!):
http://www.dakar.com/2004/us/index.html
under photos, and
http://www.eurosport.com/home/pages/V3/L0/F10/sport_Lng0_Fml10.shtml
cool pictures of the Yamaha two wheeled drive bike at:
http://www.yamaha-racing.com/

And finally, I thought this from PG Lundmark's web page, was too good to
summarize:

Second stage

Today I met the Frenchman who cost PålAnders five minutes during last year's
Dakar, next to last stage in the Sinai desert. The absolutely last sand dune
with a steep rear side, about ten metres high. Pål had just passed him and
he didn't seem to like being passed by a Norwegian. His answer was to pass
again on the crest of the dune, at about 50kph. Right speed is about 4kph.
He reached an altitude of some 12-13 metres above the point where he landed
among fist-sized rocks. Both heels were crushed, both ankles broken and a
vertebra crushed. He stopped PålAnders from activating his emergency
transmitter that would have guaranteed him a helicopter within 20 minutes.
He thought he would be OK to continue if he just rested a while. Pushing the
button will cost around 1000 Euros, which may also have played a part. Now
he told me he had spent five months in hospital before he was allowed to
support his own body weight. This year he is in charge of information for
the two-wheeled participants. He wants to be back in 2005. Like me, he is
smitten by the bug.

Today's special wasn't the same as it has been, no rocky trails in the
mountains, just clay and dirt. Another slippery day, in other words. I spent
most of the time on my back wheel, just to show my appreciation for the
brave spectators waiting in the nasty weather all morning. My bike seems to
be jetted with jets the size of a pipeline or of the type found in
methanol-speedway racers. I have to check this before the proper racing
starts in Africa or I'll risk running out of petrol, something I had enough
of in 2001, when it happened three times. That costs time. Finding a Bedouin
to sell you petrol out there is as likely as my mother having a schnapps for
Christmas. Lukas Lundin bought the most expensive petrol in Africa in 2000.
After taking a wrong turn he had to find petrol. In the third village where
he stopped, a medicine man sold him 20 litres of low-grade petrol for 100 US
dollars. That's capitalism for you, supply and demand.

French journalists are chasing me. This morning some journalists came over,
shot lots of photos and told me their readers liked my spectacular riding
style. I don't understand and I feel insulted. I am always riding as nicely
as the adrenaline allows. They also asked about the airbrush on the
right-hand front tank. I told them it was my sauna at home in Fjällbonäs,
pointing out the bath tub, the cut opening in the ice on the lake and tried
to describe what an evening in a sauna is like, with home-burned schnapps
and the whole lot. The legend "If you ain't Norrbottner, you ain't ****!"
caught his attention, with a map of Scandinavia with the Polar Circle marked
in. Apparently there is an abyss between a lake in Norrbotten and a French
motor journalist in Narbonne, although we both belong to the European
community. Maybe our community should think about sending missionaries, like
the Swedish church does.

--------------

Special thanks to Mikael Lain, PG's webmaster. The translation is done
by a fellow named Jan Leek.

Please visit it, and check out cool pictures of PG's bike,at:
www.pgdakar.com


Best,
Tom Warr
 
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Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Here is Stage Three

Dang that sounds like fun.

Stage 3 - 3 January 2004 - CASTELLÓN > TANGER
Liaison 4 km Special 9 km Liaison 852 km Total 865 km

Under a bright sun and clear blue sky, the Platja del Pinar beach staged
another exciting special for the numerous Spanish fans of the Telefonica
Dakar 2004. Like yesterday, Frenchman David Fretigne took his two-wheel
drive Yamaha to victory, again, ahead of compatriot Despres.

David Fretigne, on the Yamaha WR450, again took advantage of his very "well
balanced" two wheel drive machine to set the fastest time. "It's great to
have confirmation that the two wheel drive bike is so stable on sand. It's
funny to tell myself that for my first Dakar, I'm leading the overall
standing before going to Africa. I never could have imagined that. But I
have to stay calm, I still consider that I'm here to learn."

Too bad Yamaha didn't enter 2 or 3 of these machines. It takes a team of
several to win the Dakar, with team members providing technical assistance.
This one bike is too at risk of breaking down, and droppping into umpteenth
place in one stage, against a hourd of KTMs, one of which will do enough to
win. Exciting to see Fretigne does in the big dunes. A smaller bike makes
a lot of sense, if it can hold together.

With his 2nd stage win, Fretigne, the three time World enduro champion,
leads
fellow Frenhman Cyril Despres (KTM n°2) by 16 sec. Despres has finished 2nd
in each of the first 3 stages.

Privateer Eric Verhoef was fourth, with Isidre Esteve Pujol fifth, Pal
Anders Ullevalseter sixth, Alfie Cox seventh, Richard Sainct eighth, Nani
Roma ninth and Italian Fabrizio Meoni again struggling in 15th, but only 46
seconds
down on Frétigné for the stage.

Meanwhile, Britain's Patsy Quick, riding for the Desert Rose Team, brought
her KTM 660 Rallye home 3min 38sec down on the leader and is currently 127th
overall, 14min 22sec behind the leaders.

Alfie Cox "A big crowd in Clermont. A big crowd in Narbonne. I was once
again surprised by the number of people today. It's good for the rally. You
see here how important the stages are for the good health of the race. For
us there not as interesting on a sporting point of view. Now Europe is
behind us and I can't wait to ride in the desert. . . I don't consider them
to be real stages yet. I don't like them at all. I'm more than glad that we
finally leave for Africa."

Team Farmerlips Ullevalseter is 11th, and Lundmark is 21.

Lundmark: "Today's special was on a sandy beach in Castellon, Spain, fun to
ride, and the sand was as deep as in the real desert. The difference was the
impressive number of spectators, something we're not used to in Africa. The
bike runs well and it's difficult to find anything to complain about. I fell
un-Swedish, if you understand what I mean!"

Moto-rookie Thierry Hupin is 179th overall.

This is from the KTM web page - I think they must've heard our comments
about coverage of the privateers:

Let's look at the numerous private riders, which are performing at the race
with KTM's assistance. Usually, they are left in the shadows of the
professionals. That doesn't do justice as we think. Their enthusiasm, their
endurance and their will to fight at the Dakar should be estimated just as
high as the work of the professionals. Therefore, we will check on them time
and again this year.

Silent heroes
Marco Borsi and Checco Tonette have one big dream. They want to ride the
Dakar at least once. This year they live their dream. Relatives and friends
given them financial help. The two
Italians chose a KTM 660 Rally for their bikes. Tonetti, in real life an
airplane pilot, tells us why: "KTM's support is perfect for amateur riders
like us. I could always call Tatjana Hayward (customer support at KTM - the
editor) whenever I had any questions or problems."

Checco Tonetti has not been around bikes for years. "When my son bought his
KTM a year ago I became engrossed with it again. I wanted to ride a
motorcycle myself again. Well and then the dream of participating at the
Dakar got started. And now I am here."

Both bikes of the adventurers are supported by the mechanics of KTM's
support team. "We have planned to reach Dakar city," explains Marco Borsi,
an
electronic specialist in real life, their ambitious goal. "For that we have
worked very hard. All people we know keep their fingers crossed for our goal
and we don't want to disappoint them."


In the cars, Giniel De Villiers (Nissan n°208) won today's special on the
rally: "I'm really happy. It's great to win a special on the Dakar,
especially the first one for me. This victory is kind of a compensation
after yesterday's incident.", where he crashed and damaged the car.
Gregoire De Mevius, second in the BMW today, leads overall.

And finally, I can't help but cut and past PG Lundmark's diary entry
verbatim. It add so much perspective:

Dayreport: I am sitting in the mobile home, listening to Omar and the
Howlers CD, Live at the Paradiso. What a guitarist and blues singer he is!
Talk about fuel for the soul. No blues, no good results, that's my opinion.
Lukas is calling about the stock market, Rett Butler (Anders Walberg) is
driving and T/S Granberg handles the map. We will miss Butler's dinners when
we get to Africa. Entrée in the form of fish with white wine and a main
course with meat and red wine. I have taken up the same procedure, having
Cola Light for the entrée and ordinary Coke with the main course, with the
red label. Seems I'm about to become a city slicker after all.

Talking of Lukas' Team Cityslickers, we need rules for how a city slicker
should be, seven of them. Like the ones we have for a FarmerLips member, but
adapted for the city. Here is a short profile: He showers, changes his
shirt, underwear and shaves daily. His shirt has a button-down collar.
Spends all his time in cities and hates camping. The closest he gets to
nature is an 18-hole golf course. Wine is a necessity and drinking from the
bottle is out. Get it? Send in suggestions for the rules for this
personality to our guest book.

Yesterday, Lukas told me his Lundin share was up to 34 Kronor. I had decided
to sell my shares when they exceeded 30 and buy a new car. So, here goes: I
want to sell my almost new, 1988, Jeep Laredo pickup. Well, new. It has some
rust and has been crashed so the frame isn't quite straight. New rear tyres
last only 10,000kms. But it has extra equipment in the form of a radio,
which is broken now, but can probably be fixed. The question is how to go
about selling my shares without making the stock market collapse. We are
talking of several hundred here. I think I must sell them over a period to
avoid fluctuations on the market. Seems awkward to sell, when you're a
majority stock holder and I do like my bent Jeep. Maybe it's better to
contact a stock broker or forget the whole thing and concentrate on the
Dakar. I don't want to be remembered as a stock market speculator.

http://www.pgdakar.com/race/2004_dakar/index_en.shtml


Tomorrow's stage takes the competitors from Tangier to Er Rachidia for the
first African kilometers of the rally : 75km special on rocky tracks.
Fast conditions lead across the Mamoora-forest close to Rabat, then tackle
444km of liaison to the town of Er Rachidia.

Tom Warr
 
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Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
First taste of Africa for Team Dome BMW

Team Dome BMW's Simon Pavey and Nick Plumb had their first full day on
African soil in this year's 2004 Telefonica Dakar Rally when they contested
the 750 km fourth day stage from Tangier to Er Rachidia and finished the
timed section in 53rd and 64th places respectively.

Today's riding consisted of travelling through a series of changing
landscapes. This morning's stage started off in the cosmopolitan city of
Tangier on the doorstep of the African continent, before heading off through
northern Morocco. The day began with a 233 km liaison, followed by a timed
75 km special stage through sand and gravel tracks through pine forests, and
ending with a mammoth 444 km liaison due to finish in Er Rachidia later this
evening.

One hundred and ninety one bikes started the stage between Tangier and Er
Rachidia, so Team Dome BMW's Simon Pavey was pleased with his and Nick's
performance in the special stage: "The game plan is certainly working at the
moment," said the 36-year-old Australian. "The special stage was beautiful -
fast and flowing with some twisty sand and gravel sections and a couple of
deep water crossings that caught a few competitors out.

"This morning's 233 km liaison was cold - there were frosty and foggy
conditions to contend with - and during this afternoon's 444 km liaison we
reached the Atlas Mountains and climbed right up to the snow line, where we
remained for over an hour. Fortunately we're using BMW heated clothing and
the F650 rally bikes are fitted with heated grips, so we never felt the
cold - unlike some of the other riders who you could see shivering and being
forced to travel slowly in the conditions.

"So, all in all, we're in good shape, although the bikes were starting to
run a bit rich in the freezing conditions. Apart from that they've been
superb and our only complaint is that Nick has picked up a nasty cold so I'm
staying clear of him for the next couple of days because that's the last
thing you need on the Dakar rally. We'll both be glad to reach Er Rachidia
this evening and get our heads down for a while."
visit http://www.dakar.com or
http://www.worldofbmw.com

More pages;
Patsy comes back for more
http://www.eurosport.com/home/pages/V3/L0/S239/E6150/sport_Lng0_Spo239_Evt6150_Sto510537.shtml
Dakar heroes back for more. (Team Dome BMW Si Pavey and Nicky Plumb)
http://endurouk.com/blog/archives/000072.html
First photos of the KTM teams testing in Tunisia!
http://endurouk.com/blog/archives/000022.html
Official Dakar Website
http://www.dakar.com
TV Eurosport (Europe)
http://www.eurosport.com

http://www.endurouk.com/
Enduro and Off Road News
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Here is Stage Four :cool:

I want to go!!

Stage 4 - 4 January 2004 - TANGER > ER RACHIDIA
Liaison 233 km Special 75 km Liaison 444 km Total 752 km

Africa at last. Today's stage was relatively short, but interesting, and
beautiful. Across the Atlas mountains, the route included some snow and
beautiful green forests. The road rutted, with plenty of mud and a few
deep, up to the tank water crossings. Apparently, there was about 5 miles
of pavement (!),k allowing the 950 KTM of Meioni to go 125 mph, about 20 mph
faster than the 660cc KTM singles of everyone else. Maybe that's why Meioni
won, today.

Bigger is better. Riding a heavier, though more powerful, bi-cylinder KTM
950cc, Meoni had dropped almost three minutes in the sinuous European
stages. But once out in the open desert, the twice Dakar winner was today
simply unbeatable. The fast, flowing tracks proved ideal for his big KTM and
he crossed the line 43 seconds quicker than South African Alfie Cox.

