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https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1610588621660360705 Stage Four  I had some concern that the stage would be shortened or cancelled because of weather but, while there were apparently a few moments of navigating water hazards, generally the rain had passed and made for great sand with tremendous traction.  Generally.  Not always,  but generally.  In bikes, Daniel Sanders is six minutes back but with a positive 3m48s bonus for opening, he's currently sitting in first overall! Maybe he is learning to take it just slow enough? I suspect that what's happening is that he's actually slow because he's spent this whole year recovering from last Dakar's injury (and then the re-injury when he tried to come back too soon) and this is the first race he's done since and he's still tender (his elbow seems like it was proper hosed but who knows) and he's going to start to fade and make mistakes in the second half. That's my guess, but we shall see. It would certainly be exciting if he just played it slow for the first half and then went WOT the second. And when he does, I think he might be the fastest rider out there right now. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1610693919162908672 Here you can see the live tracking showing Mason Klein, Howes and Chucky all opening the tracks and getting their bonus time.  Mason Klein in particular continues to really impress. He and Chucky will have some fantastic battles over the next ten years if this is any indication.  But in first? NACHO!  Just kidding, it's actually bang bang, joan barreda bort. Nacho stopped to help someone and initially got a full 25 minutes back but they ended up cutting that down a little, giving the stage win to Bang Bang (or bam bam if you're less charitable with your nicknames - he goes fast but he crashes a lot). The rule in play here is that if you stop to assist a fellow competitor who is in distress (medical or a crash type distress, not just "wow, this race really is difficult" distress) then you get back the time that you were stopped.  Speaking of honda, we've had a lot of KTM recently, and while there are still the top three and seven of the top ten riding bikes from Mattighofen, let's check out some Honda pictures. They still have 3/4 of their top riders in the top ten and that's nothing to sneeze at.    Back on KTM, Matthias Walkner's hand is broken. He continues to ride on it. Is this a good idea? No, absolutely not.  Of course, it could be worse.  It could always be worse (that's actually Benediktas Vargas who drives a car and is also out).  At least his bike is OK.  Before he crashed.  One running theme since the Dakar moved to Saudi Arabia is that Aramco is not very good at providing the riders with gas that doesn't have water in it. Starting in 2021 with Andrew Short (an American) and then today with Mason Klein, another American and... wait a minute is this a conspiracy theory I smell? https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cm_iSXXhSWN/ You make the gas in-country*, at least give us the good stuff. *no idea if this is true, I assume that because I am saying it for comedic effect it is just crude they produce and it's actually refined elsewhere. In the cars, Peterhansel and Sainz both stole back a minute from Nasser but Al-Attiyah remains firmly in the lead  with his teammate Yazeed Al Rajhi 18 minutes back in second, https://twitter.com/YazeedRacing/status/1610724944534446081 just a half minute ahead of Peterhansel. Yes, I know this is a picture of Sainz. He is also fast and would you have really noticed if I hadn't said anything? I talk about it later, but note you can see from the sand that it's a two wheel drive buggy.  Loeb also managed to win the stage. Great. Huzzah. https://twitter.com/BRaidXtreme/status/1610735337092808705 An interesting subplot in the cars is whether or not an absolutely livid Nasser is faster. Because he is loving pissed. Why is Nasser, who is 18 and a half minutes ahead of the Audis pissed off? Well, funny you should ask. You see there's always some sense that the orga gives preferential treatment to the French. Sure, Mr. Dakar, Peterhansel is easily the best ever and there's no question about it. But he's also French. And, well, read for yourself.  Yup, there are power equivalence rules for Audi's electric buggy and they must have paid the extra $5k to unlock turbo mode. Nasser is, to put it mildly, furious. The tension between his toyota and the audis is both gas vs. electric(ish) and 4x4 vs. a 4x2 buggy. The buggy gets bigger tires and more suspension travel and was a wildly successful platform until it stopped being fun and all the manufacturers quit and Nasser got to win (also they changed the rules on his tires, letting him run bigger tires in the 4x4 class and that helped a lot). https://www.instagram.com/p/CnABZUMsI_-/ This is what he drove like before he was angry. Let's see how he turns out tomorrow... https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_xXdkh6kf/ I don't know enough one way or the other to tell you whether or not this is a fair decision. Audi definitely provides their telemetry data to the orga but is it a sanitized version? Because Carlos Sainz doesn't look like he needs a lot of help flying up this hill. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1610628487949213696 The checkpoints certainly do go by quickly for the Audis... Seriously, great job by the stamper here. https://twitter.com/OfficialW2RC/status/1610568432247881728 I don't know if you remember Laia Sanz, the fastest woman in the world on a bike, but she is racing cars now. She is still fast. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1101707060525696/?s=single_unit In Trucks, Macik was first on the day, pulling nine minutes back on Loprais.  Second went to dutchman Vandenbrink who is now also second overall, 27 minutes back of Loprais. Trucks are interesting because they tend to either just keep plowing along because they have a lower speed limit on course (because holy poo poo can you imagine these loving things without any speed limit at all? Everyone would die but it would be like group B times a thousand) or have huge swings and in the past it's been a Kamaz 1-2 or 1-2-3 so it will be interesting to see how things change as this race goes on. Loprais has the real advantage but can he remain mistake free? He certainly can't keep giving up 9 minutes a stage. Whatever happens? https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1610737833685155853 Trucks own. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1610730283711471617 Extended coverage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tQt7dIH76g Some sweet, sweet dakar classic cars. Cars and trucks 2m in. https://www.facebook.com/adrenaline24h/videos/572584441378077 And another in french. https://www.facebook.com/pascal.sibeyre/videos/859547508633328 Mmmmmmm, safari porsche. https://www.facebook.com/reel/445552107651228/?s=single_unit That must mean it's time for a DAKAR CLASSIC INTERLUDE  Beautiful.   But beauty takes work.  Teamwork.  But mostly work with hammers.  And power tools.  And shovels.  And in the end?  It's all worth it  because you get something like this.  poo poo, poo poo. Sorry, I meant something like this.  Or this  Something wondrous  And spare  And true  Redbull got some great footage here. https://www.facebook.com/RedBullMotorsports/videos/477726091190623 Get some learning done while you're here. This is actually a great account. https://twitter.com/Geo_Dakar If you know the right folks, instead of hanging out in your truck waiting for things to kick off...  You get to hang out here.  My favorite photographers are MCH https://www.facebook.com/mchphoto.cz/, who are again official photographers for the ASO. They will have a huge photo dump at the end again and I will just repost all their pictures and you can save them for the desktop because they are literally the best. But a close second is MM https://www.facebook.com/mmphotocz and they're also just great. Just look at these pictures. A perfect example of what the rain does to the sand. Look how small the rooster tail is - all the power is going into moving the bike forward instead of kicking sand in the air.  If you're thirsty, they're thirsty.    Playing peekabo with the helicopters.   truck   Every time I see someone hiding behind a rock like this I am reminded of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and the lee of the stone.    They even make quads look good.     And with that, we say: goodnight bikes.  Goodnight trucks.  Goodnight quads.  Goodnight Dakar classic-category cars.  Goodn...Wait a minute... is that?  It's SKYLER HOWES!  gently caress  Yes 
builds character fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Jan 5, 2023 |
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Jan 5, 2023 04:12
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I forgot the best part of the whole day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uccp7n8HYjw e: from the AI thread: It's beautiful. This is also beautiful. Just listen to him. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmRHDR6jYwk builds character fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Jan 5, 2023 |
