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

Wiregate? Fuelgate?




I love a conspiracy rumor.

Sparkpluggate??

Is snooker on yet?

Mischa!!! You da'man! Now I can pass the torch! (if yoou find the space, please add the penalties Like "Despres (15:00)" So we can figure who changed engine already. Other than that the graph is great and it really helps me to gather how the race is developing. I wouldn't bother much with color matching the bar with the brand of motorcycle - I try to do that but always have to duplicate or something. Thank's a lot for implementing this!!!

michal or Troy, can any of you tell me what was a lady's best stage result at Dakar? It was prolly Andrea Mayer in 2002 but I'm unable to access my Dakar literature this week... I am trying to establish if Laia's 11'th (?) at the 8th stage is historycal

About the Aprilia caption on Chaleco - they also keep saying the Orlando Pendejo's navigator (Paulo Fiuza) is ARGentinian, although he's Portuguese .

Thanks for the pic Michal - I wonder if they've ground "KTM" off the engine cases as they did with the Yamahas ?

The (one) kitted EXC they ran in '11 still had KTM on the cases.

LUIS @ ASS +05:08:33!!!

+1

Cool beans.

Didn't really see any new bike footage in tonight's program...

...a few new screenshots for those unable to watch.

Wooooo....Hooooooo

Right, and he also made some major mistakes - navigational - early on. Navigation is simply a matter of experience; there is no shortcut to learn what the roadbook author means by any of the symbols, and with the ASO, it seems as though they are consistent but they still take a big learning curve.

I never, ever doubted Caselli's speed or ability on the bike - I have seen him ride firsthand, and I have never heard anyone run a bike so hard so smoothly. But, navigation is an entirely different beast and it will be his only shortcoming for the time being. Perhaps he will master it this year, but it has already cost him to much to make up.

Don't get me wrong - the only thing I was pointing out before was that any Baja winner would still have a lot to learn coming to Dakar. Each day of the Dakar is like the Baja 500 with no coursemarkers and many other variables that would never appear in Baja.

Oh it's definitely different....no argument here on that point.

For a guy that's just learning nav he opened course today on a section that some vets had trouble with....like Chaleco.

....and the floods begin....

I think we should keep in mind that his penalties came from one stage where he messed with the gps, thinking it was causing bike issues. The ASO dinged him at that time, guess because he failed to register to the waypoints that day.

So if we set that cock up aside, then he's in 6th place in the overall. Just on his riding and navigating. That's pretty damn good for a last minute fill-in with zero rally and navigating experience. He never rode one of these before.

I would think that the team manager is very pleased with his performance.

And be looking to sign him.

I feel that he will dominate in the future, once he figures navigation out. Especially in SA, where so much of the terrain is like the Southwestern US.


Great pics from the Eurosport stuff, thanks!!!!!

Hm, maybe we will have to go waaaay back in history to early 80's when lads like Dominique Anquetil and Christine Martin used to ride with boys.

That one is working for me!

Thank you!

In from Luis' wife:
Luis finished the stage. He fell and has some muscle pain in his leg. He was receiving medical attention. He seems to be fine.
Another day down!

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