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

Well his shoes match his shirt.....

His laces match his shoes which match his shirt...off the shoulder hoodie....no comment

Ok, one thing for sure, he is still on the Red Bull books as there is no way that f*****g hat matches

Could be worse, he could be wearing the bandana again! :huh

Why is it exactly smoldering embers with KTM?

fwiw. I wouldn't be surprised if Cyril Despres hooked up with Yamaha, especially with the French team underpinning.

From a purely competitive point of view (of which we know CD most certainly is), he is one win away from matching fellow countryman Stephane Peterhansel's Dakar record of six wins on a bike - a Yamaha bike no less.

I can see Cyril wanting to match and beat that record, and what sweeter way than on a Yamaha too?

From a more practical point of view, Yamaha France have a long history of developing the WR (and latterly the YZF) based bikes, and Olivier Pain and David Casteu especially have proved the machine has the pace, and lets not forget that Helder Rodrigues put a WR on the Dakar podium when KTM were still racing 690s!

I think what has let Yamaha France down in the past has been budget, especially when compared to the might of the factory KTM team/s.

Without the money and the corresponding focus of the 'best' people available, the project has never been ultimately successful - certainly not when you are up against the might of the KTM factory.

But that could change if you bring in Cyril (arguably the best rider both physically and tactically in the world), his team associates, and not least his sponsors' money?

Personally I don't see the Honda thing happening with Cyril - not this year at any rate... there is too much to lose on either side with a still unproven machine? If Honda employ the #1 rider and it doesn't work out for ANY reason, there will be so much egg on faces I'm not sure either side would live it down? Cyril is bound to blame the bike/factory, and the last thing Honda want's is that sort of high-profile criticism... It would not end well.

Therefore I like the 'romantic' notion that Cyril will go all patriotic for his record matching (and subsequently beating) campaign over the next two years - on a Yamaha, with an all-French team. He really has nothing left to prove now, other than the personal goal of being the 'best' Dakar rider ever...

It will also give him Carte Blanche with the ASO of course! "Technical infringements? what technical infringements?!" "Here, have my gloves Monsieur Despres!"

Jx

Blue shoes, blue shirt... the message is subliminal x

Jx

ok, it could be the rally raid deal of the year....Cyril steps into Peterhansels
booooots..... but who could be his watercarriers ?

Casteu and Verhoeven are not so good friends with him , i think...


big , big surprises, we have to wait !

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring...s-stars-with-the-Jaguar-F-Type-in-Desire.html

Will we see one in the Atacama in January

Okay I kept thinking about this last night. So let's take a little ride over to imagination land and put ourselves in his shoes. As long as we are going there we can use the way back machine to go check in on young Cyril.

Here I am young Cyril working as motorcycle mechanic, living the life of a pretty ordinary guy. I figure I'm probably just going to find nice girl to settle down with and live the life of an ordinary working stiff. But I have a bit of a competitive streak, so I race in my free time. Well it turns out that I've got a natural talent for it, and given a lot of hard work I can make a good living doing something I love.

We are going to fast forward a little bit here.

Now here I am middle aged Cyril I've made a good living off this rider gig, found the girl of my dreams, married her, bought a nice house, and with proper financial management my wife and I are pretty much set. Now a couple years later we have started our family, and I've got a chance to sign what in pro sports is called a retirement contract. The last big cash out and chance to cement my legacy as the all time greatest rally rider (then move on to cars). I know if I sign this deal, win a couple more Dakars I'll be able to provide for my kid(s) for longer than I'll be around. All I have to do (not make dakar sound easy) is win a race I've won five times before.

Okay that's my little story so let's get out of imagination land and think about this and let it all settle in. Think about it what parent doesn't dream of even having the chance to be able do that kind of thing for their kid(s). That's the story I see here, a man doing everything he can to try and make sure his family wants for nothing.

Less of the middle aged please as that would make me Methuselah

I believe we are generally on the same page here, it's just how and on what he intends to ride off into the Dakar sunset

I had the same theory as Bluebull a while ago, but I think others are right on the chasing 7 wins before he moves on.

Someone who has the drive, determination and be that insanely competitive that they can win Dakar several times would find it a tad difficult to walk away when they are so close to equaling the record, in my unqualified opinion...

heh heh

Ditto Here. All the two wheeled champions I've seen - the racing gets into their blood. Based on the history I've seen, you need to be 'defeated' a few times before you give up chasing a record. Some go out on top, but I think Cyril's got too much left in him to consider anything less. More importantly I would believe he's going to find the most comfortable way to win, find the best deal for him to win, not just make money and bank the end of his career. I'm guessing that's one reason for the split from KTM.

I also think he can be a family man, and he'll do what's right by them too. Whether he wants to start a racing dynasty or not, I'm pretty sure he would also appreciate his kid(s..? in future) seeing him win a few. There's nothing like a proud Papa.

And on that note, once you've become accomplished at something, you're willing to take more risks. Like helping fund your own effort, or working with your familiars rather than the mainstream...




Succeeding when you bet the odds ...priceless.

Who knows really. But just sayin'

Could Yamaha be wanting to go toe to toe with Honda? Perhaps instead of the HRC model Big Blue co-opts the most successful national team and pours money all over them. That might be enough to lure Cyril

Cyril, together with other two "unemployed" rally racers (Botturi and Manuel Lucchese) should be tomorrow at the start of BikeVillage's Cavalcata del Sole in Sardinia (a very nice non-competitive raid). Let's see tomorrow if Manuel can get some first hand news

Maybe that is to throw everyone off the trail.... Gas Gas!!

:)

Manuel tweeted that he was hoping for a job with a big team as a water carrier a few days ago!!!!