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Jan 5, 2023 05:49
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"You are wrecking the car" "Shut up"
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Jan 5, 2023 06:13
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Top three rally videos of all time: 3. Samir you're breaking the car 2. Curse o' jaysis christ o jaysis we're done 1. Up into the rear end of Timo
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Jan 5, 2023 15:08
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please post 2 and 1
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Jan 5, 2023 16:48
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30dxrwd0Kss Number two, with proper CC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAGbrM-MMRk Poor Timo
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Jan 5, 2023 16:52
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lol thank you
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Jan 5, 2023 17:01
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Sagebrush posted:Top three rally videos of all time: Correct Up into the rear end of timo is burned into my brain
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Jan 5, 2023 17:19
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Stage Five Honda has now won three out of the first five stages! Adrien van Beveren brought home the win today, showing why starting out 5-8 is the best spot per traditional wisdom - close enough to the front that you don't have too many ruts or other riders to pass, but far enough back that the tracks are all laid out for you and you can focus on throttle to the donkey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u-1EO_kuOs I'm sure it's all coincidence that Brabec won and then crashed out, and then Bang Bang won and, you guessed it, promptly crashed. And then got run over by Toby "I like to start the Dakar at 100 kilos" Price (riders typically lose 5-20 lbs over the two week course) so being able to shovel gorbage into your pie hole and starting out just with just a little extra fat is actually a pretty helpful strategy. Look at this absolute beauty. Just look at him.   Anyway, I'm not saying that AVB did it because I'm scared of him but I ain't saying he didn't do it either.  Despite the crash that was definitely not caused by the french, and Bang Bang actually being knocked out, he managed to get back on his bike and finish the stage. I don't know if this is the crash or a navigation error, but you can see from the tracks here that he had some difficulty today but managed to keep up with AVB, Price, Howes and Quintanilla.  Nacho finished second navigating entirely by himself (he's an incredible navigator even relative to the other riders) but AVB pipped him to first by 13 seconds.  Price was in third and moved up into second  two minutes back of fifth place finisher and your current Dakar Rally leader, Skyler Howes!    The rally doesn't really start until after the rest day but we're really seeing the stage being set for the second half at this point with the top seven all within about ten minutes. Daniel Sanders, after a blazing start and being in first yesterday promptly got diarrhea. The course looks miserable enough without being desperately sick. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnDs2-RoTlJ The worst day of your life so far. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnDPc6OK01A/ These riders are just incredibly tough.  Ace Nilson posted:And just like that my Dakar dream has come to an end. I started the day Stage 5) feeling refreshed and ready for the challenge that was ahead. I was having the best day! The bike was handling great and even talked the team into running a baja style tyre for the sandy stage! What a difference compared to the Michelin Desert Race. I was accelerating up dunes and literally hooting and hollering in my helmet! We also made a spring change in the forks and the boyz from DUUST and WP Factory absolutely nailed it. The bike was absolutely perfect. It opened with 65km of fast flowing sandy roads and a few easy dunes, then progressed into larger dunes. All was going great until km172. 4th gear through the valley of the dunes picking my lines - surfing the sand and wham! The rear of the bike slid down the right side of a rut (front stayed up) and the high sided and threw me. How sand can be so soft and so hard within feet of itself remains a mystery to me! Unfortunately I landed on the hard pack on my right side. Wind knocked out of me it took me a few minutes to gather myself. The phone on the bike was ringing and someone was asking if I was ok. I insisted I was but I honestly didn’t know what was what yet. I had pain all over but nothing broke so I picked up the bike and started to push forward! I made it to the next gas stop where a trauma doctor checked me out. He actually cleared me and I finished the stage (200km) in a lot of pain hoping his diagnosis was correct. The 129km liaison was brutal as the pain Med was clearly gone. Once back to the bivouac I went to the medical center on site for X-rays. Inconclusive so that bought me a ticket to the local trauma center for more X-rays and a complete CT scan revealed multiple non-displaced fractures of transverse vertebrae (T-4, T-5, T-6) and bilateral fractures of sternum/rib junction. That landed me in the ICU for the next 24-48 hours. To say I’m gutted would be a huge understatement. I’m sorry I can’t continue but as soon as he read the CT he gave me the news that I was done. So heart wrenching I can’t even describe. Far worse than the pain from these injuries… thank you for all your support! Absolutely incredible.  This is a cool look at the CR-6, one of the "cheap" buggies in the car class. Quite interesting if you want to learn a bit more about some technical specs (although if you have questions about other technical specs, let me know and I'll do my best). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_xGnCXguV0 I can't figure out how to just link the video but holy poo poo, Peterhansel almost kills these guys. https://www.carburando.com/notas/impresionante-peterhansel-casi-atropella-a-espectadores-en-el-dakar With the airbag vests, we now have data on crashes. Sam Sunderland's crash that knocked him out on day one was over 27 Gs! That's a lot. But what caught my eye was the half a second of flight and what looks like almost two seconds of tumbling is absolutely brutal as well.  You may remember Lyndon Poskitt from his series "Lyndon does a poo at the dakar rally." It's great and well worth watching. He gave a great technical explanation of some of the ways that you can run out of fuel on a bike like Hero's Ross Branch did.  It is well worth a read. Lyndon Poskitt posted:I don't know for sure if this is what happened to hero but I have a lot of experience with the Husky/KTM/GagGas bikes and pretty sure Hero use a similar system, so to answer the question "How do they run out of fuel", here is my 0.02c on one of the ways they can. This is quite common, seem it many times before and so take extra precautions to make sure it doesn't happen. It's something the guys get trained to spot and resolve quickly at my rally school. This is different to water in fuel, that is a whole different scenario Extended highlights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghiro1wWTio Ready for some side by side content? This one is a bit of a crossover.  You may remember Manny Lucchese, the loveable italian who gave us this great "how much does it really cost" video and managed to do Dakar on a shoestring budget for years. He's back driving that SxS!  His experience in malle moto probably helped him fix it but it's still awful to be starting the liason at 10:30pm.  In Dakar classic, please, take an hour and ten minutes and watch this (bonus Ken Block appearance). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFghtD7QQ4I I don't particularly care for Sebastien Loeb because he came in to Dakar quite entitled and blaming everyone but himself for his losses. I've been pretty up front about that and I like to joke about disliking him but I don't really actively dislike him, he's still driving plaid-speed fast and the mentality required to have the success he has had over his career is one that probably doesn't net you a ton of friends. I'm certain he doesn't care. Still, all of that said, when you see a scene like this you have to feel for the guy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83alynO8los I mean, look at that. Totally his navigator's fault for driving directly over the lip of that dune, assuming it would be fine on the other side instead of doing the little crabwalk you see literally every other top competitor doing to crest a dune. Yup, that's on the codriver. To say nothing of the orga for not marking it properly and the buggy for not having enough power/suspension/handling/dust in his ey...  poo poo, you think he heard me?  Elsewhere in cars we have the Nasser vs. Audi "discussion" heating up a beat as Audi fired back on social media.  Earlier I'd posted this video of Sainz climbing a hill saying he didn't need help up it. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1610628487949213696 But if you look at the same hill and what Nasser did then I think there's an open question about whether Audi has less power/torque, they have the same power but they're delivering it differently (this is what I think is probably happening) or it's a function of 2wd vs 4wd.   Despite the unfairness of changing a competitor's power in the middle of a race, angry Nasser is fast Nasser. He put two more minutes on Sains and almost four on Peterhansel today, putting him 22 up on the overall on Peterhansel. That's still well within the amount you can lose in a single day, but you can tell he's mad - usually he posts "MAXIMUM ATTACK" when he has a fast day. Here? Nothing. https://www.instagram.com/p/CnDqxWMhtIg/ See, maximum attack! https://www.instagram.com/p/CnCzBsGh82v/ But don't worry.  Mr. Dakar doesn't panic.  These folks panic.  These folks definitely panic.  This poor pro (Jakup Przygonski) is already an hour and fifty minutes back in his ford raptor.  The orga has the dumbest rule about media ever which is that they typically don't let you have more than a couple of minutes of consecutive footage and a cap of something like ten minutes/day and ahhhh, I demand more than just these three minutes riding along with Loprais! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOUMI0Z8NGY Loprais remains in first in trucks, while his main rival is shaping up to be Martin Van Den Brink, who is 15 minutes back and racing in his fifteenth dakar.  He is not impressed with Macik's 54 minute deficit.  This is what it feels like to wake up and know you are going to drive a dakar truck.  Give  Me  All  The  Trucks  https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnACI3tB6uF and bikes, please  
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Jan 6, 2023 06:58
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Stage Six A cold morning to start.  But folks manage to keep warm. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611241961738096640 God drat, look at Skyler riding at the end of this video. It reminds me of Dakar winner (two times) Toby Price which is bad news for everyone else. https://twitter.com/OfficialW2RC/status/1611433661718532107 Except Toby Price who is still himself.  And still beautiful.  Dakar winner (one time only) Walkner looks pretty OK too, to be honest. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611321051526356994 His wrist is improving. https://www.instagram.com/p/CnEvlUpjN5l/  And so is his mood. Matthias Walkner posted:
But it was Luciano Benavides who won stage six.  Howes managed to maintain his lead in the overall by finishing second while Price remains in touching distance having finished third and only 3:31 back.  But you can see there's still everything to play for with the top seven all managing to stay within touching distance under 13 minutes back.  Here's the scene of the crash for stage five where Bang Bang crashed and Price crashed into him.  Stage Seven is cancelled for the bikes, but cars, trucks and dakar classic (which race a different course) will all be racing tomorrow. I am skeptical that the tiredness of the riders is any consideration at all but it's an interesting though. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611407632358588452 https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611407636351811584 It does look a bit wet still.  But generally there are only two kinds of weather problems that will lead to cancellation: floods washing out the trail or not being able to fly the medical helicopters.  And this?  It's not the former.  Anyway, as I said, dakar classic...  You can see  These?  These are not the same dunes that are evident in the stage for the rest of the competitors.  Bill is enjoying his time at the Dakar. It's a little funny to me to think that you'd have the dakar rally in your backyard and you'd go do hillclimbs like this instead of watching it. https://www.facebook.com/bill.conger.3/posts/pfbid0FtVcdX1NLZMEb8uCJYMEWz6bpyFBxtwVvqXfn7NPweU9mbdMu1fvmUDf8wSm8mxJl Like these folks.  Of course, it's not all local hillclimbs...   Bill Conger posted:Thirteen hours later we are still in the car with at least an hour to go, could be longer as the ASO just sent a bulletin neutralizing the final arrival check point due to traffic jams approaching and in Riyadh. And as I type this traffic comes to a halt. And from back at stage three. It's one of the problems with the dakar - it's a long outdoor race and you can't control the weather. https://www.facebook.com/bill.conger.3/posts/pfbid02aG4BkVR9AgR6fNbxn5LAqfqYd8wu3pFduQxnF2Rxuc7qHyLv6ibqo1ZdvUmvoXeJl This is how you drive in the dunes. https://www.facebook.com/100003846555615/videos/743612753769182?idorvanity=249190166573147 And now to the big story of the day... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfk0VxBCjc4 Well well well, I guess those eleven extra HP really were too much. Nasser was just trying to look out for the Audis. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611326727795478530 Peterhansel doesn't even remember going over the dune. His copilot was airlifted out although his car wasn't badly damaged. However, you can see that Sainz's car in the video has an issue with something in the rear suspension. I wonder if it's the same problem that the Audis had last year. Watching this interview, I should probably take back all the mean things I said about Loeb now. Oof. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611410308169609216  But even if Peterhansel makes the same mistakes Loeb does, he's no Nasser. This is great sportsmanship. https://www.instagram.com/p/CnEsafys5JB/ Nasser posted:In the heat of the moment, I reacted harshly to the FIA’s EOT decision. I like to defend my title fairly, and at the first instant, the decision did not seem fair. I now understand the situation better, and would like to apologise for my earlier post. And then, back to MAXIMUM ATTACK! https://www.instagram.com/p/CnE4eanBXvz/  and a stage win. https://www.instagram.com/p/CnFUtUGhD--/  Sainz and Peterhansel are out. At least Sainz finished last year. It will be interesting to see if the rally lets them compete again, even if just for the testing.  I imagine the crash was somewhere like this, just much bigger. In the video it looked like they may have just destroyed suspension components so I wonder how fast they were going.  Imagine crashing so hard in a car that you were knocked out for five minutes and then continuing on. https://twitter.com/GCKmotorsport/status/1611423286554165249 Side by sides are also racing.  Keep digging, you'll get to the other side of that dune soon enough. Or a truck will be along to rescue you.  hilux  bikes and cars living in harmony.  This is interesting. I don't see the front tires kicking up sand but the toyotas should all be 4x4.  Truck time!  Project 2030 is a fully electric truck. THE FUTURE IS N.... well, it's eventually anyway.  What a great truck. One hundred forty five furious horsepower https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611421253319155713 Claudio Bellina also has a good truck. That livery pops in the sand.  But he did not finish top on the day. That honor was reserved for M. Van Den Brink. No, not Martin. His twenty year old son, Mitchel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHX1MTyBCDA Throwing a little shade at his son but still a good dad. Martin Van Den Brink posted:You cannot win the Dakar on the first day. It’s a two-week race for which you need a lot of experience, which is why older drivers often do well I think. Last year I finished in sixth position so this year, with no Kamaz, we must fight for the podium! Maybe if Macik's dad was competing instead of just serving as his mechanic he'd be higher up in the overall?  Loprais is still in first. M.V.D.B. senior is in second, twenty three seconds back. Macik is fourth, thirty minutes back. No, that's not this stage but look at the angle of Loprais's front tire.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7QA_wE0QEw and behind van Kasteren.  Usually it's all russians at the top. This year you have to be either Czech or Dutch.  Extended highlights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPOQwGI-fks These helicopter pilots are just insane.  https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611416876562911235 The coronel brothers take some tea. https://twitter.com/TimCoronel/status/1611315203798360064 You're going to want that later. https://twitter.com/sada_alralyat/status/1611385451134287872 Bivouac mechanic albeit in spanish. https://www.instagram.com/p/CnAdhgYIGF5/ You got a little sand on you. Not so much there or there as... right there.  Teeny tiny headlights remind me of a crab.  You think this car looks small in the scenery? Wait until we get to the empty quarter after the rest day.   Very clever tire-saving technique.         Of course, not everyone has mastered it yet.   Sanders is clearly only half recovered.  Nacho is using the opportunity to play shadow puppets on the desert sand.  Even the cars are getting in on the action.     The bivouac is a huge affair.  But not everyone makes it back to the bivouac. 
