Well after a years hiatas, the Dakar rally has been run and won again.
This years Dakar was something different. The on-going troubles facing many countries in Africa that lead to last year's Dakar being cancelled, convinced the organisers to move the rally to Argentina and Chile. So this year we had a Dakar that didn't go anywhere near Dakar.
I was pretty concerned when I heard this. I loved the stones of Morocco and the dunes of Mauritania, this iconic landscape made the Dakar.
I couldn't see how South America could reproduce this. Isn't Argentina and Chile all mountains and farmland?
How wrong was I????????
This years Dakar contained farmland and spectacular mountains, but it also contained no trail cross country runs through desolate scrub, roads covered in fesh-fesh* like water, rocky trails and some of the biggest dunes I have ever seen! The route was truly epic.
So while not in Africa, this year's Dakar seemed to have all the elements expected that provide a real endurance racing slog.
I would love to have a go at it one day, but I would probably do the Australian Safari first as a warm up.
*Fesh-fesh is a powdery like dust. The worst fesh-fesh is like water, you drag your finger through it and it collapses back in on itself so your finger leaves no mark.
History week!
1 day ago
Next time they should bring it to Australia.
ReplyDeleteWell, Australia wouldn't be a bad place to have that rally.
ReplyDeletePossibly a better route in South America would have been through the Atacama Desert in Peru and Chile. The Atacama is one of the nastier desert areas in the world. A good challenge, I think.
Yep, you could run a pretty good one in Aus, just make it an extended Australian Safari. I think it will probably always work better though with second and third world governments to ensure a real challenge.
ReplyDeleteYD - They did go through the Atacama a couple of times, that's where all the big dunes were.
All I really know of the Dakar was the damn ditches the fuck heads used to dig to take out various competitors for the sheer shits and giggles of it.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I was completely unaware that it was on
ReplyDeleteYD are you saying that Argentina isn't good enough for the race. I tell you waht they try and park in Rosario they'll find out what rough really is!!!
ReplyDeleteyeah I reckon we have the terrain, just imagine FN QLD, Mosies, crocs, stingers, cassowarries, sharks, box jelly fish, Kevin WUDD and all manner of shite. thats assuming of course you get the right permits to enter certain sections of land and don not take photos of the ROCK or whatever the fuck they call it now. Maybe even race around one of those big god dam holes we be digging in WA. Tear arse along the WA wave wall, always wanted to do that to. Naut: Flat out in six, on a CR500 or similar, well it needs to be a bit more modern ,maybe a KX450, geared up to hell and back and bored as well. Days standing up on the foot pegs would be like me being a legend wicket Keeper..FUCKING EASY..YEAH RIGHT!
ReplyDeleteMoko - same thing has happened in the WRC.
ReplyDeleteLerm - I here to inform.
Chaz - I knew you would have something to say about Argentina. I was going to bag it before the race started but I didn't want to incurr the wrath of Chaz. Turned out Argentina was a much better location than I thought it was going to be.
H - Yeah we could put on a good one here and I would win by a mile!!!
Naut, you see, don't be judgemental!! Should have caught it but never got the chance, will need to speak to my brother-in-law as he's a big autosport fan as to how it was recevied over there..
ReplyDeleteBy all accounts it was HUGE!!!! The crowds were so big I think it is offically the largest sporting attendance ever.
ReplyDelete