Meanwhile, Richard Sainct crashed: "6 km after the start I crashed to the
ground on the slippy surface. It was my mistake. I underestimated the
composition of the ground. . . I still don't understand how it happened. I
was riding at 100km/h on a flat road. I'm OK (stitches on the arm) but I
broke the clutch handle. That's why I took it easily after that". Sainct
came in 29th and was about 7 minutes behind the leader. The exhaust and the
side covers were especially damaged on his KTM 660 Rally. Furthermore, his
number 1 sticker was scratched, hopefully only on the outside.

Jean Brucy also crashed shortly after the start. "I rode right behind
Fabrizio and wanted to stay close to him. I thought I could fly across three
successive little peaks all at once. I did not make it." The first doctor's
diagnosis states that Jean Brucy might have bruised his hip. He was
subscribed some pain relievers.

Frenchman David Fretigne got lost on his
2WD Yamaha, and finished in 39th position, almost ten minutes down on Meoni.
Fretigne is now 23rd overall.

Britain's Patsy Quick safely negotiated today's first real test, bringing
her KTM 660 home in 155th position, 26min 59sec down on stage winner Meoni.
As a result, Patsy now finds herself 148th overall 38min, 45sec adrift of
Esteve Pujol.

Thiery Hupin, supposedly first on a motorcycle only two weeks ago, still has
the rubber side down, and is in 191st.

Fabrizio Meoni was first on the day, now 2nd overall:
"My goal wasn't to win. It's important to win specials in the other half of
the rally, not now. The course was strange, the first half was very
difficult because of mud. The other half was technical on sand."

Alfie Cox finished 2nd:
"The special was great. The wet sand, mud and forest reminded me of the one
from 1992.The worse part was the two long liaison sections (233 and 444 km).
Just a joke. The riding started today. the holiday's are over !"

Esteve Pujol was 3rd on the stage, leads overall:
"It's the first time in seven Dakar rallies that I lead the overall. I had
already won specials but this is even better. I can't quite believe it yet.
It's a good feeling because I really prepared a lot this year, and only for
the Dakar. It was a fast special but also very technical and that's better
for me. That's probably why I'm first overall. I hope I'll do as well inn
navigation stages because for the moment it isn't that important to lead."

Team Red Bull KTM USA for the stage:

10th Larry Roeseler (Team Red Bull KTM USA) + 2´35
15th Scott Harden (Team Red Bull KTM USA) + 2´53
22nd Paul Krause (Team Red Bull KTM USA) + 4´49

and overall, down in the standings, but trailing by only minutes:

11. ROESELER USA KTM Rally 660 03' 54" -
21. HARDEN USA KTM Rally 660 06' 15" -
29. KRAUSE USA KTM Rally 950 09' 05" -


Team Farmerlips Ullevalseter is 10th and PG Lundmark is 15th. Lundmark:

"I started this morning by going flat out, but after two hours I rode
through the woods and thought about the trees having the right dimensions
for cutting. That got me mad, because if you have time to see that, you're
slow. Sure enough, a bit later Meoni caught up with me and I waved my arm to
let him pass. Then I threw away my tourist visa and dusted off my racing
licence. Riding behind Meoni and see him handle his KTM twin is something
else. I wish I had had a camera on my helmet. He rides brutally, decisive
and very powerful, the only way to ride these twins. The film would have
been the perfecto introduction on how to slide. After 20kms Brucy caught up
and placed himself between us. I was flat out, working my racing licence,
until Brucy crashed rather badly. I slowed down to see how he was but,
miraculously, he didn't seem hurt. He was probably doing around 90-100kph at
the time, but got up immediately and started tearing at his demolished
roadbook. I decided not to stop, but was cured from continuing at max, at
least for today. My top speed for the day was 186kph, downhill, sun in my
back and a vanishing Meoni in front helping me."


In the cars, 4-time Dakar winner Ari Vatanen will celebrate tonight after
securing his 50th career stage win after clocking the fastest time on
Sunday's 75km test between Tanger and Er Rachidia: "Stats are not the most
important thing in life. But I have the ambition of going up to 100.
Seriously, it was very fast and we had to take advantage of that. I won't
attack every day but tomorrow after 5kms I might change my mind."

The Dakar legend, winner in 1987, '89, '90 and '91, Vatanen beat Stephane
Peterhansel (Mitsubishi) by ten seconds, with Miki Biasion was third.
Britain's Colin McRae enjoyed is first true experience of the desert with
the fourth best time, just 41 seconds down on Vatanen, rising him to sixth
overall on his Dakar debut.

Peterhansel's steady start in previous stages now gives him the overall
lead, 1min 07secs ahead of team-mate Biasion, and 1min 28sec ahead of BMW's
Gregoire De Mevius. Vatanen is fourth (+1.28), defending champion Hiroshi
Masuoka is 5th (+1.37) and World Rally champ McRae 6th (+1.51).

Stephane Peterhansel (Mitsubishi):
"I was surprised by the course. I was expecting a technical special but it
was very fast despite going through forests. It was impossible to make big
gaps. We'll have to wait for longer stages. By then, the gaps will be
counted in minutes. We've been very consistent from the start which explains
our position in the overall. For the moment we're not asking the car too
much, we're still checking things. Tomorrow, serious stuff is starting with
the dangers of African stages. We'll have a better idea of the gaps. We now
know that it's going to be very difficult because all the teams are very
close to each other."


There are some great human interest stories on the Dakar web page, under
Dakar Magazine, including one about 9 business executives who decide to race
Dakar as a team. Interesting what the Dakar will bring out in people.
http://www.dakar.com/2004/us/index.html

PG's final comments:

My experience tells me that 33 percent of all riders will give up for lack
of stamina or crashes, 33 will have technical problems and 33 will reach the
finish. But in the beginning everybody says they will ride till they're
there, which is what it says on the swinging arm of my bike. Lac Rosé is, to
a Dakar rider, as full of myth and legend as the Holy Grail where the Ten
Commandments were kept.

http://www.pgdakar.com/race/2004_dakar/en/dagar/dag_4_en.html


Tomorrow morning the riders leave the bivouac on the plateau at the edge of
the Wadi Ziz, then south from Er Rachidia to Ouarzazate. The day will get
underway with a 56km liaison before the start of the substantial 337km
stage. After all that
fun, a 182km liaison will take them to Ouarzazate. The route has many quick
turns and it leads at times across sandy at other times across rock invested
ground. Finally it reaches the Erg Chebbib that is difficult to cross.

This year, a new A.S.O. regulation: the top three drivers can choose their
starting place the next day, rather than first place starts first the next
day.

The idea behind the change is to introduce more excitement: Who is best at
navigating? Who likes to have his track set, catch up, and pass rather
late? Who likes to ride in the tailgate of a competitor to keep his lead?

Not everyone agrees to this regulation: The KTM team-riders agreed to not
to follow the regulation at all.

Hans Trunkenpolz, technical manager at KTM: "We have got many extremely
great riders in our teams and don't think it is fair that the ones in 4th
and 5th place cannot choose their starting position and in the end even have
to set the track for the others."

The team managers had the riders decide if they wanted to follow the
regulation or not - in secret. Fabrizio Meoni: "We all agreed that we did
not want to go according to this regulation. We, the team-riders, will start
in the same order that we have reached the finish line."

If you ask me, they should follow the rules, and not team orders or schemes.

Tom Warr
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Stage Five

Stage 5 - 5 January 2004 - ER RACHIDIA > OUARZAZATE
Liaison 56 km Special 337 km Liaison 182 km Total 575 km

The start of the special was very fast and the tracks sinuous and rocky.
Then, the Erg Chebbib, first contact with sand. The second part of the
speciale included sandy but fast tracks. Rally rookies discovered all the
surprises that such a rally can bring.

Ouarzazate : the door to the Great South, land where the sand seems to
invade everything. Along the oueds of Drâa, Dadès and Ziz, will be
kilometres of orchards, palm plantations and rose gardens. It is the start
to the road to the oasis along the Draa valley all the way to Mhamid where
suddenly the longest river of Morocco disappears mysteriously between sand
and rock.

Apparently, Meioni thought the stage was easy: "Today was a special for
children! The Spaniards are on their training ground here. If I can keep
this rhythm in Morocco, I'll be very happy."

KTM Repsol Spain team mates, Esteve Pujol and Juan Roma finished 1 and 2.
Pujol's win gives him a 22 second lead in the overall standings over
Fabrizio Meoni, the Italian finishing third in today's stage.

Today's winner enjoyed his triumph. "Overall the course was fantastic. It
had lots of sand, but also lots of rocks. And it was difficult to pass. For
the longest time I was stuck behind Alfie. Only when he navigated wrongly
was I able to go for it and race further on my own. What I like even
better - tomorrow I get to start from the pole position. Then I won't need
to pass anyone. I'm equally proud to be leading the overalls."

Meanwhile, Richard Sainct finished 8th, complaining of his sore arm from
yesterday's crash: "I knew this morning that I would start, but I didn't
know how I would feel. Finally, when the muscle has warmed up, it's OK. In
my mind, I'm in the same rhythm as the others".

Cyril Despres:
"It was a tricky course, like usual in Morocco. I thought it would be worse
with the rain of the previous days. I lost a lot of time overtaking,
especially Roeseler. I had the sun in my face added to all the dust. Then I
had a free track ahead. I took it easily without making mistakes. If we
start attacking like crazy now, only 12 of us will finish the rally."

39-year-old Austrailian privateer, Andy Caldecott finished 5th today:
"I enjoyed most of it. I got lost and probably lost around 3 or 4 minutes.
But I was hoping to finish in the good positions. It was a good solid ride.
No worries ! Nothing really concerns me but the goal is to finish. We want
to finish because we spent a lot of money to come. We don't want to throw it
away. I'm not really used to these specials compared to the other guys. They
know it by heart because it is the same as in the Morocco rally and in the
previous years of the Dakar. The longest special I had ever done was over
300km in Dubai. This is different."

"With my small transportation business as only source for financial support
this could not have happened. Luckily KTM Australia helped me make my dream
come true." For further assistance Andy Caldecott has asked the KTM Support
Team to perform. They help with some advice, some repair -if asked even
around the clock. "Especially for the logistical support I need to thank KTM
very, very much," says the Australian. "I don't need to look after anything
at all. I can just ride. And hopefully I get to do so until Dakar."

Team Red Bull KTM USA:
Scot Harden was best of the Americans today in 16th, now 15th overall with
Roeseler dropping to 23rd after finishing 25th today. Paul Krause, on the
only other KTM 950, was 28th today and sits 28th overall. Larry Roeseler:
"I'm satisfied. On these tracks I feel like being at home in the States."

Pal Anders Ullevalsetter from Norway managed to climb up from place 16 to
place 10 (+7'54). And the Dakar-viking Per Gunnar Lundmark from Sweden
defended the 12th position (+11'25).

Lundmark: "The first 100 kilometres went well today, but then something in
the navigation went wrong, because at one of the sand dunes I saw that the
first waypoint wasn't where it was supposed to have been. Lost 5-8 minutes.
Back on route I joined PålAnders and a gang of others and the last 100
kilometres Pål and Coma simply left me. I just have to grit my teeth,
because now the race has started. There is always a chance to retaliate
tomorrow, is my philosophy. . . I hope to improve each day from now. Pål is
courted by Norwegian television each day now."
http://www.pgdakar.com/race/2004_dakar/en/dagar/dag_5_en.html

David Fretigne on a two wheel drive WR400 is15th, first non-KTM, behind
Pujol by 24 min.

Charlie Rauseo, from USA, is 56th. British Patsy Quick is 136th. Swede,
Bertil Marcusson, who rode his Honda CRF 450 from Sweden to the start of the
Rally, is in 161st, after a rough day today. Canadian Maryline Lambelin is
in 170th, but I can't find her team mate Marie-Christine Paré in the
standings. They are competing on Bombardier Quads. British team riders,
Simon Pavey and Nick Plumb on BMW F650 GS Dakar motorcycles, are 104th and
103rd.

Thiery Hupin, who supposedly started riding motorcycles just two weeks
before the Rally started, is not found in the standings.


In the cars, Stephane Peterhansel (Mitsubishi n°203) won today's stage,
beating Masuoka (Mitsubishi n°201) by 4min55. South African Giniel De
Villiers (Nissan n°208) was third. "There was so much dust ! We even had to
stop because we couldn't see anything. I can't believe how fast Peter went.
He must have known the area !!!" Luc Alphand (BMW n°208) was 4th, and his
team mate Gregoire De Mevius (n°212) 5th. WRC champ, Colin McRae (Nissan
n°202) finished 6th. His partner Ari Vatanen (N°205) had to stop to repair
tyres and cope with an inflation problem. At the end of the day, the Finn
lost over 39min on Peterhansel, possible eliminating his chances for an
overall win in the Rally.

Jean-louis Schlesser and Josep maria Servia in the Schlesser-Ford buggies,
are 6th and 10th. Jutta Kleinschmidt, in the VW Toureg, is 12th, just 23
min behind Peterhansel. Mark Miller, from Carefree, Arizona, driving for
the Pro-System/GM Racing team in a GM-powered Chevrolet Protruck, is 21st,
44 min behind the leader.

Hiroshi Masuoka:
"It was an easy special. We went through all the situations the Dakar can
offer : sand, wind, rocks. I went carefully and only drove at 50% of my
possibility. The result is due to the excellent car. I'll try to have the
same kind of special tomorrow."

