Ladies and Gents, We would like to create this thread so that we pass information and updates about Serres Rally Raid 2014. The race is officially in the FIM calendar as an International Cross Country Rally (IMN:890/09) and the racing week for 2014 is from the 30th of August to the 6th of September. Once more, the Rally will be part of the Mediterranean Trophy. Five events of different styles making it a very challenging and spectacular event to follow. We will keep everybody updated! Last year the rally was pure success, with the elite riders wanting a good base to train for the upcoming rallies and especially Dakar. This year, along with some very nice surprises, the elite riders will be with us, making Serres Rally Raid the most welcoming race in Greece. The Hotel, situated near the centre of the city of Serres, offers Massage and Spa and there are tours at lake Kekrini, should you decide to come to Greece with your family. Always a good excuse for holidays, so while you are racing they can either relax or go for a tour! Having setup a solid background through the last years, we are excited to bring some new features in the Rally arena. More on that soon! Support Packages for the race: Once again, there are lots of support packages, should you want to be assisted in any way. Desert Rose Racing, who by the way has been involved in rally racing for over a decade, offers not only support packages for the race, but can advise you on documentation and visas! For more details, please contact: www.desertroseracing.com Another agent for Scandinavian countries, is Dusty Wobbls Rally Raid Team Finland. They can offer both support, assistance and transportation to and from the event. Please contact www.dustywobbls.com for more details. A new agent in Germany is PeMoPa. PeMoPa will be offering assistance packages, please contact http://www.pemopa.com/ for more details. Last, but not least, Bianchi Prata Team will also be in Serres during the rally. A team with vast experience, low cost and a great service will be there to assist you. They can rent you a bike for the event, arrange transportation and even have gasoline in the bivouac! What else should you ask for?! Please email dakar@bianchiprata.com for more details. We will keep updating this thread with photos from the itinerary, news and offers or other support packages. Should you need the slightest, please let us know either by posting in this thread or reach us through our official page, http://www.serresrally.com/ Looking forward to seeing you soon, Serres Rally Raid Team.
Sadly I can't afford two rallies this year and I'm itching to try a desert rally for the experience, SO I won't be joining the Serres Rally this year. However, if anyone out there is capable of attending - I really can't overstate how much I encourage you to sign up. The Serres was my first ever rally last year and I had the best time. The oragnisation was excellent, the competitors super friendly, and the routes both challenging and picturesque. Finishing it really felt like an achievement and that's exactly what I signed up for - great fun!
Summer is finaly here and we are going full steam ahead with the preparations for Serres Rally. More than 50 participants have already registered for the best Serres Rally ever, the 2014 edition! Seven days full of action, special for motorbikes, on Enduro path routes with alternative routes for Quads and heavy bikes! There will be a semi-rest day, one night bivouac on the mountains, and many surprises! More that 1650kms, 80% of them on twelve Special Stages, with a few asphalt roads. three Municipalities, ten mountains, three lakes and two rivers… Get ready for the best racing experience in your life! Fun factor, Safety, hospitality… Don't forget: 1st July, normal rate registrations deadline! New: Make your own T-shirt - Team logos Our logos are available in our web page: http://serresrally.com/index.php/en/gallery/logos Click on them and download them in PDF files. You can print stickers and you can also make your own T-Shirt in your colors and Team logos! Let us see your ideas and bring some colors into the race! Info: Our race is an official FIM race, with IMN 890/09. You can issue one event FIM License – it is for free if you have National License, and you need also Starting Permission from your National Federation. For riders without national license, Serres Rally organization can issue a Greece Athletic Card (Greek License) in AMOTOE (Greek Motorcycle Federation), through Athletic Union Off Road Team so the riders to have bond / health insurance coverage. There will be also an extra cost repatriation insurance for riders cannot ensure via their FMR – license. Transportation info: Superfast Ferries support once again the Serres Rally, and offer discount prices to our competitors. For (Ancona - Igoumenitsa - Ancona) & (Bari - Igoumenitsa - Bari) the discounts are: 30% for passengers, competitors, teams, friends & families, 30% for cars and trailers. The discount is valid from the 19th August until the 9rd September. You must hurry to book your tickets as the race will be near the high summer season! From Igoumenitsa to the city of Serres is 406km in total. Equipment info: Aurora Rally Equipment with their unique roadbook holders will be there to exhibit their newly developed parts. Roadbook holder aside, more innovative stuff will be shown during the rally from a company that made it to Dakar in fourth months after launching their flagship product! EZ-UP Shelters will be available for sale or rental in smart prices in the Paddocks. For a 3x3m tent, prices start from 80€. E-Z UP offers a broad range of styles and sizes of Instant Shelter® Products. EZ-UP professional Shelters are the top-of-the-line in portable shade. All include professional design features making it the highest quality shelters available todate. Racing updates: The Serres Rally Racing Team, Dimitris –DOC- Athanasoulopoulos and Kostas –BEBEKOS- Chatzimichalis, after their participation at the ultimate Thassos Rally 2014, will go to the 10th Anniversary of Rally Albania. On their KTM EXCF 250 and Husaberg FE 570. We would like to wish them to enjoy the race, meet many friends there and come back full of new experiences! We hope to see you all there!
