Helder Rodrigues declarations in portugese (my transl): "This was a very important stage in terms of the overalll classification. Unfortunately a problem that we believe is fuel related made me stop and I had no chance of sorting it in the field. The next pilot to come by me was 14 minutes behind" Helder also declared that he expects to race tomorrow assuming a hefty penalty. "tomorrow we will restart the race betting on the continuation of our tests with the Honda, at a competitive rythm, aiming at next Dakar and fighting only for the stage victories that are left" Paulo Gonçalves (Husqvarna) "After my stage victory yesterday, today was a bad luck one. At km 17 of the SS I had a problem in a wheel that forced me to go back to the beginning to change it. When I got back into the special there were a lot of pilots ahead and a lot of dust that rendered very hard to regain positions" source
Glad he'll be able to restart! Despres: <iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kJ01Ms2Wmfs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Those Yammies are climbing. I guess their riders are eating army rations like Cyril..instead of what the bivvy serves..
Even though (by and large) we like the Coma and Despres, the idea of seeing HRC (and others) competing seriously with KTM is obviously exciting to us. But if you're HRC, even though you'd hope for a perfect run on perfect bikes, what has happened is exactly what you'd want: whatever can go wrong needs to go wrong NOW, so it can be changed for the Dakar.
A translated tweet from Frans..."RT (Translation) @Frans_Verhoeven: Yamaha's Olivier Pain and myself keep going like a rocket. Even today in the mega sand, dunes stage, high temperatures. Super." Good to see him doing well and enthused about the new team and bike.
While I know you're right, it would have been a fairy tale to win. Show ktm who their new boss is. One of the alloy tanks could have let go. I think HRC are stupid for having such low slung chins begging to get a whack.
I just asked HRC to stop doing their fucking tweets in French or whatever language they're using. I'd like to be able to read the tweets the messiah is writing
Team HRC ‏@RallyTeamHRC. yob Bl¤¤y sh#thouse day for @rodrigueshelder with f#¤%in' fuel problem that pulled him up along the track, but lil' dago @felipezanol pulled 'is finger out with top 3 finish! Expand Reply Retweet Grouse! <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Yeah! They should use Baja tanks and top off more often. They were getting this wrong but now that they'll show KTM who the boss is they'll get it right
The official statement from Honda in the Morocco Rally Thursday has not arrived as quickly as they did the other day. Problems for the new bike that has been built in collaboration with the HRC Portuguese Helder Rodrigues. At mile 58 of this fourth phase lag between Tagounite and M'hamid, the CRF450Rally has been a problem of heating fuel , as declared by the technicians of the brand. Hélder did not resolve the problem even though one of his teammates, Argentine Javier Pizzolito (Honda) stopped to help. Just be aware that the Portuguese was being held, the technical manager of the project HRC Rally, Katsumi Yamazaki, has moved to try to solve the problem. Hélder unable to continue today but will itself morning after receiving the resulting penalty , o'forfait. "This fourth stage consisting of a total of 412 kilometers, rather navigation initially, which caused the errors of several pilot- far off track with fesh-fesh and also an area of dunes, some soft and cut before the second passage control , crossing the erg has puzzled some riders. http://solooffroad.com/3/1350586137...rruecos-d4-la-honda-de-helder-ko#.UIBSI8VG--0 But why would vapor lock cause a bike to shut down all day?
Still a small handfull of guys (3) out on the course and moving These two guys have been travelling together for quite some time making slow but steady progress.. This one hasnt moved in a while (finally out of gas?) Date: 18 Oct 2012 19:05:00 GMT0h Speed: 0 kmh Name: PICCO Thierry Team: 2 ROUES CONTRE LE CANCER This guy is still moving 0048 Date: 18 Oct 2012 19:07:02 GMT0h Speed: 35 kmh Name: DEZEIRAUD Thierry Team: T2R AVENTURES
Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain - Oilybia Rally Morocco 2012 Photographer: Marian Chytka ©2012 speedbrain GmbH, all rights reserved.
EXACTLY! Nothing worse than the vehicle NOT doing in the shop what it did out on the road for the customer! Let's work out all the bugs NOW! Phoohey on the MAROC podium!
Check this guy out! Date: 18 Oct 2012 19:31:32 GMT0h Speed: 28 kmh Name: DE VOS Marc Team: CROCO AVENTURES He is now South of the Erg. We was stuck inside the Erg the whole day (from 11 to 18) When he finally restarted it should already be pitch black!
Just another plug from moi for the "competitiveness" of this years edition of the Rallye Maroc'. The top twenty MOTO pilots of the cross country rally world are all on hand to start the race (one or two MIA), representing five different manufacturer teams. Since the start flag on Day One the guys have been going for it... team tactics and navigational miscues aside... they have been engaging in a handle bar to handle bar juggernaut for the full four days. We've had at least 8 to ten different guys opening the road at different times, four different stage winners in four days, four different makes that have occupied the three podium placings during the rally so far... AND This afternoon from CP 2 thru to the finish...! :eek1 Eight riders started the sector within two minutes of each other... the whole way through the oued (dry river/sand wash) and across the wadi's/vegetated offpiste they were swapping and changing like it was a GNCC race... the top five came into the finish control literally within 30 seconds of each other! :eek1 It was THE closest most entertaining stage that I can remember , since I don't know when; (probably the UAE DC - when it was still run in Dubai a few years back; the year when Coma, West, Despres and some of the other local gofasters went at it)... But for pure numbers of the top echelon of MOTO (I can't recall a rally - other than DAKAR - that has assembled the ENTIRE field of top 20 riders - since maybe back the heyday of the OPTIC 2000 Tunisia or ATLAS Rallye Maroc... and that was back in the early to mid 2000's). This afternoon was THE single most intense and exhiliarating SS I have watched (unfortunately only via the laptop screen... not in person) for a long while. I would give my eye teeth to be there in person. kudos to N.P.O. for a great race
