Dakar

[VMX247]

quote;fullnoise.com --Dakar !!
"Today we won and it's simply fantastic," Despres beamed. "This is without a shadow of a doubt the toughest Dakar I've ever raced in.

"It was difficult physically, but even more psychologically. Challenging yourself every morning and fighting on the course takes its toll on your mind. It's not like a 42-kilometer marathon; here, you have to earn your place every morning. All victories are beautiful, but this one is special because it came down to the wire and was decided at the last minute. This was an unimaginable scenario, with the leaders separated by mere seconds. I've done 90 or 85 rallies throughout my life, and this one was the one where I had to fight the hardest. Today will leave its mark on me."

[odd1]

Like to know how Despres got his 11 minutes back for getting stuck in the mud Coma must feel a little bit cheated. That being said what a race it is on the bucket list.

[VMX247]

Distinctly remember flat tyres and broken chains being the worst soul destroy act in the 80's Desert Racing ,even got the photo of brotherinlaw Lake Lefroy Kalgoorlie,ADB Magazine to prove it   

[BultacoMacca]

Yes Steve, I wondered how they can delete a section of track when its supposed to be called the worlds toughest rally. I thought i saw footage of some going thru/around that section...just bad luck that Despres didnt. I wonder if they cancelled it if Coma (a Spaniard) got stuck.
And they got rid of Robby Gordon because of 'cheating'. I think from having self inflating/deflating tyres - am I correct?? The same as he'd had for the past few years, which are oem equip for a Hummer.
Man that Hummer goes in the rough and sand, would've crapped on the Mini's if they'd kept it off its roof.. gotta have a Frenchman win, eh.

[Hardex]

Ballarat will be proud of Deans first effort .Highest placed Australian finished 40th out right and showed true sportsmanship .Well done.

[odd1]

I always thought the 2 wheel drive cars where allowed the self inflating and deflating system but I had noticed that non of the buggies had the tell tale pipes running out side the wheel down to the center hub so it could have been out lawed

[Tony T]

Like to know how Despres got his 11 minutes back for getting stuck in the mud Coma must feel a little bit cheated.

First up, I'm not a Despres fan after he got another bloke to help him out of the mud, then rode off and left him to deal with his stuck bike alone. However, they did reroute the stage around that section, so later competitors gained an advantage. The bit I don't agree with is that they changed the stage in the first place. Coma got through without trouble and so did some others. 

In the end it didn't make any difference to the standings as Coma had a gearbox failure and had to change another engine giving him a 45 minute penalty.

[Mike52]

All good stuff , never miss watching the Dakar.
Just wish it was 1 or 2 hr program , half an hour and 6 mins of bikes aint enough.
Did you see Despres face plant , Gordon in the hummer do the death roll , Allitiar make the other hummer fly .
Would not miss it for quids.
Now just got to raize $250000 and do a little training and enter.
Was never keen on the dust tho.

[EML]

As usual it's what goes on behind the scenes thatwins or loses these things.
Coma- "I got lost for a minute or two before going into that part of the stage" translates to "I got a message from 'the boys'(in Spanish) to say 'watch out' as there has been some rain up country and there will be blah blah blah--- so take care.
Of this I have no doubt.
Best news is Kiwi Chris Birch finished after having been punted by another 'high-up' competitor that took out his oil cooler. The punter was off the planet and wide open bouncing off every thing trying to get back some time. Chris took note of his number and prob had a word to him later(read punched him on the nose.)
Even better news was that 9 times world sidecar xer Dan Willemsen finished again tho down a bit on previous events-still a finish is a finish even without a buddy on the side.

Also agree with comments on poor sportsmanship-if some gives a hand you help them back-no questions!!
He is an arse and so is Peterhansel-hereto hitherfore a hero of mine-you don't push a bike and rider off a flooded causeway!!

[VMX247]

talking of endurance and the hard miles....and on a 125 Husky ....RIP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mika_Ahola

[EML]

Sounds like it was either a very big crash or the Spanish hospital missed something 

Go with your God, Mika.

[NSR]

Good on Geoff Olholm.  50th in a car.  Sounds like it was an adventure.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/motor-sports/dakar/aussies-geoff-olholm-jamie-chittick-dean-nuttall-and-david-schwarz-conquer-2012-dakar-rally/story-fn5k5ou0-1226245035535

Sad to hear about Ahola