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Jan 7, 2023 01:05
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God, the bikes are so photogenic.
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Jan 7, 2023 05:49
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Stage Seven Thanks to weather  Stage seven was cancelled for the bikes.  Technically not cancelled, just converted entirely to liaison so if they crash or their bike breaks on stage they can’t get outside assistance)  What are the cars even going to do without any bikes to follow?  Oh… yeah, fair enough. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnHiiYfvcYF/?igshid=Zjc2ZTc4Nzk= While the cars were getting lost, the bikes improvised on the first day of the marathon stage to the bivouac.  Marathon stage means that you don’t get a motor home and everyone sleeps in a big tent. Just like the Malle moto folks. dakar website posted:The bivouac in Ha’il was disfigured by the rain that poured down yesterday. For the bikers who arrived feeling freezing cold, they had to look for solutions to warm up. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611779973655953409?s=20&t=RaFJgrq7PkjhGItuhj3gqA But there are still some creature comforts before you head out.  That’s the spot.  The crews will meet up with them tomorrow night. In the meantime…  In cars, frankly it’s not much of a competition anymore. Nasser is an hour ahead and even if he gets lost along with everyone else every day he should be able to nurse a lead to the finish. Only some real problems of his own making (or a bunch of flats in a row) will stop him from winning at this point. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnH6-I5hk8k/?igshid=Zjc2ZTc4Nzk=  He’s not even “maximum attack”ing anymore. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnH-byYBxZj/?igshid=Zjc2ZTc4Nzk= RIP Audi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w1Mh8jn-lM Here’s an excellent article that’s well worth reading on not-Nasser’s woes and the why of it. https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/why-are-drivers-blacking-out-on-the-dakar/ This is the best shot I’ve seen of where Peterhansel and Sainz crashed. You can see the dune they came off of behind them. So they were just blasting through and went straight off as if it were a cliff.  And today, again, the remaining Audis had a bit of an issue.  Ekström hit a rock.  And also broke his rear wishbone and Sainz gave his to keep Ekström in the race. More or less.  Coronel brothers with quite a crash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1N0Ezq2UbM But they got a tow in https://twitter.com/pascaldebaar/status/1611755644217860096 Don’t worry.  That  Will buff  Right  Out  The helicopter got a bit lost following not-Nasser.  This is correct. https://mobile.twitter.com/dakar/status/1611688850253877248 And here is a truck. https://twitter.com/pascaldebaar/status/1611745319691358209?s=46&t=WBk9bkDUJBYmGjFWKVAFIA Van Kasteren won in trucks, putting 17 minutes on Loprais, but he’s still 20 minutes back and van den brink is only 3 minutes back so it’s mostly a two man race here for now. Still, 17 minutes in a day is solid work and shows that this one is far from over.  https://mobile.twitter.com/dakar/status/1611715651952955393?cxt=HHwWgsC-mZS2-90sAAAA This man is 55 years old and racing dakar for the first time.  He has yet to finish a stage before dark.  But there’s always a warm fire waiting for him.  
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Jan 8, 2023 02:54
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Amazing posts, thank you
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Jan 8, 2023 02:59
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TotalLossBrain posted:Amazing posts, thank you I’m glad folks like them! Here are a few more trucks.   
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Jan 8, 2023 03:55
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TotalLossBrain posted:Amazing posts, thank you
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Jan 8, 2023 07:16
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 Stage 8  After cancelling stage 7 all the bikes had a good laugh watching cars try to navigate by themselves. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611995369587593219 Then it was their turn and on the last stage before the rest day, the first five all had a tough time of it, with Luciano Benavides leading out after his stage win and eventually grouping up https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611986223421337600 with Howes, Price, Bang Bang and his brother Kevin.  From there they all rode roughly together to the end of the stage meaning that at the end of the day our leaderboard looks pretty similar. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612110943143469056 Howes leads   with KTM rider Kevin Benavides  and not-yet-factory-rider-but-definitely-after-this Mason Klein both 13 seconds behind.  Toby Price is in great position  two minutes back  as are Quintanilla 2:45   and AVB 2:49 back.    The last two likely contenders at this point are Sanders    and Bang Bang both a bit over seven minutes back. That's a crash from stage five, but it seems appropriate for him. https://twitter.com/teledeporte/status/1612199908634918912 In ninth it's a much further drop - Nacho is almost twenty minutes back and will need some real help to win.    I think the favorites have to be Toby Price by a nose because I think he's the fastest rider out there and he's won two dakars before, then Benavides who has great speed and, IMO, the best navigation, then Howes who is actually in first, and then probably Sanders who may actually be faster than Toby Price but he crashes more too so is that actually faster? I can't really say. We'll see who actually comes through next week!  Before that though, let's celebrate our eight stage winner out of eight. (counting the prologue, hush)  Ross "Kalahari Ferrari" Branch!   This is also Hero's second Dakar with a stage win. At this point they're the closest to a third factory team in contention but they're still well back of KTM and Honda.    Their first place rider, Argentine Franco Caimi is 1 hour and 15 minutes back in the general classification.   While their second place rider, Sebastien Bühler is 3 hours and 50 minutes back.   Skyler Howes's thoughts on the stage cancellation on a rally fans FB page. One of the reasons that I like the guy is this is him reading the big (lol, "big") US fb page on rally and responding to it with this from the bivouac. Just seems like a great guy. Skyler Howes posted:I’ll chime in. All of us want to race believe me. But it’s not up to us. Some of the Malle Moto guys haven’t slept in 2 days and are coming in with hypothermia cuz of the long liaisons in the rain, the rain has been super gnarly and we have 1000km days now with the bivouacs flooded and new routes to get to the stages. Some bike guys aren’t making it in till super late then have a 3am wake up time next day. Of course the GP guys and professionals are fine to race but we aren’t the only ones out there. It’s already one of the hardest dakars in recent history. We don’t want to make it more dangerous and have guys stuck out in the rain at night freezing.  Look at them all riding together. https://www.facebook.com/RedBullMotorsports/videos/1224493305153989 Toby Price posted:We’ve finished up Stage 8 in 17th and I’m definitely looking forward to the rest day now 😅 I lost a little time today riding up near the front, but my overall position is still decent. In the leading group today we were leaving perfect tracks for the guys behind to follow, so it was inevitable that we would lose some minutes. The rocks were super-slippery, too, which meant it was best just to ease off a little rather than risk a crash! 😌 Nacho posted:
  Kevin Benavides posted:It was a very technical stage, with a lot of navigation, in which I went out trying to push from the start.  Mmmm, sportswashing. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612162653354622976 In cars, Nasser continues to coast.  Sainz won the stage on pace but a five minute speeding penalty saw Audi back in third.  And meant Loeb got his first stage win of this Dakar. Yay.  He is a great driver.  And much beloved.  By everyone.  Puddles!       Trucks continue to be the most virtuous of racers. https://twitter.com/TomCoronel/status/1612123513812312064 A productive end to stage 7 for Macik (remember, the teams only have a half hour pit stop after the special on a marathon stage before the racers head to the bivouac and can't get any outside help for until the end of the next stage) https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1611715651952955393 Segued nicely into a stage 8 victory.  What a beautiful machine.  This guy was actually waiting for Loprais (maybe, who can really say) Look at the suspension here.  Mitchel van den Brink (the kid) has a good fb page. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1842288772771252  And a good truck.  A very good truck.  Today is Kevin Benavides's birthday. His brother, Luciano, wishes him a happy birthday. Awww.     Do not unmute. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612077536179003392 NBC extended highlights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_cQNG6kMcA SxS  Whatever you do, don't fall.  Something wicked this way comes. yup, that's adrien van beveren  Now you're just showing off.  Stefan Svitko, the fastest man to never get a factory contract. Probably, if we're all honest, because he's from Slovakia and isn't quite fast enough that the factories have to choose him over someone from a more marketable (Read: bigger and buy more motorcycles) country.  Always nice to have someone to double check your work.  Sometimes your solutions aren't exactly the same.  But you still end up in the right place. 