Tomorrows 6th stage is a tough piece of work for the drivers. It leads
towards the Atlantic coast to Tan Tan. Starting at 4:25 am with a liaison
of 176 km, then the special of 351kms, with much dust, and then a final
liaison of 276kms, 800 km (480 miles) altogether. The stage includes
high-speed and mountains in the first part which change into a rock invested
track in the second part. First priority is to concentrate highly in order
to avoid any dangerous crashes.

Tom Warr
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Stage Six

Stage 6 - 6 January 2004 - OUARZAZATE > TAN-TAN
Liaison 176 km Special 351 km Liaison 276 km Total 803 km

Ouarzazate - Tan Tan

This stage between Ouarzazate and Tan Tan was fast, bumpy, rocky, a real
technical challenge. Important to take it easy, slow down, and avoid too
much damage.

Very few travellers go there because Tan Tan is lost in the middle of a huge
desert of rocks and stones, just by the Atlantic ocean. This meeting between
sea and desert gives the impression of being at the end of the World. Out of
time, between past and present!

Nani Roma won the stage, finishing ahead of fellow Repsol KTM Spain team
mate Isidre Esteve Pujol by 2min25. This is their second consecutive 1-2
finish.

Roma: "My bike was well adapted for such a special. I had a good rhythm in
front. It was a tricky stage with the dust and the sun. A stage where I had
to be careful not to damage the bike because the mechanics wouldn't have had
the time to repair due to the early start time. The hardest part was
actually the liaison this morning. I was more cautious than during the
special. Tomorrow the race really starts. Isidre Esteve is not a surprise
because he is very experienced and fast."

Pujol was not happy: "At first everything was working very well. I took
special care of my tires because the track was littered with rocks. After
100 kilometers my trip master stopped working and 80 kilometers further my
substitution trip master was gone as well. From than on I could only use my
GPS to navigate. I waited for Nani after CP 2 (kilometer 206). At CP2, I let
Roma go past and asked him if I could stay behind. It's too bad because I
had the possibility to extend the gap in the overall. The important thing is
that I'm still in front and with Nani behind, it's perfect for the team.
Yes, I was really ticked off. I did not make any mistake and still I couldn'
t win."

Australian privateer Andy Caldecott finished an excellent 3rd for the stage,
is in 5th overall:
"I guess it is a satisfaction to be in the top 5. But I'm disappointed
because during 80kms I was in the dust of Cyril Despres. I then had a fuel
problem. I knew I hadn't run out of fuel. It was just that the fuel wasn't
going through. It happened at 10kms of the finish line and I lost around
30sec. I was very comfortable during the first 200kms. Tomorrow's stage is
daunting because of the unknown! I've never done such a long stage."

Italian Fabrizio Meoni, who finished 9th today, was cool about today's
results: "The Spaniards practiced in Morocco. They know the surroundings
like the back of their heads. . . It isn't doing any good to look at the
overalls just yet. I ride my own race and I'm glad if I bring myself and the
two-cylinder bike safely across the finish line. At the first stages my
motorbike could not perform all that well. Tomorrow I should be able to ride
at full speed."

Sainct is still hurting from a crash two days ago: "I"m not feeling great.
My arm was hurting at the start this morning when the muscle was cold and
giving me hell at the end over the stones. I can still cope with the pain.
The problem is that I can't remain well focused".

Giovanni Sala crashed at around km 117. The KTM rider launched a distress
signal and appears to suffer from broken ribs. The normally personable
Italian did not like to talk a whole lot when returning from the doctors;
every word was hurting him badly: "It happened in fast turns on little
dunes. I jumped across a bump when I suddenly saw the big rock on the
ground. I missed it with my front wheel, but must directly have hit it with
the rear one. Then I crashed and unfortunately now everything is over. It's
really too bad because I was having a good race."

Alfie Cox is 41 yo today: "The track moved up and down and it felt like a
trampoline. Also there were unbelievably many jumps today. . . I feel sad
for Gio. I hope he will soon be okay again. It is even harder for me now.
For Meoni and I Gio was to be of great help if anything did happened to us
on the way. We will also miss the team results now."

The team manager of the American Red Bull Team seemed relaxed at the last
finish in Morocco. "We are rookies!" commented Scott Harden. Harden is in
13th place overall, Paul Krause is in 25th and Larry Roeseler in 26th
position.

Pal Anders Ullevalseter arrived at the finish line in 10th (+6'26) and
Per-Gunnar Lundmark is in 11th (+12'14).

#115 Charlie Rauseo, of SLEEPY JING'S MADMAN RACING moves up several places,
into 51st overall, on the KTM Rally 660. 36 yo Rauseo lives in San
Francisco. He and his girlfriend, Jing, just opened a cafe in North Beach.

Thiery Hupin (France, KTM 660), withdrew after reaching the first checkpoint
on stage 5, yesterday. According to Dakar Magazine (on the Dakar web page),
this guy had never ridden a motorcycle before learning just a few weeks
before the Rally. If he hadn't withdrawn, I would have gone crazy.

In the cars, Peterhansel (Mitsubishi n°203) lost his lead due to a 5 minute
penalty for having pushed his car yesterday, then problems fixing a flat
today.

His team mate, Masuoka stunned the opposition today, by winning the stage
and taking the overall lead: "Eighty percent of the special was rocky. If
you went 10cm out of the good track, it cost a puncture. It's an important
result".

Ari Vatanen (Nissan n°205) and Jutta Kleinschmidt (Volkswagen n°204)
suffered similar fates at km 117 when crossing a river, when they both broke
down because of water in the engine. The Finn was able to get back on track
after. a 2h50 hour repair. The German however had to be towed to the finish
by an assistance truck and was still expected at the bivouac.

WRC champ, Colin McRae has admitted for the first time that the Dakar rally
is more difficult than he anticipated, conceding that today's stage was
longer than he thought and that the pace is quicker than expected: "I think
that the pace is faster than what I was expecting. Today the pace was very,
very fast and felt like a full out Safari pace on the WRC which I was quite
surprised about. The terrain changes all the time and it is probably a bit
more difficult than I anticipated. Maybe the right pace is to go slower but
for the moment everybody is going quicker than me so what do you do."

"You try to prepare mentally for the distance," he said, "but tomorrow's
stage is over 700 kilometres and today's stage was only 350 and it felt a
lot longer than I thought it would, so tomorrow is going to be a long day."


TOMORROW!!!

Tomorrow's stage will be the longest of this year's Rally; a total of 1055
kms, including 701 of special. After riding and racing 800 km today, they
leave at midnight and ride 345kms from Tan Tan to the Mauritania border. Not
much time for bike maintenance, much less rest for the riders. Then,
tomorrows special stage includes the crossing of the Oumaghawaba Erg, only
way to Atar.

Miscellaneous final comments from G Lundmark:

For the competitors it is time to get their road books ready for the 7th
stage. The sooner they get done the faster they get to snuggle into their
sleeping bags. Tomorrow a 1055 km stage, the longest one in this year's
Dakar, awaits the drivers. Surely the riders will then be spread apart. A
little past midnight the drivers will be on their way to Atar. "Liaisons
like this one are always problematic," exclaims Nani Roma. "You are tired
and you need to ride in darkness." After sunrise the riders start on the
special in the north of Mauritania. It is 701 kilometers long. Years ago the
route from Tan Tan to Atar had to be crossed within two days. Tomorrow the
drivers will have to manage this torture in only one day. And it will surely
sort the wheat from the chaff. A crucial day is coming up.

Last night I was analysing yesterday's special stage, eating Maxim "recovery
bars". For complete recovery, listening to blues music is of valid
importance. With some sort of self-criticism I chose "It's my own fault",
with Johnny Winter. Somebody came and checked the GPS for the first 15
riders, to see if we had hit all check points. Earlier it was not necessary
to pass them close, within 3 kilometres used to be enough. I don't know what
the rules say now, but I do know I missed two yesterday. Hopefully they didn
't change the rules without informing all riders, but in this competition
one has to be prepared for anything.

I'm running out of time, because I want to close my eyes awhile before we
start on the next transport at 00:55, 345kms to the border of Mauretania.
After that there is a 701km long special stage, which will give the last
third of the field rubber wrists. Tomorrow will see some action, trust me.

Tomorrow I won't be able to write anything myself. Eva will get a telephone
report over satellite from me. I'm beginning to miss her. When I hear
Cadillac in the Swamps: "My babe she so nice and round, I crazy about my
woman."

http://www.pgdakar.com/race/2004_dakar/en/dagar/dag_6_en.html

Tom Warr
Team Bikermaniac
Great Falls, Montana USA
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Stage Seven

Stage 7 - 7 January 2004 - TAN-TAN > ATAR
Liaison 345 km Special 701 km Liaison 9 km Total 1055 km

Imagine: after a rough day racing yesterday, there must have been some bike
maintenance. Do it, then leave at 1 am, ride 5 hours through the cold, grab
a quick breakfast, then set off over 500 miles of very rough desert, and
hope you finish while it's still light. Well, that was stage 7 of the
Dakar.

>From the KTM web page:
We want to offer our respect for anyone who has reached the finish at Atar
or is still to reach it throughout the night. On a day like this everyone is
a hero. The stage was extremely tough on the riders and tortured them beyond
thought.

If the schedule wasn't bad enough, Erg Oumaghawaba was placed at the end of
it all. The rim of the dunes are not really all that large, only about 10
to 30 meters, but they are facing in a direction that hides whatever looms
behind them to the riders. 150 km of these dunes. Probably impossible to
cross at night, too.

Alfie Cox: "I suspect that half of the drivers will drop out today. This
stage was extremely tough."

Fabrizio Meoni probably lost his chances for the title after a flat tire
cost him 2 hours. Isidre Esteve severely damaged his bike after a crash.
Richard Sainct finished the stage with some painful backache. Jean Brucy
also crashed.

Richard Sainct won the special. Second was Jean Brucy, third was Despres,
then Cox, Roma, Lundmark, Ullevalseter, and Australian privateer Caldecott
in 8th. In the new overall, Despres takes the lead ahead of Roma by 3min03
and Sainct by 3min21.

Richard Sainct (FRA - KTM, 1st) - 001
"I didn't expect it to go that well today. But in the sand, my arm is less
painful than on rocky paths. I was already tired this morning at the start.
Now I'm exhausted. My back is aching. I don't expect to see a lot of
competitors at the finish of the stage. Especially the privateers! I had
problems and I have quite some experience, those who don't have experience
will be in trouble."

Cyril Despres (FRA - KTM, 3rd) - 002
"We started in first positions. It was very difficult, very physical. From
the start, I was lost on a wrong track but I didn't panic. We managed to get
back on track but lost some energy. It was tough for us and we have good
bikes, know how to ride them well, had sufficient rest and have good
assistance whereas the privateers . . . This special will remain in the
history books. I can't remember riding such a tough one. . . Now, I'm just
glad to be here at the bivouac. To get some rest is the only thing important
today."

At around km 580 Fabrizio Meoni (KTM 950, n°3) has suffered serious rear
tyre problems. He was given a spare tyre tube by David Casteu (Cagiva n°41).
He lost 2 hours on the leaders, and probably any chance of winning this
year's Rally.

Meoni:
"I had a bib mousse problem and once again I won't achieve a good result
this year. I was really motivated. Once again, it's a mechanical problem,
like last year. I don't have long before the end of my career and it could
be a sign saying "stop" ! After last year's Dakar, I found it hard to have
the will to start again. I told myself that if I won this year, I would
quit. If I didn't I would carry on for another year. Now I don't know. I
won't take a decision now. Tomorrow, I'll be back on my bike to try and have
fun, go at a good rhythm and especially finish in Dakar."

After leading the rally, Isidre Esteve Pujol (KTM n°19) had his bike quit at
km 650 with mechanical problems. The Spaniard had crashed earlier in the
day, and lost his navigation system. Apparently however, his Rally 660 had
suffered worse damage then it was assumed at first. The mechanics are
working feverishly to get the bike working again, though, like Meoni, his
chances for winning this year's rally have vanished.

Nani Roma had unique, Dakar-style adventures: " . . . the police stopped
me. They wanted my passport and 50 Euros. I started getting angry and took
off. They didn't catch me but I was rather worried because they had guns."

Alfie Cox (RSA - KTM, 4th) - 010
"Half of the field will never make it today ! It's impossible. Those who
will finish late won't see anything in the dark. This is the kind of day
that shows how hard the Dakar is."

>From KTM web page: Ralf Pariasek, physiotherapist, faces a lot of work.
Every one of the riders turned to him looking for help after reaching the
bivouac.

Well, poor them. Imagine being a privateer and not having a
"physiotherapist" to massage your aching muscles. This, and the horde of
professional mechanics and spare parts ensures the KTM factory riders will
win the rally each year.

Team Red Bull KTM USA: Scott Harden finished 18th, Larry Roeseler 19th, and
Paul Krause, on the other KTM 950 finished 26th, ahead of Meoni who was in
34th after his tire woes.

Yamaha Motor France's David Frétigné and his two-wheel-drive Yamaha WR450F
2-Trac, who stayed out of serious trouble to finish the stage in 16th place,
still the leading non-KTM in the race, 14th overall.

