The F5 Bivouac (rallye raid news) and W2RC - World cross country rally championship

or a daily commuter for me

I have a question for the rules guys.. is anyone still using a 690 say Jacob Przygonski whom i recall rode one when others were running their 450's? Or to phrase it differently...is it legal for a top level pro to actually run a 690 in FIM world rally's other than the dakar?

Not any more... there was a transitional period (maybe 2010 and 2011 I think) where pros had to be on 450s but in the SP class you could still run 690s (or 530s)... from 2012 onwards it has been mandatory 450s for everyone IIRC

For all FIM races or just Dakar ?

Definitely Dakar, I think the rest of the FIM rounds followed the same rule a year later at most... the pros by then were all on 450s anyway, I think the transition was to give the privateers a break

I also seem to recall a year (2009? 2010?) when the 690s had to be fitted with restrictors to level the playing field compared to the 450s... need to do some research as I don't remember which class that rule applied to

2012 FIM Cross Country Rally regs here:

http://www.fim-live.com/fileadmin/alfresco/Rallies_en_corr2.pdf

You are still able to race +450cc machines in a world championship event (see page 94 & 96).

However, to clarify (see page 6) - the 'World Championship' itself is only for 450cc (or presumably less) machines - just the events themselves still have a +450cc trophy attached - you would just not eligible for World Championship points.



Jx

Ah, apologies Neil - I just remember something confusing about the specified nav/tacking equipment at the time... Jx

knew about Dakar just wasn't sure about the other races...

Thanks jenny

Not talking from direct experience, but from contact with someone who has, I do believe that it's a tough call both ways.
Not an issue in the Dakar of course as when you're out you're out, but a good working example of the situation, but for a slightly differant reason was in this years Sardegna rally.

Sam was riding his 450 r for Honda Europe in a rally where most were on more agile enduro's. For a reason only known to the organisers he was numbered in the 80's.

Now a rider like Sam, or any with aspirations and ability to win, is going to go for it, whether in contention or not (having picked up penalty but continuing) it 's simply part of their competitive make up and DNA.

Sam said trying to be competitive with 80 or so slower riders in front of him on a track like Sardegna was dam near suicidal and he was close to disaster on several occasions and did not escape unscathed! - but is he expected not to compete, because of the dangers of slower riders?

To say dust is not dangerous also, we only have to consider the Kemal accident last month. Sam was visibly shaken, both from the incident, but also what he went through in Sardegna!

Ok, not an easy situation, but unless you are going to run the Dakar principle, which you can't as it would kill the sport then it seems to make good sense to me?

You may or not agree, but I thought it good to quote a live example (if not exact, but demonstrating the principles and dangers) for reseeding that demonstrates the benefits.

Of course it can work the other way - 18 months ago in Sam's first rally, his engines blew on day 3 - day 4 he started at the back, didn't really have to navigate, won the stage and was nearly half an hour quicker than Coma, Fretgne sated " he went passed me like he was riding motocross" funny at the time and it was in the big dunes with space and no real dust, but such advantages are far less than those that disadvantage.

Just as a footnote, what about the risks to the slower riders? To be minding your own business and wrapped up in your own bubble of competition, some world class rider screams passed you at double your speed - sooner or later things aren't
going to be pleasant!

That placement in Sardegna was criminal IMHO. Sardegna of course is one of a kind race, with lots of single track making it impossible to pass 90% of the time. Not the case with all other FIM rallies

I have a good friend who was wrongly seeded two days in a row in Evia last year, he quit the race out of frustration, being on a 990 and competing for the 2-cylinder cup, it was just impossible for him to pass 65 bikes each day on the tighter european tracks (he is damn fast, his position was definitely top 20 overall as his times were on the first 3 days). They mistakenly (or purposely - that's another story that includes politics) gave him a non-existent 4 hour penalty each day (they had lost his time card and slapped him with allegedly not finishing the special) which put him on the starting list in the low 80s... It was murder.

Ended up banging his fists on the secretary table and spitting venom, even taking the issue up with the Motorcycle Federation here. I completely understand...

Cheers Brodovitch - It's never an easy call to please all of the people all of the time, but the paramount decisions have to be on the safety of all - we enjoy it, these guys are putting their live on the line.
Not something anyone would wish to heighten the risk over and something we are all in the same bivouac on!

I'm inclined to agree with Neil. Also putting a rider back in a race after failing to complete a stage is lame. Maybe for amateurs but at a professional level race....i think it detracts from the spirit of the race.

Let a pro eat dust if his placement puts him there, otherwise the final results are skewed

+1



Le Maroc c'est finé...


So when does Merzouga Rally kick into gear...?

http://www.merzougarally.com/?page_id=4274&lang=en

Hey, just had a look at that - looks like a good and well-organised event!

Can't wait to start following!

Jx

If the rules are clear, as are the defining lines between pro and privateer/enthusiast then I'm with you. :

The event of rally seems to have accelerated at warp factor since the 450 standardisation, so certain other things need to adapt and move on also?

Agree. Especially for aspiring rally riders, it's important to spend a lot of time thinking about these situations, to decide how to react.

The number one risk in Rally is dust, in my opinion. Most of the time, you can choose your risk level by slowing down so that you don't hit something, the danger you can't control is someone hitting you, and you can't manage that risk down to 0. But there are a lot of things you can do to minimize it- getting off or at the edge of the track if you aren't at full gas being a prime example. I always think of the rally track the much the way I do an interstate highway- they have the right to be coming along full gas.

Pre-rally, I don't mind seeding like putting Johnny Aubert at 21 in the Dakar this year, clearly, he was going to be on the gas. Chris Birch at 110, well, who knows. In any case, the cream will rise if you let it.

During the race, I agree with you Neil, you should start wherever you finished the day before, regardless of class or expectations.

We did a reverse day at the end of last year, and it was miserable and at times, felt suicidal. I can imagine that's how it feels for a fast guy to be mired back in the mix... but people must be rewarded, and punished, for their performance, it's the only fair way.