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Jan 9, 2023 17:19
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Rest Day means it's time for an image dump from my favorite photographers, MCH photo. I'm not posting all of them in the hope it encourages you to go like them on facebook and follow them on instagram because in our current cyberpunk dystopia that's how you help out artists. You are of course welcome to go there and like their page and then post whatever you want. There are 100 photos total and they are all fantastic.        In every heart, on every shoulder, there are two voices  A devil  And an angel     
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Jan 9, 2023 18:19
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Jan 9, 2023 20:42
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We’re all sitting here as a family catching up on NBC’s highlights and planning to go see some motocross. You’re doing the lord’s work, builds character.
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Jan 10, 2023 03:47
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builds character's posts have become the primary way I follow Dakar. Thank you!!
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Jan 10, 2023 16:12
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I really am glad folks enjoy the posts. I like dakar and it's quite difficult to follow. The coverage has been getting a lot better too which is excellent.
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Jan 10, 2023 17:42
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Rest Day This year's Dakar is long. And difficult. It's so long and so difficult that you get a whole entire day off in the middle of it. The rest day after a mere 5691 kilometers. During the rest day the mechanics on the teams frantically try to replace everything they possibly can while the riders and drivers all hang out and nap as much as possible. Thanks to Bill, let's take a look at what a Bivouac looks when none of the racers are there.  Bill Conger posted:The Dakar rules have evolved over the years allowing teams to rejoin the race after a bad day that in the past would have removed the competitor from the competition. If rejoining the team can compete for experience and stage placement but is not considered a Dakar Finisher.                                           And now, imagine that's full of cars and bikes and truck mechanics all hard at work. https://www.redbull.com/us-en/videos/dakar-rally-2023-dakar-daily-rest-day           https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612507227843354624 Like the skoda itself, https://www.facebook.com/pascal.sibeyre/videos/694087108756373 We get some great shots inside the trucks too. https://www.facebook.com/pascal.sibeyre/videos/1125677358139309 And plenty of rider reflections. Skyler Howes grew a mustache because his late grandfather had one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yeglwl6Oxs Sportswashing, just a little "it's good to be the king" action or a racer extending his hospitality to friends and competitors? https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612502699106308107 https://twitter.com/YazeedRacing/status/1612462680350117890 Know how I know Sebastien Loeb is the bad guy? https://twitter.com/Ben_Sulayem/status/1612423825182068738/photo/1 A great look at Nasser's team. https://twitter.com/TGR_W2RC/status/1612439275517140997 And one last cool shot. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612396994718220289
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Jan 10, 2023 19:19
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Dakar Classics. The VW Iltis won the 1980 Dakar Rally and it's back again this year! https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1978-82-volkswagen-type-183-iltis  Along with a lot of others.  So many others.  This is just pictures, no commentary because nothing I can say will be better than the thing itself.  Or funnier. What the hell are you doing out in the desert in those?  No, no. This is a great idea. Go for it!  OK, this really is a loving great idea and I love it.  Just like I love you.  And you.  And especially you.  You're original, but you still get to live here.   OK, on to the picture-only section.       Bill!                  You fool. You absolute and utter rube. The car of the year 1974 belongs in a museum!          Just a reminder: you're old. Playstation.                butt        HOT HATCH             
builds character fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Jan 10, 2023 |
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Jan 10, 2023 19:37
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 . ThanksSo how do the fueling logistics work for this? Is that brought from camp to camp with a big truck?
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Jan 10, 2023 19:50
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Stage Nine Before we start on stage nine, let's talk a little bit about the malle moto or "original by Motul" riders. https://www.redbull.com/us-en/videos/dakar-rally-2023-dakar-stories-3 Most riders have a team that supports them with a mechanic. They wake up, eat as much as they can, powder their nose, get their gear on, get on the bike, grab the roadbook and go. Then they get to the bivouac, give the bike to the mechanic, shower, eat and sleep.  Malle moto is a class that hearkens back to the old days when it was just some sketchy french dudes in the desert by themselves. They are not permitted any outside assistance and must perform all the work on their motorcycle themselves. There's a fine line there, of course, in that sometimes the pro mechanics feel bad for them and will tell them what to do. But what it really means is that the horrifying, merciless grind of the dakar is even worse for them. They never get to rest. The time they would be sleeping they are instead working on the bike. These guys are the real deal and while it's cool to see the pro riders go fast, these are the ones that, to me anyway, most embody the spirit of the dakar rally.  Here's a great video showing Piotr Angelo "Wolfey" Vlcek. He shows up at ~ five minutes in. You have to watch it before you go any further. He used to own a skate-surf shop in South Carolina but apparently sold it this year and is a very nice guy. He's 47 years old and started riding when he was 36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmHlFeod6hQ OK, on to the pros. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612765947244208131  The really interesting thing to watch for today was what happened with Toby Price and Skyler Howes. Price was starting in 17th and Howes in 19th but I think Price is faster and so the question was, in this spot where they're both far enough behind to really just focus on following tracks and ripping, what will happen? Luciano Benavides won. Huh. He started 21st and his forte is not navigation but he was fast.  Price was a minute back in second and Howes came in two minutes behind that. Which means that he's still our leader, by three seconds! Next stage, Price will be in second and Howes in first so it will be a real test of their navigation as well as speed to see who can lose the least time to the folks behind and who can put time on the other. Probably a very slight advantage to Price but given that Luciano isn't as good at navigation as his brother Kevin, I would guess Price will catch him. Whether Howes catches Price is an open question. They next really big question will be the second set of marathon stages, 11 and 12 in the dunes of the empty quarter. Quintanilla with an absolutely picture-perfect launch. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612681138425708544 Bang Bang crashed again. He's the fastest guy who just can't help himself.  It's tragic every time but never particularly surprising.  Skyler Howes loves puddles as much as I do. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612775258532057094 Just great livery. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612759907488382976 In cars, Loeb won.  He is still quite fast. https://twitter.com/BRaidXtreme/status/1612850094335823877 But it doesn't matter because he's still an hour and forty minutes behind Nasser. Nasser really is just in cruise control at this point. Still no MAXIMUM ATTACK so you know he's just relaxing. https://www.instagram.com/p/CnPbp4_hMgZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CnPcg94hsIW/ As far as the audis... well, uh carlos, you remember before when I was all cheerful and I said "ah ha ha, that'll buff right out"? I don't think that's going to buff out. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612739851677478912 We'll need at least two, maybe three grinding wheels with heavy sparks in slow motion to fix this one. https://www.facebook.com/petr.lusk.3/videos/570856924526477 Sadly, the angle grinder is willing but the flesh is weak and Sainz had to withdraw.  Nasser's teammate, Lategan, also had some issues with the stones.  Oh hey, it's andrew short 2.0. https://twitter.com/redbullmotors/status/1612844001891356674 This really highlights the difference between the pros and everyone else. These folks are probably all as fast as anyone you've ever ridden with or seen ride or met and they look like they're out for a trail ride compared to the pros. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612826243787034629 Help, my truck is stuck! https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612800047036436481 Don't panic, just call a tow truck with a mechanic. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612793009640452097 As you can see, while the bikes "easily" splashed through the puddles, it was a brutal stage for the heavy trucks.  Van Kasteren won, putting 11 minutes on Loprais but van den Brink (old) is projected to lose 30 minutes on Loprais and Macik to lose another ten on top of that.  Loprais is alone at the top, 27 minutes ahead of van Kasteren and likely at least that much ahead of van den Brink and Macik, although they're not yet home.  Hey you guuuuyyyyys  Dunes.  This is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world - when you go over a hill and your rear hooks up and you loft the front, spitting dirt all the way down.  This is probably fun too but I wouldn't know.    Puddles!!!    