Frétigné: "Finally I've arrived! Today's special was really hard work. I
'managed' the kilometres and my motorcycle with great care - without
worrying about my results - and never went above 120 kph on the straights. .
. The soft dunes were pretty easy with the two-wheel drive system but I
nevertheless managed to get stuck once. When I did I simply got off the
bike, leant it over slightly, accelerated a little and out she came, with
absolutely no effort made on my part. It is clear that on this type of
special the 2-trac is a real bonus!"

Other privateer results:

Australian Andy Caldecott (KTM n°72) crossed the finish line in 9th - with a
broken ankle, according to some web sites. If true, he will have to
withdraw, which is way too bad, considering how well he has been doing,
currently 7th overall.

Charlie Raseau, privateer from San Francisco lost a few places after today's
stage, finishing 86th place overall. It took him 12 hours to finish the
stage, about 4 hours longer than the front runners. No masseauses waiting
for him at the bivouac. He's now 131st overall.

Bertil Marcusson, who rode his XR650 from Sweden to the starting line in
France, is still upright, listed as 89th in the overall standings. No sign
of Patsy Quick in the standings, nor of British team riders, Simon Pavey and
Nick Plumb on the BMW F650 GS Dakar motorcycles, as of this writing. The
two Canadian women, Maryline Lambelin and Marie-Christine Paré, competing on
Bombardier Quads are listed as withdrawn after stages 6 and 5, respectively.

No other info, but Raymond Loizeaux of France is riding a BMW R100 GS,
currently in 92nd overall.

Current overall standings:

1 002 DESPRES KTM 00' 00"
2 004 ROMA KTM 03' 03"
3 001 SAINCT KTM 03' 21"
4 010 COX KTM 1 " 05' 01"
5 009 BRUCY KTM 11' 26"
6 015 ULLEVALSETER KTM " 20' 14"
7 072 CALDECOTT KTM 1 " 23' 22"
8 008 DE GAVARDO KTM " 24' 47"
9 006 LUNDMARK KTM 29' 56"
10 045 GRAZIANI KTM 1h 06' 58"
11 023 CZACHOR KTM 1h 10' 35"
12 005 DE AZEVEDO KTM 1h 13' 21"
13 022 FLICK KTM 1h 15' 05"
14 025 HARDEN KTM 1h 22' 58"
15 012 FRETIGNE YAMAHA 1h 24' 54"
16 011 COMA KTM 1h 38' 46"
17 171 COAKER KTM 1h 40' 13"
18 003 MEONI KTM 1 1h 46' 18"
19 183 VINTERS KTM 1h 50' 43"
20 030 STANOVNIK KTM 2h 05' 59"
21 027 ALGAY KTM 2h 10' 04"
22 016 ROESELER KTM 2h 14' 38"
23 020 MARCHINI KTM 2h 18' 08"
24 017 KRAUSE KTM 2h 24' 51"
25 029 VERHOEF KTM " 2h 34' 57" 05' 00"
26 049 CHEVALLIER KTM 2h 37' 33"
27 031 RAYNAL KTM 2h 37' 39"
28 032 PEREZ KTM 2h 56' 50"
29 024 CHARBONNEL KTM " 2h 57' 29"
30 179 BORSI KTM 2h 58' 58"
31 021 PELLICER ALFER 3h 05' 10"
32 155 VERCOELEN KTM 3h 06' 13"
33 041 CASTEU CAGIVA 3h 06' 38"

Note the last rider, David Casteu, french, riding a Cagiva Elefant. Big
bike. He is the one that loaned Meoni a new rear inner tube.


In the cars, the Mitsubishi's of Masuoka and Peterhansel dueled with each
other, but were otherwise not challenged in today's stage. The Frenchman
eventually went on a wrong track while the Japanese flew to success.

Peterhansel: "We were focused and got lost. It's a pity. We had a good
start but
a bad finish".

Third place of the special went to Jean-Louis Schlesser (Schlesser Ford
n°200) on his two wheel drive buggy: "We managed to climb up the standings
but the two Mitsubishi cars are untouchable. It'll depend on their
mistakes".

De Mevius in the BMW was 4th, and Nissan newcomer Colin McRae was 5th.

Colin McRae (UK * Nissan, 5th) - 202
"Everything was going well at the beginning. We were in a group of four cars
: with Masuoka, Peterhansel and Schlesser, close to each other in the dunes.
Unfortunately in the last dune, we got stuck and lost around 20 minutes. The
speed of Peter in the dunes is unbelievable. I was surprised. For the moment
everything is possible. I'm still learning."

Gregoire De Mevius (FRA - BMW, 4th) - 212
"The Mitsubishi cars are just too fast. It isn't over for us but with the
experience that the two leading drivers have and the gap hey managed, we'll
have to wait for a big problem on their behalf. It's like last year. We
thought we could compete with them but we were naïve."

American, Mark Miller is in 31st overall, after finishing 51st on stage 7.
He is driving the Chevy ProTruck that has won the Baja 500 several times.

The fun continues tomorrow: The stage from Atar towards Tidjikja leads the
rally crews through sections where they have never been before. Competitors
familiar with navigating will have it easier to find the hidden passes and
favorable entrances into the field of dunes. The 8th special is 355 km long.

Tidjikja was founded in the XVIIth century by the Idoualis, that came from
the Ardrar. They made the city an important cross-road for trading and a
religious settlement. Today the town is divided in two on each side of the
Tidjikja oued.

Tom Warr
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Before I get to today's stage, check this out, it's very cool:

David Casteu, 29 year old privateer, 30th overall, stopped to help Fabrizio
Meoni yesterday, on stage 7. Meoni had been waiting 1h15 for someone to
give him a tyre tube at km 580.

Casteau: "As a biker, I can't imagine not stopping. I hate the idea that
many didn't. I saw him far ahead and at first I thought he had fell, then I
saw pieces of bib mousse and immediately understood. Meoni told me to carry
on and not lose time. But I couldn't do that. He was devastated. In 5
minutes and with the help of Cyril Raynal who also stopped, the problem was
solved. Too bad I didn't get there earlier".

For many on the Dakar, Meoni is more than just a top rider. "I would have
done it for any other biker but Fabrizio is really a master, my hero. He
started as a privateer, like me. He has a bike shop, like me. But most of
all, he is very human. He's the only one that comes to see the privateers
after a stage and talks to us. We never see the others".

This state of mind is one of the reasons that push Casteu to ride the Dakar.
"When I go to the Morocco or Tunisia rallies, it's to win it (winner in
Tunisia in 2003). Here it's for the adventure". This year he even bought a
special bike for the Dakar. "First of all it's a Cagiva because I didn't
want to have a KTM like the others. But most of all, it's the bike that
belonged to Edi Orioli when he won the 95 rally. I payed 30 000 francs for
it and then added 20 000 to restore things. It's a 900cc that is perfect for
the race because it's solid. When you have no assistance it helps".

Stage Eight

Stage 8 - 8 January 2004 - ATAR > TIDJIKJA
Liaison 34 km Special 355 km Liaison 4 km Total 393 km

"This kind of stage must exist. The Dakar has to be difficult to remain a
legendary race."

Dakar race organizers like surprises. This was the first time the Rally was
run from Atar and Tidjikja. The sections of soft sand at the Ergs and the
rough sections of camel grass were quite difficult. But today, the most
difficult part of the stage was navigation.

New-age treachery mixes up the field of competitors

GPS means navigating with the help of dozens of satellites in space. GPS
points help the drivers to orientate and find their way through the desert.
Some experts claim that GPS is a good means for the race. However, it does
not substitute for looking into the road book or even at the landscape.

The first GPS point was about 120 kilometers into the stage. The riders
crossed a Wadi after 40 km. Those who kept heading directly towards the GPS
point missed the way out of the dryed-up river bed, ended up lost in a dead
end canyon. Those who followed the road books, and watched where they were
going, were able to find the exit from the Wadi. Interestingly devious of
the race organizers.

Cyril Despres got lost, and dropped from 1st to 24th overall:
"It was the worst day of my life. I had problems with my glasses so I
decided to stop but fell at a very slow pace. Nothing serious except that
with my knee I pulled the GPS connexion. I couldn't reconnect it, so I got
lost. Each time I saw a KTM rider I would follow him, but each time we got
lost again. That lasted 50kms. Because of that, I ran out of fuel, 1.2km
from refuelling. Luckily, someone helped me reconnect the GPS and gave me
fuel. There are days were everything goes wrong. It's also my fault. I never
should have followed the others."

Alfie Cox:
"****ing day. I followed Fabrizio and that turned out to be a huge
mistake." Meoni was lost, too.

Fabrizio Meoni:
"My trip broke two or three times. I don't understand why. I would repair it
and a few kilometres later, it would break again. Because of that, I got
lost in the wadi."

Nani Roma finishes 1st and now leads overall:
"From the start it was impossible to follow the tracks so you had to be very
good in navigation. I believe that a lot must have got lost before CP1. It
was good that I checked into my road book. I looked around and calmly tried
to navigate."

Jean Brucy:
"It was really difficult to find the way out of the wadi this morning. I was
lucky to be behind Sainct long enough because with the wind the tracks tend
to disappear. It's in that kind of situation where I see how important my
experience of the Dakar is. I know the area well now. It's good to be 3rd
overall, but I can very well be 10th tomorrow."

Richard Sainct:
"Navigation was extremely difficult. I turned around twice on a track
because I wasn't sure that I had found the right route." A sandstorm made
orientation even more difficult. "I constantly had dust in my eyes."

Dakar-beginner Scott Harden rode a remarkable race today. Trusting his good
old compass helped him to rank among the top riders. "I arrived in 6th
position and was simply surprised about such a good placement. When I wasn't
sure about the way I took out my compass and road book. I trusted them more
than my GPS. That's what helped me to get through fine."

Overall Standings:

Team Gauloises KTM France
001 Richard Sainct 2nd +8 min
002 Cyril Despres 7th +1hr 15 min
009 Jean Brucy 3rd +14 min

Gauloises KTM International
003 Fabrizio Meoni 13th +2hr 9min
007 Giovani Sala withdrew after stage 6
010 Alfie Cox 4th +51 min

Repson KTM Spain
004 Juan Roma 1st
011 Marc Coma 14th +2 hr 13 min
019 Esteve Pujol 63rd +10hr 31 min, including 1 hour penalty

Red Bull KTM USA
016 Larry Roeseler 24th +3hr 40 min
017 Paul Krause 20th +3hr 13 min
025 Scott Harden 9th +1hr 51 min

Others:

012 David Fretigne on the 2wd Yamaha, 15th +2hr 15 min

041 David Casteu, riding Cagiva 900 Elefant 34th +6hr 34 min

Team Farmerlips
006 Per Gunner Lundmark 6th +1hr, 15 min
015 Pal andedrs Ullevalseter 5th +1hr, 1 min

Sleepy Jings Madman Racing, San Francisco
115 Charlie Rauseo: Hasn't finished stage 8, as yet

Team Desert Rose, Great Britain
100 Patsy Quick: Hasn't finished stage 8, as yet
101 Clive Town: Hasn't finished stage 8, as yet

Dome BMW, Great Britain
074 Nick Plumb - Didn't start stage 8
075 Simon Pavey 85th 26hr 1 min, including 1 hour penalty

072 Andy Caldecott, Australian Privateer
Didn't start stage 8 - broken ankle in stage 7. Too bad, he was 6th at the
time.


In the Cars:

Apparently, leader Hiroshi Masuoka (Mitsubishi n°201) also had difficult
navigation problems, and lost well over 1h30 on the special finishing in
12th spot. That allowed Stephane Peterhansel (Mitsubishi n°203) to win. "We
had a relaxed rhythm, we knew that the others were behind so we controlled
the race".

Jutta Kleinschmidt (VW n°204) finished second, 29 minutes back. She who
started the stage with a brand new engine block (which may result in her
disqualification). Third position went to Gregoire De Mevius (BMW n°212)
ahead of Jean-Louis Schlesser (Schlesser Ford n°200)

Schlesser: "Anyhow, on this rally, only three drivers know how to navigate:
Jutta, Masuoka and Peter. All the others got lost, including myself and it
costs us 30min".

In the overall, Peterhansel is comfortably in the lead with over an hour on
De Mevius an 1h22 on Masuoka who eventually finished the stage in 7th spot
at 1h34min14.

Masuoka: "It's over. I can't fight for victory. It's now impossible to
catch Peterhansel. I'll fight for second place."

Gregoire De Mevius (FRA - BMW, 3rd) - 212
"It wasn't a special for me. I don't like driving in soft sand and wadis. I
like going fast. We did less kilometres today but almost have the same time
as yesterday. It was a nightmare to find the good track. . . This kind of
stage must exist. The Dakar has to be difficult to remain a legendary race."


After each of the last two stages there have been new leaders. Tomorrow this
could happen for a third time. Stage 9, the second part of a marathon-stage,
is the second longest special in this years Dakar rally, 739 km. The A.S.O.
also claims it to be the toughest stage. They also claim it is "full of
traps", and "there will be less GPS points than in the past."

The legendary route drives past Tichit, the famous elephant rock. It also
crosses the Enji-pass which had stopped almost all competitors due to a
sandstorm in 1985. We will wait in suspense what this special offers the
riders and their fans at home tomorrow. After hours of driving and riding,
fast tracks to head up to the Dhar, the competitors will finally get to
Nema, a traditional town, capital of Hodh ech-Chergui, in the middle of the
desert, surrounded by red soil and tiger bushes.

