Dakar 2011 - Official Event Coverage - THANK YOU all Posters and Lurkers!

Good luck!

Oh he smiles. Just not in front of the camera.

F$CK. Well... it's better than crashing!

Some smug mugs:





We need a caption for this one:



Images ©Scotty Breauxman, race-dezert.com

Think we need to clap a little faster for Si!

Come on Si!!!

Not only out of gas but lost. So much for the Vasco da Gama ancestry

First account of events from Helder:

" A terrible day in which I started just fine. I was racing very well up to km 215. Than I got lost and did almost 9 km off-couse. I lost a lot of time and ran out of gas. Luckily Felipe Prohens got me some. It is really terrible, but that's racing"

I didn't see this already, but maybe I just missed the waypoint and this will be a 205.

Jonah, quoted on the Dakar website:

"I had to start in the third wave, which was good and bad; good that everyone up front new their position and were taking it easy and I got to charge through. The second wave caught everybody in the second to last sand dunes. Then in the last dunes, I think when there were only 3 bikes in front of me I went over the handlebars hard, straight into the sand, totally unannounced, but I was okay. I got back up and followed them in, because I figured that I started two waves behind them so I was doing alright. Today we didn't have any bike problems, everything went really smooth, so I'm happy. It's awesome. You know what? We've been capable of it all rally, it just hasn't fallen into our plate. It's awesome, totally awesome. It's what we come here to do, to do the best we can and first is the best you can do, so to win a stage pretty special.

That's DAKAR!

Today's quotes from other riders:

Marc Coma:

“With the grouped start and the fog, the start of the stage and the navigation was very difficult. In the first group, we got lost, turning right when we shouldn't have. When we got back on track the second wave caught up with us. It was a bit of a mess. After that, a group of around twenty quick riders formed and we managed to ride the rest of the stage normally. But in the end, it was a difficult day”.





David Casteu:

“It's wonderful. I navigated by myself, since there were no tracks. I rode with Verhoeven in the right direction, making sure I was crossing the dunes well. Soon, we started to see the bikes of Chaleco, Coma… We went hell for leather, right up to the finish. It was absolutely great. As a result, it helped me forget my gearbox problems a bit”.





Frans Verhoeven:

“For today's grouped start, since I like motocross, I wasn't stressed about being in between other riders. I attacked from the start. In the dunes and the mountains, there was a lot of fog, and I caught up with Ullevalseter. I couldn't understand, because he set off 5 minutes before me. I guess the group in front got really lost and that I navigated really well. It's perfect…”




Helder Rodrigues:

“The day started well for me again. I was riding really well until the 215 km point, then I got a bit lost. I rode 9 km too much, so I turned back and ran out of petrol. Luckily, Felipe Prohens gave me some petrol. It's terrible. 15 kilometres from here I had the best time, but that's rallying for you”.



Cyril Despres:

“After the start, we didn't stay grouped for a long time because at the 17 km point Helder Rodrigues took a wrong direction and we all followed him. So, we turned round and ran straight into the second wave of starters. We were all riding in each others dust. It was a bit of a strange stage really. For the general standings, I assumed my responsibilities, because I'm fed up of playing cat and mouse for the last few years. We'll see what this strategy produces. Now I'll have to wait for the stage in Fiambala”.

Don’t forget the magical mystical waypoint – lost 5-7 minutes with that one

Good work Jonah

I ed at that too! Aren't all crashes, pretty much until the last second, unannounced?

Btw, did you type that with a hindu accent? For some reason I read it that way.

Not all, some seem to put you in slow motion thinking ah crap here we go again where others are unannounced, aka holy crap what am I doing in the dirt.

Funny, I as well put an east indian accent on that quote

Finishers thusfar:

Street(!)
Verhoeven
Casteu (1,2,3)
Ullevalsetter
Cody(22)
Faria
Rodrigues
Seel
Sanz
Waldschmidt
Hintenaus
Su
Pol
Orfanos
Meier
Merkit
DeBenedictis (having a seemingly quiet, solid ride thusfar)
Smith

No one else yet through CP2 who hadn't made the finish

Ronnie Bodinger, the one armed bandit is between WP5 and CP2,
as is SpanishBeemer Jose Garcia.


Pavey last seen between WP4 and WP5 quite some time ago. <cue slow clap>

This last bit could be a pivotal quote for this rally... save this one Nate.