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Jan 10, 2023 20:18
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TotalLossBrain posted:
There are several places you can get fuel. First place is the bivouac. And there it's from a big truck or a big tank a truck has dropped off. Much like a gas station. The second place is a refueling point that's in the middle of the stage. These can vary wildly from another big truck like this one which is effectively a mini gas station https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1610938491205984260 to a bunch of open top barrels with hand pumps that a truck will bring in ahead of time and then leave. This is a serious problem when it rains because the first rider to come along will pump up some delicious water from the bottom of the barrel and potentially gently caress their bike and their race like here https://enduro21.com/en/racing/latest/rally/contaminated-fuel-the-cause-of-andrew-short-s-dakar-retirement or it can be less bad but still make your bike run poorly like with mason klein this year https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cm_iSXXhSWN/ At each refueling point, there is a mandatory 15 minute pause. That actually plays into something I've mentioned in years past. How do riders know how they're doing? The easy answer is if someone passes you on a stage. But the harder answer involves math that is very easy when I'm sitting in front of my computer but probably more difficult when you're racing. If you arrive at a fuel stop you know where in front/behind you someone else started and how many minutes back that is. So you can time either when they arrive or when they leave to know if they've gained/lost time on you. The motorcycles need more fuel than the cars and trucks so only the motorcycles and quads refuel during the stage. The trucks and cars do have to stop at the refueling points for 15 minutes though.
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Jan 10, 2023 20:33
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Another crash I didn't see earlier. In the extended highlights - Mason Klein and AVB crashed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYL2BwSOl0g&t=222s I wonder who's to blame for this. Interestingly, according to the extended highlights, Sainz actually got in the helicopter and then got airlifted out before asking them to turn around and come back. My understanding of the rules was that as soon as you get in the medical chopper your race is done. I have never heard of anything like this happening before so I will be curious to see if he is permitted to continue. If he is, I would guess it will be because he's racing for audi but not competing for the win.
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Jan 10, 2023 21:39
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I discovered a new photographer, Peter Lusk and I'm a sucker for pictures of puddles.        Barreda broke his back but no spinal injury so at least that's something.       I think this one is my favorite.    Citroen CX content. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1612918532207173633 builds character fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Jan 11, 2023 |
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Jan 10, 2023 23:55
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quote:He's 47 years old and started riding when he was 36. Mainly because I started riding in my 30s, this fact hit me like a gut punch and forged an instant parasocial bond with Wolfey.
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Jan 11, 2023 05:41
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T Zero posted:Mainly because I started riding in my 30s, this fact hit me like a gut punch and forged an instant parasocial bond with Wolfey. Saaaaaaame
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Jan 11, 2023 14:03
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Well, fwiw, I bought a t-shirt and you can too. (that's his wife's website but they put his shirts up there) https://cackyriversphotography.com/products/district-tee
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Jan 11, 2023 16:02
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Stage Ten We start stage ten with a tragedy. Loprais came over a dune and struck a photographer/fan who was on the other side. The man was taken to the hospital with nausea several hours later and died of a heart attack on the way. You can see the video of the accident 1m40s into this link so avoid that if you don't want to see it but to be honest it's not particularly gruesome. Just sad. https://twitter.com/rallyraidnews/status/1613095969079296000 Loprais has withdrawn (whether by choice or because he had to cooperate with the investigation is unclear) and seems incredibly broken up about it. It's not his fault. One of the most important things to remember when you are in the dunes generally and on a racetrack in particular is that anyone coming over the dune CANNOT SEE YOU. It's tragic that this accident happened and someone died, and I understand the desire to get as close as you can to the vehicles but if you ever get a chance to go be a spectator at any motorsport or to play in the dunes with vehicles, please remember that the other side of a hill can't see you. And you can't see it either. You should have a spotter if you're going to go racing over the crest of a dune outside of a race course. In a race course you need to stay off the course and if you're coming up the dune you need to come up the dune out of the racing line, then walk along the crest until you get to the spot.  On to the racing. Stage ten was a short stage of just over 100k to setup for the marathon stages of eleven and twelve. But it was still brutal for the motorcycles with the first riders up at 1:30 AM so they could do 467k of liaison before the start of the race. Imagine riding almost 500k, racing 100k and then another hundred+ back to the bivouac. The orga are a cruel people.  In trucks, with Loprais out, de Baar finished first (you haven't heard of him because he's 28h back in the overall), van den Brink (old) second and van Kasteren a minute behind him in third.  That means van Kasteren leads, with van den Brink (old) 22m41s back and Macik in third 51m7s later. As in bikes, it's everything to play for in the next two stages. van Kasteren has the advantage but a single mistake in the big dunes of the empty quarter could be the end.  Speaking of bikes, we finally have a new leader in the overall. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613182735077740545 Ross Branch won the stage    but Kevin Benavides was flying.  He came in fourth after starting seventh and having a crash on the stage and put 6m38s on Howes and 7m16s on Price to give himself a 1m29s lead over Howes. Price is third, 2m10s back in the overall.  Fourth is AVB almost ten minutes back and it only gets worse from there.  Tomorrow is the first stage in the marathon stages and Howes and Price clearly have a different plan.  Benavides will start in fourth which is not great because you really want to be a little further back for a huge dunes stage like we have next.  Skyler and Toby are starting 15th and 16th respectively and will be able to push all day.   Of course maybe Benavides did this because he thinks he fourth is a good position to not bleed too much time on the first day but set himself up for a great start on the second day when everyone is even more tired and navigation will be even more difficult. Who knows but I can't wait to see!  There are still three Hondas in the top ten but AVB is Honda's best hope to win. Unfortunately for him, he will really have his work cut out being ten minutes back. It's not that he can't make that time up on any one person, it's that he has to do it to three great riders and not lose any time to the guys 5-10 minutes behind him.  Not impossible, but much less likely than one of the top three winning at this point. Of course there's still Quintanilla 15 minutes back and Nacho 20 minutes back and both are great riders too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV2a5Ret5TQ Chucky is 23m40s back in the overall, never having really recovered from his bout with the stomach flu.     In cars, Loeb once again won the day  marking the first time that the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team had 1-2-3 on any stage.  