Tom Warr
 

BunduBasher

Boodoo-Bash-eRRR
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Feb 9, 2000
2,450
2
cox has a great stage, is up to third.
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
ggoja: You are sooo welcome! Someday I must get cable. There is finally as of last week an operating TV in the house (haven't had one for the last 7~8 years) :laugh:

In any case, I give you ...

Stage Nine

Stage 9 - 9 January 2004 - TIDJIKJA > NEMA
Liaison 3 km Special 736 km Total 739 km

Yesterday's route was completely new to the competitors. Today, they rode a
legendary Dakar stage. However, knowledge of the route to Nema was of little
help, and there was no time or interest in the breathtaking scenery, like
the Elephant rock or the Enji passage. In past years, this 736 km was
divided into two stages, for 2004, it's all in one day. Add to that the
wind which must be getting on the nerves of many Dakar competitors, perhaps
forcing several to retire after bad falls

HARDEN AND VERHOEF QUIT, BRUCY INJURED

Red Bull KTM USA Team rider Scot Harden crashed and broke his anke, at CP1.
He was forced to withdraw from the race. Remember that Scott Harden was to
be team manager, but filled in at the last minute when Casey McCoy crashed
and broke his leg prior to the start of the Rally.

Erik Verhoef (KTM n°29) was also forced to quit after falling at km 125.

After crashing at around km 600, Galluoise KTM France Team rider Jean Brucy
(KTM n°9) was forced to withdraw from the race with a broken shoulder. "The
crash wasn't that bad at all. I simply fell in a stupid way." Brucy broke
his right collarbone. Marc Coma said about Jean Brucy: "I stopped to help
him get up. Jean complained about pains in his collarbone. It is probably
broken. At first he rode on. Only shortly afterwards I saw his emergency
signal go off."

There are only 210 remaining competitors, just over half of those who
started the Rally, in Clermont.

REVENGE FOR DESPRES

Cyril Despres and Alfie Cox took advantage of the longest special (736 km)
in this year's Dakar and gained time on the leaders. After finishing the
first part of the marathon-stage (that is, a stage without the support
trucks at the bivouac), both had arrived in a bad mood in Tidjikja
yesterday. Today they were going for it. Cyril Despres knew that he had to
make up leeway on this long and difficult stage if he wanted to keep a
minimal chance for the leadership in the overall standings. And today he has
managed to do so.

Despres claims the victory on this burdensome course. "It was hell ! Ten
hours on the bike, those behind will take twice as long! . . We then
entered a village and I decided to go on my own track. It was the good one,
the others were wrong. It's a satisfaction for me, I thought I didn't know
how to navigate. I'm reassured. There were beautiful landscapes. Between the
start this morning and the finish, it looked like we'd changed countries."

Alfie Cox finished 2nd and was able to close the gap on Roma who had lost
more than 26 minutes in the overalls. "I started 20 minutes after everyone.
However, when I made it to refuelling, they were all there. I caught them at
the Elephant rock and we then rode together. Cyril then took off. I enjoyed
the first part of the special."

Richard Sainct was 3rd: "I'm happy to have made it because I believe a lot
of competitors won't be here tonight. It really is a good Dakar, one of the
hardest."

Joan Roma finished 4th, but remains 1st overall:
"Ten hours on the bike is not easy! The most important is to arrive. I still
took pleasure despite the length."

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Meoni had more technical problems, and ended up close to
one hour behind the leader: "At 200kms from here, the support for my
navigation instruments dismounted. I had to repair it on my own. The
vibrations were simply too much. I could not look into my road book any
longer."

The two private KTM riders from up north were performing really well today.
Pal-Anders Ullevalseter is in 5th and P.G. Lundmark arrived in an equally
great 6th place.

Overall Standings:

Team Gauloises KTM France
001 Richard Sainct 2nd +3 min
002 Cyril Despres 4th +45 min
009 Jean Brucy withdrew, broken collarbone in stage 9

Gauloises KTM International
003 Fabrizio Meoni 11th +2hr 43min
007 Giovani Sala withdrew after stage 6, broken ribs
010 Alfie Cox 3rd +28 min

Repson KTM Spain
004 Juan Roma 1st
011 Marc Coma 7th +2 hr 18 min
019 Esteve Pujol 33rd +10hr 26 min, including 1 hr penalty

Red Bull KTM USA
016 Larry Roeseler 16th +4hr 14 min
017 Paul Krause 22nd +5hr 35 min
025 Scott Harden withdrew, broken ankle in stage 9

>From Mike Sonzini of the DuST list: Harden's replacement as KTM Red Bull
team manager, Joe Barker is one of the great ambassadors for dual sport
riding in Utah. Looks like his job just got harder with Scott's injury.

Others:

Team Farmerlips
006 Per Gunner Lundmark 6th +1hr, 1 min
015 Pal andedrs Ullevalseter 5th +58 min

Yamaha France
012 David Fretigne on the 2wd Yamaha, 12th +2hr 57 min

Off Road Adventure
041 David Casteu, riding Cagiva 900 Elefant 28th +8hr 43 min

Privateer, works for Dutsche Bank
171 Andy Coaker, Australian, 24th, +6hr, 51 min

Sleepy Jings Madman Racing, San Francisco
Charlie Rauseo, Attorney at Law
"Everyday legal issues for those operating in the creative fields"
http://www.rallyconnex.com/rauseobio.htm
115 Charlie Rauseo: Listed as withdrawn after stage 8 - Bummer!

Team Desert Rose, Great Britain
100 Patsy Quick: Withdrawn after stage 8
101 Clive Town: Withdrawn after stage 8

Dome BMW, Great Britain
074 Nick Plumb - Didn't start stage 8
075 Simon Pavey 86th after stage 8

Rally Raid UK
170 Bertil Marcusson XR650, he rode to the start of the rally, in Clermont
from Sweden
80th after stage 8

038 Raymond Loizeaux, France, on a BMW R100 GS: withdrawn after stage 7


Some more comments from David Fretigne about his 2WD Yamaha WR450: "The
bike is performing really well and we are getting lots of feedback. This is
the first time we have used the bike in this spec and even with the extra
weight it is extremely well balanced. In the short European stages the
two-wheel-drive system gave excellent grip out of the slow corners and in
the soft sand it is brilliant. Our bike has a shorter wheelbase than that of
our rivals so, in theory, it should not be as stable. That's not proved to
be the case though as the bike has been rock solid over the dunes. I have
only been stuck once but even then I just leaned the bike over, touched the
throttle and the front wheel pulled her out."

"Yesterday we did learn something new about the 2-Trac system though. When
the front wheel spins in the sand it gives us a false reading on the
tripmeter and, by the time I got to the refuelling checkpoint at 258km, my
trip was over reading by 40 kilometres. We didn't spot this problem on the
Shamrock Rally because there was much less sand and a lot more GPS points."

Christian Caillon, Frétigné's mechanic, added: "The bike can stand these
Dakar stages without any problems. As with the engine, we have been checking
and changing the oil in the 2-Trac system every day and it too has given us
no problems. We took the precaution of changing the engine before David left
for yesterday's fast marathon stage and while he is away we'll take the
motor apart and see if there is any wear."


In the car race, Hiroshi Masuoka (Mitsubishi n°201) took advantage of his
12th place in the starting order to storm to victory. On the 736kms of the
special, the Japanese overtook 11 cars (gaining 2 minutes per car, or 22
minutes). Only Stephane Peterhansel (Mitsubishi n°203) was able stay ahead
of Masuoka until the finish, conceding 18min32 on his team mate and rival.
"My time is not as good as Masuoka's but it was important to make it here in
one piece. We didn't drive together. I only saw him behind me at the end".

The third car of the special, Jutta Kleinschmidt's Volkswagen (n°204) made
it to the bivouac over 45min later. Fourth was Jean-Louis Schlesser
(Schlesser Ford n°200) at 1h11min18, ahead of Alphand (BMW n°207) at 1h28.

Meanwhile, the Nissan cars struggled with mechanical problems. From km 368,
Colin McRae (Nissan n°202) and Ari Vatanen (Nissan n°205) had to cope with,
respectively gearbox and clutch malfunctions. They were still expected late
in the evening.

In the overall, Masuoka moves up to second place but remains 1h04 behind
"Peter". Third is Schlesser at 2h22min28.

>From Yamaha web page!:

In the car event, which runs on the same route as the bikes, Dakar legend
Stéphane Peterhansel leads by over an hour in his Mitsubishi. The Frenchman
won the rally won a record breaking six events during the 1990s on the
Yamaha Motor France-prepared Super Tenéré machines before switching to four
wheels.


No racing for 3 days: The next 2 stages have been cancelled by the
officials due to "political difficulties". French and Mali's authorities
have asked the A.S.O. to avoid racing in the north of Mali. There have not
been given any more detailed explanations to the teams during briefing. Due
to security threats on the rally, the organisation has indeed decided to
cancel the upcoming two stages.

About 800 kilometers are taken out of the valuation. Tomorrow's stage
Nema-Mopti was to have extremely difficult navigation. And, the "toughest
stage", Mopti-Bobo Diouiasso on Sunday will also not happen.

Tomorrow the motor bikes are being loaded on trucks and the riders will fly
to Bamako, Mali's capitol. On Sunday they will go on to Bobo Dioulasso.
Monday is the scheduled rest day. On Tuesday they will start as planned on
the 12th stage from Dioulasso to Bamako.

Winfried Kerschhaggl, KTM's head of marketing: "After three difficult
successive stages the harshness of the rally has become obvious today. We
are talking about strains that brought the riders to their limits. Most of
the private riders overextended themselves. The official's decision to
neutralize the next two days is only right. It will keep up the standards of
the race."

Sainct: "This is a bad decision for me. The stages will be missing for my
results. I cannot make up time because during these two days and I would
have had chances to do so."

Despres: "Concerning the stage cancellation, I think it's a shame that
sport is taken in hostage. The Dakar is our most important event. We've been
thinking about it for months and now it's like if the rally was cut into
two. The rally is also an endurance race and I'm disappointed because I'm in
top shape and I won't be able to defend my chances properly in the next two
specials."

Meoni: "Concerning the cancellation of the two specials? I have my problems
and the organisers have theirs. I take the decisions as they come. With all
the problems I have had, I don't look at the overall but of course I would
have preferred being on my bike, especially because tomorrow's stage looked
great and Sunday's one with no GPS could have been interesting."

"This decision has been taken in accordance with the Mali and French
authorities."

Finally, here is an interesting from CNN about the Rally, focusing on the
"local color" along the route. Thanks to STeve Duncun the link:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/01/07/paris.dakar.rally.ap/index.html

Tom Warr
 

treefinder

Sponsoring Member
Jun 4, 2002
176
0
Great updates, thanks! I've been watching the coverage on Speed and it is pretty good considering the scope of the event. I hope they make a DVD of the event afterwards, I am sure there is tons of footage and human stories that cannot get told in the 1/2 hour a day coverage we see.
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Stage Ten and Eleven

These stages have been cancelled becasue Dakar is beating everyone up.

BTW - Tell me if my posts change after I get my "official" Dakar hat. It should arrive next week. Not exactly like being there, but a heck of a lot cheaper. ;)

TIDJIKJA - NEMA
A legendary stage! This part of the course has witnessed some of the race's
most historic moments. It is also the longest and the hardest stage in the
2004 race. After a fast start through soft sand until Tichit, things get
tougher as we reach the Well of Aratoue, the Rocher des Eléphants and the
Enji pass where nearly all of the competitors were brought to a halt by a
sandstorm 1985. But the magnificent landscapes make it easier to forget the
difficulties of certain sections.

Well, that was the idea, anyway. This is from the updated Dakar web page:

NEUTRALIZED STAGE

08:00 Modification of the rally route

For security reasons concerning the rally and the competitors, the
organisation feels it is necessary to modify the 10th and 11th stages
between NEMA and MOPTI and between MOPTI and BOBO DIOULASSO. Both stages
have been cancelled and replaced by a liaison all the way to BAMAKO and then
to BOBO DIOULASSO. <snip>


Nine days into this year's event, 6,000 of the 11,000 kilometres completed,
only 132 of the 400-strong field remain in the event following three
incredibly difficult stages. Stage 7 totalled over a thousand kilometres and
was backed up by a marathon stage consisting a technical 389km stage 8 and
another 740km test yesterday, the longest of the Dakar.

The feeling is that the privateers need a break: A Dakar without amateurs,
who scrimp and save all year long in order to fulfill their dreams, means
the end of the Rally. If the Organisation has to depend only on the
professionals, there would be an exodus, which can also happen now. If the
chances for the amateurs to reach the Dakar beaches are being confined to a
minimum, their pleasure for saving their money for next year will disappear
like snow in summer.

But thankfully the next two stages, which would have been equally difficult,
have been cancelled, allowing the privateers the possibility of recovering
from the previous three days. Meanwhile for organiser Zaniroli, who
apparently knew of the security threat in Mali prior to the start on Januray
1st, the additional two recovery days has certainly come as a blessing in
disguise.

"It was been a typical Dakar Rally so far," reflected Mitsubishi Director
Sven Quandt. "But maybe the organisers pushed it a little too far this time
in terms of stretching the resources of teams and privateers."

However, on a competitive level, the cancellation of stages 10 and 11 and
diminished the possibility of riders such as Cyril Despres and Richard
Sainct to fight for victory, with Sunday's test between Mopti and Bobo
Dioulasso expected to have been the 'toughest stage yet!'.

