Dakar 2011: Conclusion

This year's Argentina-Chile Dakar rally lived up to its reputation as being the toughest race in the world. 407 competitors started and only 179 completed the gruelling 9600km route. It's probably not a record for attrition (I haven't checked) but it is was a back breaker, that's for sure.

Al-Attiyah and Sainz pushed each other hard in week two. Their spectacular (and somewhat insane) race to the finish on stage 9 demonstrated how just how hard they were fighting. (Damn! Can't find any on line video of the action! ASO issued a take down on YouTube.) With competition this intense, it was only a matter time before one of them succumbed to the pressure. Surprisingly, Sainz broke first as he started accumulating errors over the succeeding stages, which culminated in a broken suspension on stage 11. With team mate Miller's help, the damage was repaired and Sainz continued, but he had lost almost 2 hours: his rally was done. Al-Attiyah on the other hand, kept it together to claim his first Dakar victory.

The one problem with the Dakar is that the TV coverage mostly focuses on the leaders, but the real rally, the true spirit of the Dakar if you like, is the in the rest of the field. The hundreds of amateurs who are in the Dakar strictly for the adventure and who toil long hours, sometime deep into the night, to complete each stage. The organizers need to find a way to tell this story. I'm not sure how they could do it but they really should look for a way.

Next year it will be the Brazil-Peru-Paraguay Dakar! Until then, hasta luego!

Not This Year

Sadly, 2011 will not be the year a Canadian finishes the Dakar in a car. Team Chinook have reported that they dropped out due to a mechanical failure which could be fixed in time for tomorrow's start. As is the case for all the low budget teams, mechanical reliability was always going to be their Achilles Heel. Nevertheless, it was a magnificent effort for a first attempt at the Dakar.

Dakar 2011 Day 4

I've been looking forward to the Dakar for weeks and then. when the time comes, I forget. Sigh. It's annoying how the Dakar gets TV coverage everywhere else in the world (even in South Africa!), but nothing in Canada and the U.S. This is even more strange considering a well known U.S. driver like Robby Gordan is competing. Not that the lack of TV coverage is a problem for me, since I download it anyway. Love that Australian SBS HD coverage. ^_^

Another Canadian team is tackling the gruelling 14 day test. Perhaps they will be the first Canadians to finish in the Dakar in the car category. According to their Twitter page, they are in 111th place after stage 4 on day 5. Best of luck to them.

(Yes, yes, I know the title says day 4, but the TV coverage that I watch, is a day behind since I download it, remember? Sheesh!)

Dakar 2010 Thoughts

I have just one reason for saying that moving the Dakar Rally to South America is probably the best decision the organizers ever made: the enthusiastic spectators. They are everywhere, even in seemly remote areas, and it gives a subtly different feel to the rally.

I say "seemly remote" because it is not always clear how far away from "civilization" the rally is really taking place. Once this year there was wide shot of the bivouac in the desert and you could see a city in the distance.

And as for how the locals get to these places, I'll remind you of the T2 class which are only slightly modified production vehicles. Never forget the old racing adage, "Winning on Sunday sells on Monday." I don't doubt that many of the locals drive the same vehicles in the T2 class.

Canadians In The Dakar

Yes, there are a few Canadians in the Dakar. I thought I would mention it here since it is not likely to be mentioned anywhere else. ^_^

Unfortunately, the only car entry driven by Lawrence Hacking, dropped out on the first stage according to the standings on the Dakar site, although there is no indication of what went wrong. It could be just about anything, considering that it was the team's first attempt at a Dakar. Hopefully, they'll try again next year.

Four Canadians on motorcycles started but it appears that only one is still running as of stage six. I must try and find out if any Canadians have ever finished a Dakar.

Dakar Rally 2009 End

I watched most of the Dakar rally except for the final day in Buenos Aires which was missing from the batch torrent. I know the final day isn't competitive but it was still mildly disappointing not seeing it.

The most notable thing about moving the rally to South America was the number of enthusiastic spectators. They seemed to be everywhere, even in places that looked like it was the middle of nowhere! I could theorize about why the Africans didn't pay much attention to the rally but that's a subject for another post.

The rally had some seriously difficult stages. The first week was supposed to be easier, but stage two was one of the worst. The Atacama was truly amazing. The enormous size of the dunes and the "sharp" crests, created problems for struggling. The fact that several stages were shortened and one was cancelled completely tells the tale of difficult the conditions were.

It was scary how Carlos Sainz when out. The road book didn't seem to indicate that there was a 6 meter drop into the gully they were suppose to cross, so he basically drove off a small cliff! While they getting medical attention in the gully, another car almost went off the same cliff. If it had not stopped in time, it would have landed on Sainz car. I don't even want to think about how bad that could have been.

I'm looking forward to next year's race. The route is here and it looks like they will making two passes through the Atacama. That's just nuts!

Dakar Rally 2009

I missed the Dakar rally back in January so I'm finally getting around to watching it. Moving the rally to South America was an interesting change. There are lots more spectators, at least in first four stages, which is all I've seen so far. According to the commentator, the organizers said the first week would be easy, while the second week would be hard. Sounds ominous.