Instead of talking about how fast Loeb is, let's watch him try to setup a tent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5A3TKGQQK4 And look at some toyota pictures. Nasser is an hour and 37 minutes up on Loeb so it's still his to lose.   I expect Toyota to push enough that he only loses at most a few minutes each day and have Yazeed Al Rajhi either start just behind him each day or start ahead and pull over and wait for him so that if anything goes wrong there's a watercarrier to scavenge parts from or help him if he rolls or needs a new tire.   I don't know that I would have chosen Adele over the sound of the engines, but I sure like the video. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613135682486284289 Kove was never going to win but I really hope they actually are committed for five years - it would be great to have another real factory in the dakar. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613238922301300736 An explanation from hero's team manager on what they do. https://www.facebook.com/HeroMotoSports/videos/736827257814128 You guys know you can wheelie any day of the week, right? https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613230210186633216 I think this may have been footage from yesterday. https://twitter.com/redbullmotors/status/1613210941931376641 It's important to come down the other side of the dune at an angle so you don't roll. But not too much of an angle so you don't roll the other way either. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613190215979655169 Footage from yesterday but I still love puddles. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613153011370721281 It really was a tiny roadbook today. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613079862297743360 https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613059594275753987 Some classic action.              Old stage but still classic and puddles so you know I'm posting them.    A photographer making friends.       Extended highlights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmsMhuv9690 And now, on into the empty quarter and the two days that will decide the Dakar Rally!   
builds character fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Jan 11, 2023 |
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Jan 11, 2023 20:50
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I ride dunes occasionally. Top of the dunes or right behind them is the worst/ least safe place to hang out.
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Jan 11, 2023 22:24
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Stage Eleven The first day of the marathon stage and it's all to play for in bikes and trucks and even in cars if Nasser's brain breaks and his team implodes due to being hit by an asteroid!  Toby Price had the opportunity to make up time today  and finished a solid third.  Huh, flat earthers actually were right.  Luciano Benavides finished first on the day but he's still 18m6s back in the overall.  While his brother, Kevin, lost time putting Skyler Howes back in first! 28 seconds ahead of Toby Price and 2m44s ahead of Kevin Benavides.  That's three KTMs up front, and with Price starting third tomorrow, Howes starting fourth and Kevin Benavides tenth, I think that makes Benavides the current favorite to win. On the second day of a marathon stage in the dunes, everyone should be a little extra tired so starting out in front will be even more of a disadvantage. As between Price and Howes I think it's better to start fourth than third but it's awfully close. This is incredible and we are very lucky to have a Dakar Rally that's this close. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613604472705675264 Nacho finished eight minutes back of first but his race is probably over barring catastrophe for everyone else as he's almost 25 minutes back overall.  AVB started in second today and this was probably the death knell for his hopes of victory as well as he finished 9 minutes back and is now 15m24s back overall.  Pablo "Why Male Models" Quintanilla is 14m14s back overall.  Nasser continued his game of cat and mouse only actually the mouse is already Sebastien Loeb and Nasser is going to win a Dakar so he doesn't care about stage wins.  Which, of course, means that Loeb won the day while Nasser lost 6 minutes, putting Loeb an hour and thirty minutes out of first. The Brazilian Lucas Moraes in another toyota is in second, almost ten minutes ahead of Loeb. Remember Loeb setting up a tent? Nasser remembers. He's a veteran and a professional and he's going to win this Dakar, but he wants Loeb to know. He's faster. And he's showing him in the language of performative tent-setting-up. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613584525006864384 Macik was eighteen minutes back in the trucks.  But he still finished second. Look at him flying.  Of course, that puts van den Brink (old) in first by a fair bit and now the overall in trucks is incredibly close too! van Kasteren leads van den Brink (old) by only one minute and twelve seconds! https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613552870762373121 Macik is ~48 minutes back in third and Valtr is fourth, 2h35m back.  Just a reminder, this is Peterhansel's trophy case. I assume this won't be his last dakar but if it is the moniker "Mr. Dakar" is still well deserved.  Look at that concentration. Must be difficult I guess?  An example of the area immediately after the special. Folks stop and have a little break before heading out onto the liaison.    Air your tires back up for the road back.  Little jump?  Great job!  Yup, that's a tire.  That too.  Hmm, that's an engine.   STOP PUTTING YOUR FOOT DOWN, THIS IS NOT FLAT TRACK. Is advice I would give myself if I were riding because it's a bad habit on my part too.  Mandatory SxS content. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613563897361076225 And off, into the sunset.  Why go over the dune when you can go through it?  I'm sure this will be just fine.   Yup, no problems here.  This will be just fine too, I'm sure.    Paolo Lucci walking his bike.  And Paolo Lucci riding it. Just to prove he can.  It's interesting to see the different line the car takes.  Matthias Walkner is still riding on a broken hand. I bet you forgot, didn't you?  This gives a good sense of the variety of dunes and the power the bikes are putting down.  Still just great livery.  Another picture that gives you some sense of the size of the dunes.  These are "medium"  NBC's extended highlights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saiui3HHgo8 Everyone wants a picture with Walkner.  And it's easy to see why. I'm sorry, I just love this man.  It looks great but you can tell things are going wrong because of the height of the rooster tail. You want that sand going back, not up.   Just your regular reminder that the non-pros participating are among the fastest, most talented people you will ever meet.  Genius plan: find the road through the dunes.  Huh, it's actually working.  Or just follow the tracks. You can imagine how much easier this makes navigating than the first bikes on stage.  Look how far down those tracks behind the rider are.  Beautiful, but what are those trees doing there?  Look familiar to anyone?  Some of this racing is right by a road. I'm sure the temptation to hop on for a few K is tough.  Clement Razy from France.  And Belgian Jerome Martiny who is cool  But not as cool as these Belgians  The Rothman's livery on a safari porsche is great every single time I see it.  Venezualan Nicolas Alberto Cardona Vagnoni shows us how to sit when you can and stand when you have to.  Toby is just showing off here.   Truck!  Truck!  Truck!  Truck!  TRUCK!    At this point in the rally there are only two real stages left and everyone is, at best, banged up.  Some haven't made it.   For one reason  Or another   Can I offer you an egg in this trying time?  But for those that are left, the bivouac at a marathon stage offers camaraderie and a few hours of rest.  Just pick up your snack and your jammies.  Of course the trucks brought air mattresses.  But there's carpet to lounge on.  I assume that's the line for the one bathroom.  Later on there will be eggs!  Varying degrees of exhaustion.  Seriously though  Why male models?  Are you serious? I just... I just told you that a moment ago.  Classic.    R.I.P. 