Another update for the main points of 2014, this year is looking to be another fantastic event. 7 days (1 day prologue and 6 Rally days, 1 night at mountain bivouac). 1650kms total (1250kms across 12 Special Tests). This year some days there will be 2 different routes, one Enduro Rally with trails from the 2008 ISDE, and the second Rally Raid route common with Quads and Cars (seperate roadbooks). Varied terrain will include mountain-top passes and trails, river crossings, difficult abandoned roads dating from the Second World War, muddy sections, fast open terrain, green valleys, technical terrain, stony sections and even sandy river beds. Timekeeping by Infomega (ISDE and World Enduro Championship partner). My-Track Live Tracking and results available with 3 minute delay on public URL Extremely accurate roadbooks, written and checked by international Rally Raid and Enduro motorcycle competitors. We know what a racer wants to see when competing! FIM, FIM Europe and AMM sanctioned event (International Cross Country / Rally Raid). Safety precautions include numerous ambulances, and recovery vehicles, certified paramedics and doctors, plus a helicopter on standby mode in the paddocks. A fantastic paddock/bivouac area, located inside the grounds of the 5 star Elpida Resort, with special rates for competitors and support crews. The bivouac will stay in the same location throughout the race, minimizing support expenses. Discounts for last years participants and winners. Feel free to contact us regarding travel and accommodation tips, or anything else you would like to ask, please feel free to post any questions! Sincerely, Serres Rally
It looks interesting enough to prepare a Rally bike for the event A couple of questions though, to clarify the situation! During that stage, is mechanical assistance allowed? Do the support vehicles have to move to the area? Not that I have a support truck, but just wondering if we will be allowed to get any spares that we may need for the bikes. Does this also mean that the heavy bikes will have to go through the Enduro and ISDE routes? :huh I like the idea of it but my body says no River beds baby I think that answers my first question . So the night stage will be like a Marathon stage? I have been to Elpida Resort and the fascilities there are just amazing. There are even tours to lake kerkini, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in the area. The lake hosts many kinds of birds, some recorded in the National Red Catalogue, and the tour is just awsome if there is family around and they want to do something during the race event.
There is a thought to allow tire changes, with a small penalty during that stage, so as to recreate a 'Marathon' effect. The night bivvy will not be far from Elpida Resort, so the support teams will be able to join the riders and have a hell of a night in the mountain! Last year we had this option too. The riders of the larger bikes, are allowed to switch routes and go with the Quads and cars. Of course, once again there is a small penalty involved
Hi, We would like to kindly offer a support package specifically for Serres Rally Raid 2014. XRaids is a company with huge experience when it comes to Rally races. We run support packages for Dakar for the last ten years, we have experienced mechanics and a 6x6 MAN Sport to support all our clients. On top of that our 4x4 8 seater will take our clients everywhere should they need transport. The 2014 program can be found here: http://www.xraids.net/sites/default/files/xraids asistencia 2014.pdf We offer two support packages for Serres Rally 2014 Offer No1: Includes: • Motorbike equipped with Rally Kit • Insurance • Assistance by Xraids Trucks 6X6 • Paddock daily attendance and assistance points (1 meca/ 2bikes) • Transport pilot luggage ( max. 2 bags) • Food and drink in paddock • Lubricants and oils • Team manager • Motorbike transport Offer 1 cost: €3750 Offer No2: Includes: • Assistance by Xraids Trucks 6X6 • Paddock daily attendance and assistance points (1 meca/ 2bikes) • Transport pilot luggage ( max. 2 bags) • Food and drink in paddock • Lubricants and oils • Team manager • Motorbike transport Offer 2 cost: €1750 More info can be found on our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/XRAIDS/220829084609920?fref=photo Our experience at your service, please contact us at info@xraids.net
A small update is that roadbooks are printed as we speak, There is a general plan here: which can be downloaded >> http://serresrally.com/images/images/srr14/routes/Gplan14.pdf From orga: The major difference from last year is that there will be a bivouac at the mountain at the end of Day 3. Before the start of Day 3, at the evening of Day 2, you must provide organization with your can with petrol, and a small travel bag with a small tent, sleeping bag, some clothes etc. Note: At the mountain bivouac the temperature will be 10-12 deg C less that the city of Serres!!! There will be food (10 per person) and drinks (Beer VOREIA and Greek Ouzo), as well as a party with traditional folk Greek music with guitars and bouzouki. Next morning start time, will be late, but in any case, we can NOT guarantee you that there wont be alcohol test before the start of Day 4! If someone doesnt like to sleep on the mountain, he can sleep at the refuge with an extra cost of 10. At the bivouac the service is free, and your team members can also join us for the party! They are ALL welcome! ________________________________________________________________________ On another note, I will be following the rally in the Aurora Rally Equipment Tent, so for those who join the rally, please come and say hello, it will be nice to be able to put some faces into those nicknames .
Hi we are in Sani Resort in Chaldiki and plan to drive up for the rally on Saturday, I entered last year, this in my opinion is my favourite rally as you can go riding for the week but also bring your family as the family can enjoy the hotel and pool of Elpida Resort which for a rally is outstanding surroundings, the town of Serres also makes for good family nights out.
