Dakar 2013 - Official Event Coverage - thank you ALL TeamF5, lurkers and posters!

That is incredible, 14l/100km coincides exactly with what I averaged over just under 10,000km this fall up through Yukon and Alaska in a 7.3L machine.

...this one in fact::

although I suppose it could be argued that it was actually 7.5L with the XT200 on the back...

Maybe I need to head the other direction next year. Dakar 2014!

Hey, the ford has a Quigley in it does it... its Dakar Ready!

If you race the van, you can use the bike to get fuel when you run out.

From Honda Thread:

I'm agreeing with this line. Honda has the know how, but the time is another story. There's plenty of aftermarket parts and they can easily assemble a win-capable bike. Even with good support and proven techs in the short span of time, the unforeseen and unplanned pops up easily.

Besides, I'm sure Honda smells a market. KTM created their 'Rallye Edition' for a new market if you will. I'm sure that with all the talk of a new bike (a 'CR450 Rallye' :huh ) was probably already in the works in Japan by the time the HRC team hit Peru.

Actually I expect it to become more and more like Moto GP, different Manufacturers racing closer to the same spec. The Bultacos and one offs will become a dying breed..

How about Gas Gas ? Will they continue?

I would think so, Gas Gas is doing more on the enduro front as it is (not just their trials/smaller cc base). As invisible as it may look, they are trying to increase their market share in the US as well. Their riders and bikes are showing up in more places. If they can field the Dakar team for more exposure - why not?

All three riders finished, and If not for the issues they had, all of them would have probably finished well. Guach 27 / Sanz, 98 (on pace to be 30's) / Herrera117 (who ran 30-60's in previous attempts) I think Laia has done a great job for Gas Gas so far with both ranking and publicity. Unless there's some great falling out or financial issues, I can't see a reason for her not to come back. She wants to break the 30's and might have if not for bad luck this year.

Ha! - now that is an epic ride - one handed, doing a piece to camera, while being towed! Congratulations Manny!

Jx

I always thought the "Cyril moving to Honda" thing was a total red-herring (in fact I'm pretty sure someone here just made it up pre-Dakar for fun!)...

However, Ruben says he doesn't have a [KTM] contract for Dakar 2014 - so could this be a thinly veiled pitch to team up with Helder next year? - two top riders from Portugal on the same team? - that should help bring in the escudos!!! (sorry, Euros now...)

Jx

I would agree - the 2013 Dakar Honda looked fantastic, but it was overly complicated and bulky in comparison... especially compared to something like the Meca'System CRF kit (photos shamelessly robbed from the RMS facebook page, thanks Dave x)





This kit carries 31 litres of fuel, in a similar format to the Speedbrain Huskys (that is a 26L main rear subframe tank, and a small 5L header tank together with a high-mounted airbox... best of all, look at all that space around the engine for cooling and servicing access?

Another thing to consider is that the current CRF (the X that is, not the R) is actually the oldest chassis/engine on the market at the moment, being essentially unchanged from 2004... I imagine any 'new' rally bike (and corresponding Enduro X model) is going to be based much more closely on the current generation R version - with or without an e-start in Rally trim (much like the YZF based Yamaha of Olivier Pain for example?)

It is going to be interesting to see what they come up with!

Jx

HI all thought you might be interested in this update on Craig Bounds injury:

"
Hi all

Hope you're all well and not fed up with the snow! It's starting again up here - what a difference to the desert aye.

Well, when we arrived back day before yesterday we got Craig an appointment straight away with sporting Wales who look after many elite athletes in Wales. They decided that Craig should get a scan for his back straight away and would you believe it they found that he had fractured his vertebrae in 2 places in his neck!!!! How did the xrays at the Dakar miss that??? The doctors were gobsmacked he had carried on riding for 9 days after the injury - we can only be thankful that he is still walking as they consider this injury an unstable spine and a great risk of severing the spinal cord. If anyone goes to the hospital with this injury, normally they are strapped to a back board while they stabilise it and obviously dont go riding in the desert for 9 days in the toughest race in the world. We can't believe it...

He called me up after the scan and really casually said I've broken my neck and have to go to A & E. Luckily he doesnt have to have an operation and is still in hospital getting a neck brace fitted which he has to wear for the next 8 weeks.

Still in shock...."

:eek1:eek1

I don't want to imagine what another fall would do to his neck Glad everything turned out ok ...

That's adrenalin for you... Thank goodness he's alright.

In his podium photos he looked miserable, happy but miserable.

Although I can't emphasize this enough: X-rays are only suitable to diagnose major breaks. I've seen way too many people get them and wind up in pain or making an injury worse because of something 'missed.' I'm no doctor but I've had the experience myself and have a friend going through the same right now. I've even seen high-end athletes who should have good coverage caught up in the same and benched for longer than necessary. With the greater technology these days, one should always get an MRI or C-scan, especially when it comes to any joints or moving parts.

This is not a rub on the medical crew at Dakar. My assumption is that the systems they had on site were enough to determine that the spine itself was in order, but they they could not detect the small fractures that would have left him functional but in major pain.

Get well Soon Boundsy!

Thanks again for another GREAT Ride!!!

RIP Thomas

Yes and JB was another, not quite to the same extent, but riding from stage 7 on with a fractured Scaphoid. :eek1
Not sure if he had an x-ray on site, but a niggling and quite a painful injury sustained after a crash. He did report at the time that he'd hurt it and that it was sore - he did pretty well to ride more than half the rally with it.

Should take a few weeks to recover; let's see if he is fit again for the Desert Challenge as his speed up front will make the rally's a better spectacle

Holy excuse-my-French She-it. Man I remember F5ers commenting how dangerous it was to keep riding and hoping he was truly un-injured. Wow, that gave me the shivers.

Big thanks to all masters of the F5irehose! What a great trip it's been. Coma out, Caselli in, HRC's return, Faria's grace, Despre's incredible skill and strategy, Robby's trash talk, Luis keeping us up nights, and all the rest.

The racing is incredible but the F5 community adds a whole extra element. Last year I learned a foreign language (pendejo) and this year I found a new favorite beverage (pisco sour, I believe I prefer them with egg whites).

Thanks!


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Just thinking how relieved snooker fans are now on ES...
"Finally a proper match coverage without all the hurry for those weird people racing in the middle of nowhere... Who cares for those bloody desert races, then? And that polish ski dude!"

BTW Thanks everyone!

Ahem.

A little announcement over here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=20578283

A warning though, it's quote a tome - you might want to grab a beer before you sit down...

Hope to see you there!

Jenny xx

Well, it is still euros . Our economy is on the floor for ever and we risk getting kicked out of the euro. I wouldn't count on any significant sponsorship for a Dakar team.

I don't give much about national pride, but the point about nationality is a big one. If you are lucky enough to have a passport from a strong economic power I guess it makes it easier to find a sponsorship. If you're portuguese you represent a bankrupt economy of 10 million people, period. The fact that pilots like Ruben Faria, Helder Rodrigues and Paulo Gonçalves manage to find means to consistently place in the top 10 of Dakar speaks volumes about their value as pilots and about their determination. to them.

_____________________

Following this thread was an epic challenge for me this year. I was offline during the day and read every post every evening, starting usually more than 100 pages behind! I missed being able to follow the stages live, the best I could manage was a peek at Mischa's monitor on the iphone at lunch time (thank you thank you thank you, Mischa!). But I had a lot of fun reading everything later on, imagining the excitment live. Lots of great humour on the thread, thank you everyone for your contributions on that front as well as on the great info presented. It is great to share this passion with people from everywhere around the globe! I'll see you around at the Bivouac!