Richard Sainct ( FRA - KTM - 2nd) - 001
"It's great to do the stage on a plane. It's relaxing. On the other hand, I
would have preferred to do it on my bike in the race. Now, for the other
competitors, it's a good thing that they can rest. If I had been leading the
overall, this break wouldn't have disturbed me. Now, I lose chances to gain
time in the overall. . . Last year, the Dakar was too easy, this time it's
very difficult. The Dakar however shouldn't become impossible! Let's not
forget that the weather conditions are very bad, the sand is very soft.
Those who will finish he rally can be very proud."

Cyril Despres (FRA - KTM - 4th) - 002
"It's a strange feeling being here today. On one hand it's good to rest but
on the other hand, I don't really need it. I was counting on my physical
strength to make a difference, so I have an advantage less. . . We'll ride
tomorrow on the liaison but it'll really be cool."

Fabrizio Meoni (ITA - KTM - 11th) - 003
"Concerning the victory, it's over for me. That's for sure. The first
problem I had made me lose 2 hours and the two following days, I also had
little technical worries on stages where I could have caught up time on the
leaders. Now, I'm too far behind and it's impossible to finish with the
first. It's sad because it's a magnificent rally, very tough, like I like
them. It was my rally and that's why it's a shame. But that doesn't change
the main goal now : to make it to Dakar."

Alfie Cox (AFS - KTM - 3rd) - 010
"On a sporting point of view, this neutralisation of the race is a pity. But
when security is at stake, one can only understand. I totally support the
organisation's decision. I believe this stop will be welcomed on a physical
point of view. Even for me who has done hard Dakars, like in 98 and 99, I
find it at the limit. And it's only the start ! It isn't a bad thing."


Whereas the bikes were taken in an airplane, the cars had to drive:

Jean Louis Schlesser ( FRA - SCHLESSER FORD - 3rd) - 200
"Over 900kms of liaison is worst than a special. At least in a special you
can attack. We left at 8.30am this morning, we drove fast when we could.
There were 100kms of difficult course. The other car (Servia) won't get here
before 9.00pm. They did the mistake of not leaving early this morning".

Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA - Mitsubishi - 1st) - 203
These two days of liaison are a surprise. 900kms is very long. Of course
it's not the kind of pressure as in a special, but it wasn't restful. I
handed the steering wheel to Jean-Paul Cottret so he could he have fun,
especially on tricky paths. We'll try to cope with these two days in a
relaxed manner. Tomorrow, there will be another 500kms. We'll have a good
rest in Bobo Dioulasso."

Jutta Kleinschmidt ( ALL - Volkswagen - 14th) - 204
"We left at 8.30am. It was tiring but also very boring. I took it easy. If I
had the choice, I would have preferred a special."


I picked this off the paris-dakar list, posted by Philip Wibaux. It's a
link to Photos of Dakar bikes in high Res. Good stuff, thanks Philip!
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32251
If you go up the thread and look for the "trucks of Dakar", you see more
great photos of the trucks.


Comments from PG Lundmark:
http://www.pgdakar.com/race/2004_dakar/index_en.shtml

I wonder if the bluesman Roffe Wikström in an earlier life possibly did the
Dakar on a bike. He describes what I'm feeling right now in his song Nere I
skiten (Down in the ****). This is the text: Have you ever been in the ****?
Then you know what I'm talking of. The ****tiest thing that can happen to
you and it's coming back, again and again. You want to sleep, let the pain
go. You count the seconds and minutes but the pain never stops. Have you
ever been in the ****, quivering and quaking in your bed?

I get the shivers, just listening to that song.

Yesterday, it was difficult to hold the pace without going too fast or too
slow. The right pace is a difficult one. Man is by nature lazy and it's easy
to ride too slow. I lost it and was passed by Brucy and then we were
painfully slow. I think he got rather more tired than me. My brains started
finding excuses for staying behind him. Slow but safe, father of four, it
hurts to crash, but then I overtook him anyway. Racing the Dakar is riding a
narrow edge and the instalments you have to pay, if you fail, you pay for
the rest of your life. Your brains say brake and your heart says gas it and
if, like me, you have done an 180-point course in LHS (Life's Hard School)
these are factors to be taken into account. Using your body instead of brake
pads is nothing fun and as pads these body parts are much too soft. I
managed to fall off today when the front tyre lost grip and both the bike
and I carry the scars to prove it.

It seems there will be three days of rest instead of one. The reason is some
sort of threat from terrorists and we are to fly the bikes to
Bobo-Dioulasso. More information tomorrow. Pity, considering the goals our
team had, I don't think there will be time to reach them. The impossible
takes longer and now we've lost that time.

Lukas has complained about my body odour when we've shared a tent. He has
taken a shower in cold water every day, I haven't. Today I passed a flock of
camels and suddenly felt a familiar aroma. So, I smell like a flock of
camels and have thought about finding a shower tonight.


Rrom "Dakar Magazine"

Being a privateer doesn't mean not competing for the overall. In his second
Dakar, Cyril Raynal's goal is: "to finish in the top 30 !"

He presses on, despite injury: "I first dislocated a shoulder because of a
bad fall. Luckily I was able to put it back in place and carry on. A few
kilometres later however, it got really painful. I was devastated. All my
ambitions were fading away as I finished outside the top 60".

Seems his girlfriend just had a baby: The birth of a child, just before the
start of the rally, makes him forget his problems. "Immediately as I got
back to the bivouac, I called my girlfriend. I really needed it. She talked
to me about the 'little one'. It helped a great deal. I should actually be
sent pictures very soon."

The next day, for the longest special of the rally, between Tidjikja and
Nema, Cyril managed to gain positions and earn precious minutes lost a day
before. Getting to the Lac Rose among the best privateers can again become a
realistic goal. "I'll have to stay focused until the end even in the final
5kms".

Not only is this Toulouse native a competitor, he also knows how to stop
when needed. When he caught up Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyan who was out
of fuel, he didn't think twice and gave him 12 litres so that he could
finish the stage.

Cyril now knows that "the four toughest stages" are behind him. After three
rest days, the young father wants to give everything he has "for the people
who support me in France" and especially for "the little one".


Results:

Among the 76 bikers (for the moment) still in the rally, after having made
it to Nema, all are not only on 'Super Production' bikes. David Fretigne
(Yamaha n°12), 12th overall, indeed leads the 'under 450cc' category. One
can only be full of admiration for Michel Marchini (KTM n°20), the leader of
the 'Production' standings and 13th overall, or Italy's Francesco Tarricone
(Honda n°50), 49th and 1st in 'Production under 450cc', as well as Belgian
Jeroen Ramos (Yamaha n°83), 65th and 1st of the 'under 250cc'. Let's not
forget, South African Cornel De Villiers (Bombardier n°910), 60th and 1st of
the quads, one of the most physical disciplines.

In the overall, Peterhansel (Mitsubishi n°203) has a comfortable 1h lead on
Masuoka (Mitsubishi n°201). Here are some other highlights: Jean-Pierre
Strugo (Mercedes n°217), first of the 'Production/cross country cars' is in
an excellent 15th place overall. "This Dakar is one of the most difficult I
have ever done. If we had had to start this morning it really would have
been tough". Former Formula one driver Ukyo Katayama (Toyota N°230), is 1st
of the 'Production/cross country diesel' standings and 18th overall while in
the trucks Spaniard Jordi Juvanteny (MAN N°451), 13th overall is top of the
'6 to 8 wheel drive' category.

No word on 233 Mark Miller, From US, in the Chevy ProTruck since CP1 of
stage 9.

Overall Standings:

Team Gauloises KTM France
001 Richard Sainct 2nd +3 min
002 Cyril Despres 4th +45 min
009 Jean Brucy withdrew, broken collarbone in stage 9

Gauloises KTM International
003 Fabrizio Meoni 11th +2hr 43min
007 Giovani Sala withdrew after stage 6
010 Alfie Cox 3rd +28 min

Repson KTM Spain
004 Juan Roma 1st
011 Marc Coma 7th +2 hr 18 min
019 Esteve Pujol 33rd +10hr 26 min, including 1 hour penalty

Red Bull KTM USA
016 Larry Roeseler 16th +4hr 14 min
017 Paul Krause 22nd +5hr 35 min
025 Scott Harden withdrew, broken ankle in stage 9

Team Farmerlips
006 Per Gunner Lundmark 6th +1hr, 1 min
015 Pal andedrs Ullevalseter 5th +58 min

Yamaha France
012 David Fretigne on the 2wd Yamaha, 12th +2hr 57 min

Off Road Adventure
041 David Casteu, riding Cagiva 900 Elefant 28th +8hr 43 min

Privateer, works for Dutsche Bank
171 Andy Coaker, Australian, 24th, +6hr, 51 min

Sleepy Jings Madman Racing, San Francisco
Charlie Rauseo, Attorney at Law
"Everyday legal issues for those operating in the creative fields"
http://www.rallyconnex.com/rauseobio.htm
115 Charlie Rauseo: Listed as withdrawn after stage 8 - Bummer!

Team Desert Rose, Great Britain
100 Patsy Quick: Withdrawn after stage 8
101 Clive Town: Withdrawn after stage 8

Dome BMW, Great Britain
074 Nick Plumb - Didn't start stage 8
075 Simon Pavey - Withdrew after stage 9

Rally Raid UK
170 Bertil Marcusson XR650, he rode to the start of the rally, in Clermont
from Sweden 73rd, +30hr, 4 min

RSP Racing
031 Cyril Raynal, 25th, +7hr, 44 min

Tom Warr
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
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
 

XRpredator

AssClown SuperPowers
Damn Yankees
Aug 2, 2000
13,510
19
okay, since this ain't actually being ridden by a DRNer, I'm gonna move it :)

To the Off Road racing forum! woohoo!
 

Offroadr

Ready to bang some trees!
Jan 4, 2000
5,227
25
duck! XRP is using his special powers
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Originally posted by XRpredator
okay, since this ain't actually being ridden by a DRNer, I'm gonna move it :)

To the Off Road racing forum! woohoo!

Watch where you swing that wand, baby. Ya barely missed me!! :laugh:
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Rest Day

(Readers: First of all, thanks to contributors that have helped me come
across cool information and links to include in these summaries - keep em
coming!

Second, especially you short women out there, make sure you read PG
Lundmark's comments at the end of today's posting. Amazing. Tough and guts
does not describe.)

Restday at Bobo Dioulasso, 12.January 2004

The sun is burning and the thermometer climbed to 39° Celsius in the shadow.
One can hardly feel the breeze. There is no cloud in the sky. Doesn't that
sound like a perfect vacation day? No. One is missing the sound of waves and
there is no relaxing in the shadow underneath a palm tree.


The riders rest, the mechanics are busy. Manel Salinas is Roma's mechanic:
"Today no part of the bike will stay untouched. I have stripped the
motorbike down to the frame. Now I'm looking for cracks and other damage.
That is what I'm going to look for on every other part. After everything is
cleaned I putt he motorbike back together. Actually, this is pretty simple,
just like playing with Lego. Only the engine will be changed as a whole. The
old one has perfectly worked, but fort he second part of the rally a new one
will have to be used."

What about the riders? They've got time to relax, at least the factory team
riders do.

Nani Roma: "I'm washing my clothes, which is something I never have time to
do otherwise. Further we'll go to a restaurant enjoy our time eating and
talking. Additionally I'll still have to write my road book for tomorrow."

Marc Coma: "I'm doing laundry today, too. And I'm going to have a nice
massage."

Richard Sainct: "I'm going to see the doctors. The injury on my arm heals
very slowly, but my subscription of antibiotics is almost all gone."

Ralf Pariasek, medical assistant: "The danger of an infection has passed.
Luckily, nothing has happened and Richard won't have to worry about any
troubles resulting from the injury. He will still have to take some pain
killers. That is why the rest day is especially important for Richard.
Finally he gets to relax his arm. For us it is unbelievable how he can go on
with an injury like that. He really is an tough boy. To tell you the truth,
neither one of the others is mentally as strong as Richard." (I don't this
this is HIPPA acceptable.)

And the physiotherapist is also busy: "I need to keep an eye on everyone to
make sure they sleep, eat and drink enough so their energy will revive."


Fretigne:

"I loved going through villages - the welcome the thousands of children gave
us was just amazing," commented the multiple French champion. "They waved at
you and if you wave back they all applauded you - it was really amazing - I
must have ridden 500 kilometres with my arms in the air! I wanted to stop
and give them my energy bars but there was just too many of them."

Alfie Cox:
"I think tomorrow's stage could be quite quick - more like a WRC stage than
a traditional rallye-raid stage. After that there are only 3 real stages
left on the rallye. The Spanish KTM team have an advantage in that they have
two water carriers - Esteve Pujol and Coma - to support Roma. I think
Fabrizio will stop to help me but he is on a different bike and can only
supply me with wheels. As far as the French team is concerned it is clear
that Cyril won't be happy to stay where he is, and as he is only 14 minutes
behind me I will have to watch out."

Hans Trunkenpolz, team coordinator KTM:
"Concerning the motorcycles, we can be satisfied: Only once did we have
trouble with an engine, but that was due to a crash. The problems with the
tires were owed to the material so it had nothing to do with us. Besides
that our material has endured the high stress of the rally very well."
Didn't translate well, but he blames the tire failures on the tires, not the
huge (and powerful) motorcycle driving them. OTOH, nice to see a Rally
without a lot of mechanical breakdowns.