Serge - if you're taking the motorhome to the mountain bivouac, have you got a spare bed!! Only joking, sleeping under the stars is the Rally way. See you on Saturday, Graham
Finally I am able to have some time to write sth... Last few days have been hectic for me, missed sleep since Thursday to prepare everything for the race. Day 0 was amazing, my first time in the Rally, and everything is perfect here. From the huge hotel with the swimming pool, the restaurant which lets you eat all that you want for 10 Euros, to the orga who is invisible, and I meant that in the good way. You only see them when you need them that is. So, we set up our tent with the bikes and the equipment Then I was round and about to find the riders that run our equipment to fully support them and update Duncan Ure's rb so that he has the latest updates in his unit. Very nice person, smiling all the time. I wish him good luck to the race, he had an accident earlier this year and missed Albania Rally too, (hurt his back). Fully recovered now, but during these hot, tough days the limit will be reached. (Although from the weather reports, rain is coming soon here...) Duncan is supported by DRR, they run Roger Hawkins as well, who by the way has his birthday today and currently running 22nd in the overall after SS2, I also met Corradini, a rally figure indeed, he is also one of the riders I support. Bianchi Prata is the third rider we have to support, so let's see what happens to the guy that is currently 2nd in the GS and yesterday he installed the Mk1 and all the new redundant switches on his bike. The cherry in the ice cake was that Laia Sanz is here to follow the rally for some days. She is THE girl. Guillaume Martens, another friend who goes all over the world rallying and he is accepted to Dakar 2015 showed me how it's done >> Live tracking is here: http://www.my-track.gr/GpsTracking/...78402fe-e8a0-4cb7-a275-17d99ef694a6&L=EN&C=60 Starting list Leg 2 http://www.serresrally.com/images/images/srr14/results/D2Startinglist.pdf SS2 results http://www.serresrally.com/images/images/srr14/results/SS2Final.pdf And the legendary Patsy Impressive fairing work on a bike that the weight is kept to a minimum with the rider wearing titanium collarbones to assist Alessio, with his roadbook on fire The work on his KTM is very impressive, the bike is far more agile and easy to ride than the original Again Alessio The only Greek rider in the race, Later today I will upload more photos as the laptop is getting progressively hot with the high temps, and I have either to switch is off or take it to the pool with me ...
more images from FB, SS4 (Final ss for today) http://serresrally.com/images/images/srr14/results/provisional/SS4Provisional.pdf Prata won the final SS, but electrical problems cost him enough time to bring him down to 6th position overall. Van Pelt Junior is the flying Dutchman currently running 1st in the GS, followed by Cosentino (who by the way runs the electric roadbook/tripmaster). Bivvy is still empty, so lots of riders out. The weather will play a very important role, tomorrow and wednesday the forecast says thunderstorms and 50mm of rain :huh This will be fun. Racing spirit is on, we already cannibalizing the exhibition bikes to give bash plates to people who lost theirs in the battle with the mountains . I love it!
Thx for the update!! Is our legendary speed skater lost or stuck with a technical? Any ideas? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rintje_Ritsma
Torque racing trying out our special Rallye equipment, soon available worldwide! 😁 http://youtu.be/fH1eGWqFUxs
Decision time!! 😀 https://onedrive.live.com/redir?res...uthkey=!AHe5uHSmP79-IQs&v=3&ithint=photo,jpeg
Currently running in 47th, the guy is big like a horse mind you, I cannot imagine that he would have problems picking the bike up . He is new to the sport, so may be some navi mistakes, but today is was not so technical. Some fast sections and some rocky ones, but everything was ok for most of them. From our friends, Guillaume had a mechanical, but he fixed it > I have yet to find him and ask him if he welded the sprocket onto the shaft, otherwise a gearbox rebuild will be in order. Guillaume is running malle moto (currently running 56th, 5hr30min behind the leader), sleeping outside every night and fixing the bike by himself . Preparing for Dakar I think. General Standings official with penalties are as follows: VAN PELT JUNIOR Robert COSENTINO Andrea +7.19 CIOTTI Filipp0 +12.17 GANDINI Marco +13.40 CALESINI Sandro +15.02 BIANCHI-PRATA Pedro +26.54 PEDEMONTE Angelo +44.30 BARBIERI Roberto +46.57 PAVEY Simon +48.25 WIJNHOVEN David +51.44 And that completes the first 10 positions. The rest can be found here: www.serresrally.com/images/images/srr14/results/Day2Classification.pdf Tomorrow is a long stage, one SS so we expect the fast guys will arrive in 5 hours in the mountain bivvy where the party will take place, let's see how this turns out, so far we had two marriages in the hotel so plenty of parties so far. Wireless is very difficult to upload photos form here, obviously all the people suck the hell out of the bandwitdh, so I will upload photos later today, once the wireless usage goes down a bit. D.
Beautiful night at the bivvy. One of the most quiet nights here, people loading their roadbooks, checking and fixing bikes, very nice atmoshere indeed. Nice we had a six pack with us