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Jan 13, 2023 03:30
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builds character posted:Just a reminder, this is Peterhansel's trophy case. I assume this won't be his last dakar but if it is the moniker "Mr. Dakar" is still well deserved. That is so loving awesome. builds character posted:Just your regular reminder that the non-pros participating are among the fastest, most talented people you will ever meet. Any idea what the approximate cost is to compete/attend? I know if you want to get serious about (car) racing, you need like a minimum of $500k between parts and spares and whatever, but I'm curious how much you need to get started with Dakar and what you have to bring. Not that I'd ever be anywhere near actually being able to do it. The closest I'll get is these photos.
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Jan 13, 2023 16:06
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Strife posted:That is so loving awesome.
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Jan 13, 2023 21:03
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Strife posted:That is so loving awesome. In what class? In the bikes the figure that's commonly bandied about is 100k all in. But it really depends. For example, Manny Lucchese had a great video on how much it costs him a couple years ago and he does it on a shoestring budget. His low number was €57k. Of course as he points out this only includes the actual dakar costs itself. You will also need a whole other bike that you use to train on and to go training races and etc. If you're really serious about wanting to race, I would set the goal not as Dakar but as the Sonora Rally. https://sonorarally.com/ You can just drive down, rent support for cheaper, use your current bike and I think all in it's like 25k.
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Jan 13, 2023 21:47
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builds character posted:In what class? In the bikes the figure that's commonly bandied about is 100k all in. You have to qualify Dakar too, right? You can’t just buy a ticket. I wonder if that 100k cost is all the prerequisite stuff too, or if Dakar is just super expensive because of the distance, relative remoteness, and running costs.
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Jan 13, 2023 21:58
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Toe Rag posted:You have to qualify Dakar too, right? You can’t just buy a ticket. I wonder if that 100k cost is all the prerequisite stuff too, or if Dakar is just super expensive because of the distance, relative remoteness, and running costs. You do. Really it's not qualification so much as them accepting you but generally that means you've raced and done well in at least one other big rally. It also depends on how many other folks are applying to race that year. If there are very few you might sneak in and when there are a ton you might not make it even if you'd otherwise be OK. It's a 15k entry fee and that's expensive and then the bike is very expensive and the mechanical support is very expensive. So travel there + entry + a bike and that's like 3/4 of the cost. Then you have 14 sets of mousses and tires and etc etc.
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Jan 13, 2023 23:02
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Stage Twelve https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613747473817780224 Only 290 kilometers of special stage left and two days! 154k tomorrow and 136k on the last day. Traditionally, the last day has been more of a victory lap than anything but with racing this tight I expect we'll see folks going full throttle to the donkey for both days.  Today was the most important day of the final stretch.   https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613749043057811457 And it was Toby Price who came out on top.   Starting and finishing third on the stage  He's now 28 seconds ahead of Skyler Howes.  It's probably the fact that Toby Price is ridiculously fast and good at racing, but sure check the spokes again my friend.  But there's still tomorrow when Howes will start in sixth and Price again from third.  Benavides is only 2m40s back overall but he starts 5th, one ahead of Howes and behind Price, so he'll be hard pressed to win. It's not impossible but it will require a great ride.  Daniel Sanders continues to ride with, apparently, a huge thorn stuck in his arm. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnWPXwpqVXp Ow.  First place was Nacho whose nickname is Nacho but they still give him the "N. Cornejo" instead of "I." for Ignacio.  Stop me if you've heard this before...  Loeb won. His fifth in a row.  Almost like Nasser doesn't care who wins each stage and just wants to keep his... 1h27m lead intact. He's even letting Yazeed get all the photo ops.  OK maybe still one for Nasser. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613934774111838208 van Kasteren stamped his imprint on the stage in trucks, putting 30 minutes on van den Brink (old).  Macik finished 32m back. He's been out for a while but that cements it.  His truck still looks awesome though.     scuse  me  Seriously, who wouldn't want a picture with Walkner?  He is photogenic as gently caress.  Laia Sanz is still the most talented rider out there even though she's driving a car. Yeah, I'm talking to you Peterhansel.   Great in-car video. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613896594583326720 https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613888924354772992 Classic cars in the bivouac.  Arriving at the rear end late.     double vision     2000 era not-quite-trophy-truck    And the other end of the spectrum.   The truck class started out exactly like this. Support trucks following the competitors and then the trucks started racing each other and voila!  It's interesting seeing the different ways they open up.    Have to admit, I've never seen the socks under the windshield wipers before.  Bill Conger enjoying the marathon bivouac.  Fun fact: Bill did some of the stunt driving in Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby  Seriously. He wouldn't tell me if there were any real cougars involved in that scene though.  If it weren't sand it would puncture a tire.  Did you know that to engage four wheel drive you used to have to turn those little red knobs you see in the front wheel? Crazy, right?  They came prepared for getting stuck.  That's authentic 90s highlighter yellow.  This isn't a classic ca.... oh. ohhhhh. I'm old.  This is a classic.  This too.    Working on the car at the marathon bivouac.  Fanta!  The classic cars get wee dunes.     GET  TO  DA  CHOPPA  This is what I would look like too if I got to fly a dakar helicopter.  You can see how they go and find you here.  South African Kirsten Landmen is the only woman racing malle moto this year. She's still in it.  #selfie from our dutch photographer  I already made the "my truck is stuck" joke, right?  I'm the guy in the back. Maybe if I just stare at it then I won't have to do any maintenance and it will magically fix itself?  Wolfey still in it!  And the people love him.  Yes, this is much better than just giving us 20 minutes of straight footage of the vehicles. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613873243710013444 Strong On Any Sunday vibes here.  Luciano Benavides led out today so those are tracks in the background from folks who knew where the course would be and went out to see it. That makes me wonder if there isn't someone who knows the route and if they don't pass some of that info along. Who knows...  Don't get lost.  And try not to crash. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613850499211530240 Ross Branch still competing.  And Martin Prokop putting in a workmanlike professional showing in his ford raptor.  6th  But...  3h back in the overall  Talk about surfing dunes.  https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613840653770801152 You can surf in water too. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnOkXhBpZHu/ Mad Max needed a dakar buggy.   Quads!  And the obligatory SxS.  Extended highlights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgozKO2cDuk The empty quarter has terrible cell coverage so folks have been posting fewer photographs. Now that it's over, we should have more from MM and MCH on the last two days.  Han Wei in a SMG buggy is in eigth, four hours back.  Making it awfully hard not to root for Luciano Benevides with all his wheelies and stage wins and birthday post for his brother.  Listen to that bike. https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1613778636473094144 I already have my SxS content! What are you doing here?  Either Ross Branch never crashes or he has new plastics every stage.  Denis Krotov from Kyrgyztan for the x raid mini team.    But things don't always go right.  Sometimes they go wrong.  Very  Very  Wrong  Sometimes they go right.  It's really all... perspective.  The fastest (read: only) Audi is driven by Ekstrom, a mere seven hours back.  I can't even pretend I'm able to come up with something for this picture. Just look at it. 
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Jan 13, 2023 23:03
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