In the car race, the Dakar enters its second week the pit consensus is that
the race is Mitsubishi's to lose.

With Stephane Peterhansel and Hiroshi Masuoka well clear of the field,
third-placed Jean Louis Schlesser knows that while he may not match the top
pair for speed, his Ford's reliability could be the key to another Dakar
victory.

Schlesser:
"Under 'normal' circumstances the Mitsubishis are untouchable and I won't be
able to move up the ranking unless they run into problems. On the other
hand this race is not just about speed, it is also about endurance and it
that respect I think we have the edge on them; they have been having a lot
of gearbox problems"

Peterhansel:
"The second week of the race will not be easy at all. There are four or five
stages which are not too long, but they are likely to be very hard. Remember
last year, it can all go wrong at any time and we must all concentrate. For
sure, I will be under some pressure."

Team mate Masuoka confirmed that he would be hot on Peterhansel's heels
after being given "nothing at all" in the way of team orders. He also
entered the debate over the three marathon stages between Tan-Tan and Néma,
branding them too hard for all but the top teams.

"Yes they were too difficult for the drivers at the back of the field. For
me they were not too bad, but the Dakar organizers should also think about
the other entrants and the mechanics and assistance teams."


With the three days of no racing, there is not much to report. Here is
something:

"Really, there is no reason to worry." Mali sought on Saturday to soothe
fears of insecurity after reports of armed gangs roaming the nation's
borders forced the cancellation of stages 10 and 11 of the Dakar rally. The
rally organisers preferred to not risk the safety of its competitors by
diverting the caravan South instead of heading East into Mali.

"We have taken security measures, our troops are on the ground, they control
the whole area. Really, there is no reason to worry," said Colonel Salif
Traore of the rally's Malian organising committee.

Traore did not confirm the presence of armed gangs along the desert border
but large swathes of the burning Sahara desert are lawless no-man's lands,
where opportunistic bandits and former rebels sometimes seek refuge.

"As soon as you have information that there are elements in a border zone,
whatever their intentions, it is wiser to take conservative measures,"
Traore said. "Even if there are bandits, we have enough security and armed
forces to keep them under control and eventually kick them out of the
country."

In 2000, four stages of the event run from Dakar to Cairo were cancelled
after warnings that Algerian Islamic guerrillas were planning an ambush in
Niger, one of Mali's neighbours. Mali also sits on Algeria's southern border
and hit headlines in August when 14 European hostages who had been held in
the Sahara for five months by Algerian militants were released to Malian
authorities.


Final comments from PG Lundmark:
http://www.pgdakar.com/race/2004_dakar/en/dagar/dag_11_en.html

There are hard people, like my former colleague Göte Jonsson, shredder
driver for Sveaskog timber. I have seen him bend a crowbar, OK? Then there
are other tough persons, like the Japanese girl Yuki Tanaka, the only woman
left in the race. She looks small and fragile, but this is just a front.
Yesterday we shared a tent and when she undressed to go to bed I saw that
her arms and what I could see of her legs had a deep blue colour. Now, I
don't know what colour they usually are, but blue didn't seem right, even if
I don't get to see lightly clad Japanese every day. I asked what bike she
was riding and she answered a KTM 660 and I asked if she had crashed. She
answered: "Many, many, many times", and then added with tears in her voice
that she had missed a control point and was afraid to be disqualified. When
I told her she would already have got a three hour penalty for it, she
looked as if she'd won in the lottery. I was impressed by this tiny little
power package, with the right will and attitude. And she must be able to
ride as well, otherwise she wouldn't have got this far, like the Swedish
rider Maria Sandell who was the only female to finish here in 2002.

(130 Yuki Tanaka (Japan), is 5' 2" and 115 lbs, riding a KTM 660 in this
year's Rally, still.)

There is an interesting development for the rest of the race until we reach
Lac Rosé. None of the riders in front of me and Pål is willing to accept
anything but victory, meaning some of them will overdo it and fall by the
wayside. At the same, neither Pål nor I say anything about our respective
placings, but we may start to compete against each other, increasing the
risk that one of us falls out. But I know that we have never had such a good
position for the last half as we do this year. If we reach the finish
without major problems we will win the team competition and a minibike. We
have just agreed that the one of us with the worst result, will get the
bike. We both feel we need one, so it may end with the two us riding ever
slower, just to get the bike. Only one team is in front of us and that is
Gauloises with Sainct and Despres. I suggested, half for fun, that we try to
ride on safety, but was told off by Ullevålsäter: "No old-age manners here
now!" My plans for putting a 10-amp fuse in the brains were killed at an
early stage. So now it's back to a 2-inch steel nail to the bitter, or
hopefully sweet end. The advantage with riding with a 2-inch nail is that
you never have to ask yourself, how you would have finished if you'd given
it everything. You get the answer at the finish.

Your very own charter tourist Sigurd Per Gunnar Lundmark in Burkina Faso

Tomorrow, they start racing again: Stage 12 BOBO-DIOULASSO > BAMAKO
Liaison 85 km Special 213 km Liaison 368 km Total 666 km
Large sections of tomorrow's 12th stage pass through tropical forests. The
officials of the rally have pronounced it to be a fast track. The finish is
located at Bamako, the Malian capitol.

Tom Warr
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Stage Twelve

Thanks to Tom for the posts. :thumb:

Stage 12 - 13 January 2004 - BOBO-DIOULASSO > BAMAKO
Liaison 85 km Special 213 km Liaison 368 km Total 666 km

Today's special had the competitors racing through new terrain, with turning
tracks and valleys. A special that should go fast, testing riding skills,
with numerous hazzards on the road through he tropical forest of Banfora.

The finish of the stage is the city of Bamako. Founded in 1640, in the
heart of the mandingue country, Bamako, « the river of caïmans » in old
Bambara dialect, is settled between mountains and rivers in a splendid
landscape. Bambaras, Kogoras, Markas, Malinkés, Maures, Peuls and Sarakolés
cross paths on the colored old market, and full of the typical thousand
perfumes of western Africa.

The Rally has taken its toll: Organisers said 77 bikes, 72 cars and 41
trucks were authorised to start the stage.


In the motorcycle category, France's Cyril Despres won the stage, despite
riding with an injured foot, possibly broken toes. He trails Roma by 38 min
in the overall, but is gaining.

Cyril Despres:
"Taking off first helped me, especially on this kind of course. We had to
slalom a bit between the chicken, the turkeys and the wild boars. I can
imagine that the others have a strategy but I have no tactic. I have to
attack as much as I can without taking risks, riding my own stages without
thinking about the overall. It'll be a good thing anyhow starting in front
tomorrow because it suits me well. When I have no track to follow, I'm more
focused. Nothing is completely decided for victory. There still are 5 stages
and still possibilities to take off and make a difference."

Nani Roma (SPA - KTM, 3rd) - 004
"It wasn't a nice special. There was a lot of dust and when you ride behind
you have to go slowly. It was quite dangerous with many people and animals.
. . The difficult stages start tomorrow and anything can happen."

Alfie Cox (RSA - KTM, 4th) - 010
"I could smell Despres' dust at the beginning. In the last 50kms, it had
disappeared. I didn't realise he was doing so well. But it might not be a
very clever thing as he will start first tomorrow. If I get him tomorrow,
I'll gain the same time he took on me today. Unless he rides like a man
possessed. The stage wasn't nice, full of ditches and holes."

Marc Coma (SPA - KTM, 2nd) - 011
"It was a very dangerous special : many people and animals on the road."

Both of the Scandinavian KTM motorbike riders Per-Gunnar Lundmark (place 5
today) and Pal Anders Ullevalseter (place 6 today) did well today.

PG Lundmark:

"I hit the bottom in a wash-out, where rains have taken away parts of the
road surface. It wasn't marked in the roadbook and my speed was rather good.
The Öhlins shock took most of it, but the swinging arm is cracked. Håkan
will have some extra work tonight. This is how I broke down in 2001."

"Saincts chose to ride slowly near the end today, to start further back
tomorrow. This is at least my theory because he was in the clear, without
dust and was still slow. If he starts behind Roma tomorrow he will have the
opportunity to catch him. There is a play going on between Saincts and Roma
right now. I feel the hot-tempered Roma deserves this win, because he has
been so close so many times and Saincts has won three times. Despres is not
to be discarded either, because he's been going wild the last few stages."

Lundmark is worried about a time penalty for speeding. Apparently, they use
the GPS units to monitor speed through the check points, and villages, etc:
". . . I had just stopped to have my card punched and then accelerated in
first gear up to 45kph, before I realised this was one of the places
restricted to 30,
like in every village south of Morocco. I pulled the brakes but this
happened to be the stage, the 30 metres, where speed was measured. It had
still 200 metres to go to the village. My GPS reports 56. I feel frustration
only thinking of getting a time penalty and a fine. I still don't know how
it will go, but expect to be informed at the briefing tonight."

Team Red Bull KTM USA, Larry Roeseler placed 9th today, his best stage
finish so far. The track was made for the Dakar-newcomer. It had a fast and
firm surface and lots of zigzags - much like the tracks that the 46-year-old
Californian is used to. "I liked the heat and the dust. That is what reminds
me of home. Today everything was working out well. I want to climb on that
podium in Dakar. That is my biggest goal. I'm collecting lots of experiences
here. This Dakar rally is the climax of my racing career. It is just like
the Super Bowl." (Wow, this is a guy that's won the Baja how many times?)

Some follow up on 115 Charlie Rauseo, attorney from San Francisco. His
friend, Carrie Lawson reports the problems he had during stage 8. His GPS
broke, so unable to navigate. Then, while helping a couple lost japanese
riders, his bike battery died, too. Ultimately, he was picked up by the
sweep truck. Bummer, for sure, but look for him again next year.

Quad rider, Pascal Ferrand was one of many who had lots of trouble on stage
9, between Tidjikja and Nema: Since three days, I've spent 60 hours out of
72 on my quad. Add to that the fact that I didn't eat for 48 hours.
Something completely crazy". After a meal and a good night's sleep, Pascal
will be back on the road. "Nothing can stop me now from getting to Dakar.
Unless my engine breaks down."


In the cars, former World Cup downhill skier Luc Alphand won the 12th stage
of the Dakar Rally. The Frenchman, driving a BMW, recouped five minutes
from compatriot and overall leader Stephane Peterhansel in the first
competitive action since Monday's rest day and the cancellation of the
weekend timed stages.

Peterhansel leads Mitsubishi team mate Hiroshi Masuoka by one hour, four
minutes and 43 seconds after the 213km special on turning tracks and through
tropical forest between Bobo Dioulasso to Bamako in Mali.

Overall, Alphand is fourth, nearly four hours behind the leading Mitsubishi.

Luc Alphand ( FRA - BMW - 1st) - 207
"I knew I had won once I got to the bivouac. 48 victories to go and I'll be
like Vatanen. Before, I drove for special victory, now I'm a lot more
careful. I want to make it to Dakar. . . I'm very happy with BMW and my
contract is signed for this year's World cup."

Jean-Louis Schlesser ( FRA - SCHLESSER FORD - 2nd) - 200
"It was an enjoyable special with a lot of piloting. It's better than steps
and stones. Going out of a village, Jutta Kleinschmidt nicely let us go
past. After that I was behind Peterhansel and Masuoka. I couldn't do better
because of the dust. I'm therefore satisfied because I managed not to make
any mistakes. The car is doing well. We now have to prepare for tomorrow
because we have to wake up early. I don't know if the race will be decided
in the next three days because on this rally things happen every day."

Hiroshi Masuoka (JAP - Mitsubishi - 4th) - 201
"The course allowed us to go quite fast. But we had to be careful at the
many people and animals on the way. I managed to avoid a villager just in
time. Now, the race will be difficult until Nouakchott. I am over an hour
behind Peterhansel. Even at my maximum, I can't catch him, so I'll be as
careful as possible. It would be a shame to have a problem and lose
everything."

Jutta Kleinschmidt (GER - Volkswagen - 6th) - 204
"The special was very fast and dangerous with long stretches followed by
holes and narrow bridges. In the villages it was terrible. . . The base of
the car is very good. Now we have to work on power and suspensions."

Another who had trouble with stage 9 was Colin McRae, who reached the rally
bivouac two hours and 40 minutes before the deadline, after getting stuck in
the desert sands and suffering mechanical problems. "It's a love-hate
relationship," the Nissan driver said of his debut in the event. "But it's
not put me off. I'd definitely come back again."


Tomorrow the fight for the top of the overalls will go on in the next level.
The 13th stage leads back to Mauritania, towards Ayoún El Altroús. Time is
only taken of 478 km of the 734 km route. The course is new to the rally
crews. Again it is important to know how to navigate properly.


