Nice finish to the race and to your write up. Awesome! I am headed to Morocco in October and will be riding some of the same so great to hear first hand the highs and lows of your adventure. Thank you again for taking the time.
Why would I want to do that? I struggled in the dunes in Moto amateur so why would I want to inflict more suffering on myself Funnily lots of people were asking me after day one if I was going to switch to Pros (For those not involved: You are allowed to change class up to the end of the first day). I said no as I knew my limits. Several of those people were saying by the end of the week they wished they had switched to amateurs
You are completely right. Knowing your own limits is better than pretending you are Coma and having no fun at all.
I would echo this... Having spoken with Donna from Torque Racing recently, she said exactly the same thing: that with regard to the new Tuareg Rallye route in Morocco, that the 'Amateur' route is actually far more fun and rewarding for the majority of competitors - and ought to be considered by anyone who wants to race for fun and actually enjoy the week... When the Tuareg ran in Tunisia (the previous two years), some riders in the Amateur group complained that they seemed to be missing out on a lot of [dirt] riding, with effectively longer liaisons on tarmac while the pros were sent off on second timed sectors for example. It seems that the Orga have listened to those criticisms, and that the Amateur route this year more closely followed the Pros, just with less laps of the dunes - which appeals to me too to be honest, as I feel the whole point of a navigation rally is to not cross the same terrain twice (or three or even four times for goodness sake!) The only 'problem' with the Tuareg Rallye, is their insistence in calling the two Moto classes 'Amateur' and 'Pro' - as that immediately makes experienced riders who just want a good time feel insulted perhaps? I did speak to Rainer (the Rallye Director) about this when he was looking to revise the format and move back to Morocco - and I understand his position, not only in the literal German to English translation and implication of the words, but that competitors ought to be under no illusion that the Pro class is exactly that - there are some exceptionally quick and world-class riders competing at the sharp end of the Tuareg each year... and while they may not be 'professional (ie. paid) in the true sense of the word, they are every bit as talented as the guys on the FIM circuit - for example, you have to see the father and son team of Mark and Rob Smitts ride, it's like they are on BMX bikes! That is not to say there aren't plenty of worthy contenders in the Pro class, it's just that competition is very fierce, and that fundamentally the Orga have to make the course/route/timing hard for those guys, who are typically on stripped down enduro/rally-lite bikes... so trying to compete on a fully-faired or open class big bike makes it even harder in the Pro class. I suggested that they consider reclassifying the groups into 'Rallye' and "Rally-lite/enduro' classes to help even out the discrepancies, but for now it seem they will stick with the tried and trusted 'Amateurs' and 'Pros'. If I was on a 450cc enduro bike with a big tank and bar-mounted nav gear, I'd be entering Pro class, but on anything else I have to concede it would be a lot more fun in Amateur... and there should be no shame in that - at the end of the day it's not about trophy hunting, it's about self preservation and enjoyment! Jx
Absolutely spot on Jenny! I very much consider myself an amateur and until someone actually pays me to do this lark (like that'll ever happen) I'm happy to be an amateur! I am involved in international mountain biking as an official and We have three levels: Elite / Expert / Sport So maybe Rainer would be better off using terms like Elite/Expert or Elite/Sport? But as you say, something does get lost in translation! I did mean to say hi at the Ace Café the other Sunday but you were deep in conversation extoling the virtues of the CB500X when I passed the Rally Raid stand