Overall Standings:

Team Gauloises KTM France
001 Richard Sainct 2nd +10 min
002 Cyril Despres 4th +38 min
009 Jean Brucy withdrew, broken collarbone in stage 9

Gauloises KTM International
003 Fabrizio Meoni 11th +2hr 49min
007 Giovani Sala withdrew after stage 6
010 Alfie Cox 3rd +29 min

Repson KTM Spain
004 Juan Roma 1st
011 Marc Coma 7th +2 hr 17 min
019 Esteve Pujol 33rd +10hr 44 min, including 1 hour penalty

Red Bull KTM USA
016 Larry Roeseler 16th +4hr 22 min
017 Paul Krause 20th +5hr 57 min
025 Scott Harden withdrew, broken ankle in stage 9

Team Farmerlips
006 Per Gunner Lundmark 6th +1hr, 2 min
015 Pal andedrs Ullevalseter 5th +1hr, 1 min

Yamaha France
012 David Fretigne on the 2wd Yamaha, 12th +3hr 8 min

Off Road Adventure
041 David Casteu, riding Cagiva 900 Elefant 28th +9hr 4 min

Privateer, works for Dutsche Bank
171 Andy Coaker, Australian, 24th, +7hr, 20 min

Rally Raid UK
170 Bertil Marcusson XR650, he rode to the start of the rally, in Clermont
from Sweden - no info on stage 12

130 Yuki Tanaka
Didn't start stage 12 - too bad!

Cars (look at all this factory sponsorship):

SCHLESSER - FORD
200 Jean-louis Schlesser 3rd +2hr 18 min
209 Josep maria Servia 22nd 18hr, 46 min

MITSUBISHI MOTORS
201 Hiroshi Masuoka 2nd + 1hr, 4 min
203 Stephan Peterhansel 1st
206 Miki Biasion, withdrawn, stage 7
211 Andrea Mayer 6th, 4hr 56 min

NISSON
202 Colin McRea 21st 17hr, 38 min
205 Ari Vatanen Hasn't finished stage 12 yet
208 Giniel De Villiers 12th 8 hr, 9 min

VOLKSWAGEN MOTORSPORT
204 Jutta Kleinschmidt 26th 20hr, 42 min
224 Bruno Saby 7th 5 hr, 21 min

X - RAID BMW
207 Luc Alphand 4th 3 hr, 54 min
212 Gregiore DeMavius 5th 4 hr, 15 min

PRO SYSTEM
232 Eric Vigouroux, hasn't finished stage 12, yet
233 Mark Miller, hasn't finished stage 12, yet


Tom Warr
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Stage Thirteen

Stage 13 - 14 January 2004 - BAMAKO > AYOÛN EL ALTROÛS
Liaison 230 km Special 478 km Liaison 26 km Total 734 km

The Telefonica Dakar 2004 headed back to Mauritania today with a 734kms
stage including a twisty 478km special between Bamako (Mali) and Ayoun El
Atrous (Mauritania). It was an unexpected tough stage. During the months of
fall it has rained a lot in the Sahel-region. Now the tracks in this part of
West Africa are littered with deep holes and ruts. The route demanded a lot
of power and concentration. Navigation was difficult.


David slays the Goliaths as 2-Trac Yamaha wins!

David Fretigné manoeuvred his Yamaha to success. Frétigné had captured two
specials in Europe (Narbonne and Castellon), he was yet to prove that his
bike could perform on another continent. On his 2-wheel drive Yamaha, he
proved that he could also manage a good result in Africa.

"That was great - I really enjoyed myself," declared the 33-year-old
Frenchman. "This morning Franck and Christian (mechanics) told me that I
could use 100 percent of my engine's power as they changed it yesterday
evening and right from the off I felt good on the bike. When I caught and
overtook Fabrizio Meoni (KTM 950) I thought to myself, 'not bad, you're in
the top five' and concentrated even harder on the road book so as not to
make any mistakes. That wasn't easy because the road book's electric motor
became disconnected and for 90km I had to wind it on by hand."

"Uptil now, I had taken it easy, it's the first special where I give
everyting. The satisfaction is that I can also be able to navigate well.
This morning Jean-Paul Cottret (Peterhansel's co-driver) explained that I
should keep my eyes on the GPS to see where to go when leaving villages.
Normally I lose myself often. It was my day."

"This should silence those who said that a 450 wouldn't be able do anything
in the desert. It is a small bike but is easy to ride and has the advantage
of not tiring you out. I am really delighted for Jean-Claude Olivier
(President of Yamaha Motor France) as his confidence in me has been
rewarded - and it is very encouraging for the future."

Yamaha Motor France's David Frétigné's stage win today moves him up to 10th
in the overall standings. His revolutionary 2-Trac uses a hydraulic motor
to provide a regulated amount of drive to the front wheel as well as the
back.

Despres led most of the race, clocking fastest times at all three CPs (kms
139, 286 and 399), and grabbing precious minutes on his main rivals, despite
his difficult starting position (1st). But like during stage 8 to Tidjikja,
Despres got lost and lost: "I made a mistake. I knew that the GPS point was
wrong and I lost myself looking for it. I was looking for a little track but
never found it. I wasn't focused". The rally-raid World champion eventually
had to settle for 5th place of the special.

Cyril Despres rued a late error that forced him down into fourth place:
"The road-book wasn't very clear. I was looking for a little track but never
found it. I wasn't focused. It's difficult staying careful for 500kms."
However, the 29-year-old does not surrender yet. "I'm going to attack again
tomorrow."

Nani Roma was apparently able to watch and judge Despres' performance today:
"I believe Cyril has enormous problems navigating properly. He was going
right, he was going left. Obviously he just couldn't find the right way."

Meanwhile Roma reflected on an eventful stage on which he was forced to hit
the ground: "It was a very complicated special for me. There was a lot of
navigation but I also had quite some troubles. I fell to avoid a cow. To
avoid a herd I went to the left and a cow came out of nowhere. I slammed on
the brakes, slid and fell. But it's OK, my left leg hurts a bit." (Sounds
like dual sporting in Montana.)

Second spot went to Richard Sainct (KTM n°1) at 3min41 while 3rd was Roma
(KTM n°4) at 6min22 and 4th, PG Lundmark (KTM n°6) at 8min06.

Richard Sainct is only a few minutes behind Roma in the overall standings:
"I'm going to attack farther. Today it wasn't exactly what I had wanted to
accomplish. For a long time I was riding in the dust of Lundmark and
Ullevalseter. Tomorrow I'll only have one rider in front of me. There is
only one goal I'm aiming for: celebrating my victory at Dakar."

Unlike everyone else, Sainct thought navigation was too easy: "I'm
disappointed that there were so many GPS points. It made things too easy."

Alfie Cox: "In spite of my experience I made many mistakes. I don't exactly
know why. The navigation was just too difficult for me." Cox fell to 4th
overall.

Team Red Bull KTM USA Paul Krause, on the KTM 950 finished in 21st place:
"The track had lots of zigzags and I had a hard time changing directions
again and again," explains the 39-year-old.

Team Farmerlips PG Lundmark finished 4th: "Today I wanted to give
everything to build up a gap for myself and PålAnders. I suspected Saincts
to storm by and after about 90kms he passed me in a drainage ditch. I put
out my hand and had just enough time to pull a ticket. Then I tied myself to
him and could admire his smooth riding style for 380 kilometres. I
understand why he doesn't want to ride the twin. He is slow and steady and
then gasses it, where it's safe. In the beginning it didn't feel very fast,
because his style lacks the attack that Meoni has, but his style is
efficient. He never lets off. He can't be related to my grandfather. In
harvest times in July, Hillevi from Grundträsk told me, everything had to be
done in a hurry. But when Adrian Lundmark from Baktsjaur Brännet was tired,
he said: Let's let up a while. This I didn't experience with Saincts today.
He never lost his pace."

"The goal is for myself or Ullevalseter (in the Scandinavia team) to finish
third. Now, the only way for this to become possible is if another biker has
a problem. With the fight in front that could be possible. Since before the
start we had decided with Pal-Anders that if one of us had a problem or was
slower, then the guy behind would become the carrier for the other. But
between us, there is almost no difference. We're having a nice fight against
each other."


In the overall standings, Sainct gained some ground on Roma's overall
leadership but still remains at 7min25. Despite his poor end to the special,
Despres overtakes Cox (KTM n°10) for 3rd spot at 49min39 of the leader.


Nissan finishes 1, 2, 3!

In the car race, the nightmare is over for Nissan. After all the mechanical
problems in the first part of the race and the long, the very long way out
of stage 9 to get to the rest day in time, the Japanese manufacturer saw its
three cars grab the leading 3 positions of the special.

Colin McRae (n°202) became the first Brit since Andrew Cowan (winner of a
special in Senegal back in 1990), to clinch a Dakar special. Quite a
performance for the Scotsman on his very first Rally. Second was Giniel De
Villiers (n°208) at 7min40. Ari Vatanen (n°205) took 3rd place.

Jutta Kleinschmidt finished 4th in the VW: "It was very difficult today.
There were many trees and it was very narrow. The navigation was also very
difficult. I'm satisfied with my fourth place. We didn't damage the car and
that was important because tomorrow is a marathon stage. We'll therefore not
be able to attack. I'm happy for McRae and the three Nissan cars. They're
having fun and that's all they can do now."

Meanwhile, the Mitsubishi drivers were more concerned by the overall
standings. Masuoka (n°201) finished at 7th at 24min21 and Peterhansel
(n°203) 8th at 26min35. In the overall the Frenchman keeps a comfortable
1h02min29 on the Japanese.

Mitsubishi head of motorsports Sven Quandt: "Mitsubishi has issued no team
orders. We have told the two drivers that we wanted to see both cars in
Dakar in one piece".


Tomorrow is leg one of the 2nd marathon stage, 551 km to Tidjika. As with
all marathon stages, the riders will then have to do all their own servicing
as assistance is forbidden. This means they will need to be careful with
their equipment. At the bivouac there will only be the support of the fast
assistance which is driving along the race. The service trucks have already
started on their way towards the bivouac at Nouakchott.

Since the rest day, Fabrizio Meoni was been looking forward to this stage.
There is no chance for him to win the rally this year. Tomorrow he wants to
show what he can really do. A farewell performance?

Sand and dunes await the competitors.


Final comments from PG Lundmark:
http://www.pgdakar.com/race/2004_dakar/en/dagar/dag_14_en.html

"D. Fretigne from France who won this stage on his 450 Yamaha with two-wheel
drive is no amateur. He won the 250 enduro world championship on a
two-stroke some years ago. Today's stage probably suited the transmission
and the low speeds we were travelling. Many lost time in their navigation
today, so he must be good at that, too.

"I feel a sore throat, which isn't good. I eat six garlic capsules every day
and hope the cold doesn't break out until after the finish. If there's one
time in my life, that I don't need the flu, it's when racing in the Dakar.
Tomorrow is a marathon stage without service and a special stage of 500kms
and the day after that is a special stage over same distance. This will suck
the rest from all riders, be sure of it. After those two days I don't expect
the overall standing to change very much to the finish."


The main change in overall standings are Despres and Cox exchanging 4th for
3rd, and Lundmark and Ullevalseter 5th for 5th. Sainct is closing the gap
on Roma. Fretigne moves up from 12th to 10th:

Team Gauloises KTM France
001 Richard Sainct 2nd +7 min
002 Cyril Despres 3rd +46 min
009 Jean Brucy withdrew, broken collarbone in stage 9

Gauloises KTM International
003 Fabrizio Meoni 9th +2hr 57min
007 Giovani Sala withdrew after stage 6
010 Alfie Cox 4th +47 min

Repson KTM Spain
004 Juan Roma 1st
011 Marc Coma 11th +3 hr 4 min
019 Esteve Pujol 31st +11hr 11 min, including 1 hour penalty

Red Bull KTM USA
016 Larry Roeseler 15th +4hr 44 min
017 Paul Krause 19th +6hr 48 min
025 Scott Harden withdrew, broken ankle in stage 9

Team Farmerlips
006 Per Gunner Lundmark 5th +1hr, 4 min
015 Pal andedrs Ullevalseter 6th +1hr, 21 min

Yamaha France
012 David Fretigne on the 2wd Yamaha, 10th +3hr 2 min

Off Road Adventure
041 David Casteu, riding Cagiva 900 Elefant 33rd +12hr 3 min

Privateer, works for Dutsche Bank
171 Andy Coaker, Australian, 24th, +8hr, 8 min

Rally Raid UK
170 Bertil Marcusson XR650, he rode to the start of the rally, in Clermont
from Sweden - 68th +33hr, 13 min

130 Yuki Tanaka
Didn't start stage 12 - too bad!

Cars (no major changes in the standings):

SCHLESSER - FORD
200 Jean-louis Schlesser 3rd +2hr 30 min
209 Josep maria Servia 22nd 18hr, 37 min

MITSUBISHI MOTORS
201 Hiroshi Masuoka 2nd + 1hr, 2 min
203 Stephan Peterhansel 1st
206 Miki Biasion, withdrawn, stage 7
211 Andrea Mayer 6th, 5hr 4 min

NISSON
202 Colin McRea 20th 17hr, 11 min
205 Ari Vatanen 28th 22hr, 39 min
208 Giniel De Villiers 11th 7hr, 50 min

VOLKSWAGEN MOTORSPORT
204 Jutta Kleinschmidt 25th 20hr, 38 min
224 Bruno Saby 7th 5 hr, 44 min

X - RAID BMW
207 Luc Alphand 4th 3 hr, 57 min
212 Gregiore DeMavius 5th 4 hr, 13 min

PRO SYSTEM
232 Eric Vigouroux, hasn't finished stage 13, yet
233 Mark Miller - no info since stage 9, ? withddrawn


Tom Warr
 
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