Dakar 2021 'Classic' race

[Chas]

Bear in mind that down here in the mountains Armco is for sissies so much of the course has big drops if you get it wrong!

Regards,

Rodger

 

[Chas]

, would take a bit off our car so a competitor could finish an event or lend them spares help fix their car in service , spend most of the time laughing or taking the pi~~ out of each other.... in short we had fun ... that's what it was about....anything else was a bonus...we certainly had more fun than most of the guys who were desperate to win.... I think in many ways we were the winners and have a group of friends and stories that will always outlast the few trophy's I have

I was the same with my archery, never good enough to beat the equipment the rich guys had, but had fun all the same.

 

[Higgy]

Agree with you Mettise.. I rode a lot of Motocross when i were a young 'un'... I entered a few Races, But couldnt believe how serious everyone was, It took the fun away, I was much happier racing the gravel pits with me mates, Having a laugh win or loose it didnt matter.... But i guess if you want to be the best, You have to take it seriously...

 

[Rodger]

When I first started watching/following the Dakar, last century, it was IMO much more technical, obviously slower and with the top teams using recognisable vehicles but nowadays it seems to be a series of 500 kms sprints. I appreciate that things develop and evolve but this current sprint format works for the big teams but does not work for the majority of entrants. I tend therefore to follow the exploits of the lesser-funded runners because just to finish the Dakar - in any year - is for them a victory in itself.
I am not suggesting that the Dakar is easy - far from it but when looking at the classics class which is working with the clock and not against it, the novice pair of ladies in the Porsche 911 started 1st in the prologue but are now in the bottom third of that class, which suggests to me that that class, although running parallel stages, is more technical, just like it used to be for everyone.
Dakar coverage on Spanish national TV merits nearly 2 hours daily but actually, again IMO, it doesn't do 'off roading' any favours with those whose only exposure to it is via the trailers and the stars - Sainz. Laia Sanz, Christine Guitierrez all making headlines - as it suggests that we tear at top speed across the barren lands and deserts, when in reality OR is technical and personally challenging and it is in our own vehicles that we have to fix if we break them.

Regards,

Rodger

 

[Rodger]

Perhaps I should expand upon the pair in the Porsche 911: The American lady who owns it had a Belgium specialist find and build the car for her and her friend. They have no competition experience together. The first time they saw and sat in the car was at scrutineering. The example I was using was merely to show that throwing big bucks at it does not guarantee success. Of course they may improve their position over the next nine days.

Regards,

Rodger

 

[SteveJB]

Remember James May did an old top gear in Norway i think where all the cars were worth the same money and if you want to buy the car then you could have done and the same goes for if someone wants to buy your car to stop people from spending stupid money for the chance of taking the first place and the cars were all the same price and the drivers was pre pubescent to pensions a very level playing field

 

[Grimbo]

Dakar this year I'm supporting the crazy Dutch Firemen in their truck .... we have many Dutch friends and without exception they are fun guys ....
The Dutch love the big Scania V8's and all run them on big open pipes.... " You're never late in a V8 " ;-)

 

[Rodger]

Today's stage was much more like the old style Dakar where navigation was as important as driving. Interesting that the established pairings came to the fore with the exception of Carlos Sainz who appears to think that every stage is a sprint - the Spanish experienced* commentators were not impressed with him throwing his toys out of the pram.

* the 'experienced' commentators are ex Dakar competitors in bikes, cars and trucks.

Regards,

Rodger

 

[Mick W]

When I first started watching/following the Dakar, last century, it was IMO much more technical, obviously slower and with the top teams using recognisable vehicles but nowadays it seems to be a series of 500 kms sprints. I appreciate that things develop and evolve but this current sprint format works for the big teams but does not work for the majority of entrants. I tend therefore to follow the exploits of the lesser-funded runners because just to finish the Dakar - in any year - is for them a victory in itself.
I am not suggesting that the Dakar is easy - far from it but when looking at the classics class which is working with the clock and not against it, the novice pair of ladies in the Porsche 911 started 1st in the prologue but are now in the bottom third of that class, which suggests to me that that class, although running parallel stages, is more technical, just like it used to be for everyone.
Dakar coverage on Spanish national TV merits nearly 2 hours daily but actually, again IMO, it doesn't do 'off roading' any favours with those whose only exposure to it is via the trailers and the stars - Sainz. Laia Sanz, Christine Guitierrez all making headlines - as it suggests that we tear at top speed across the barren lands and deserts, when in reality OR is technical and personally challenging and it is in our own vehicles that we have to fix if we break them.

Regards,

Rodger

That's why I follow the privateers, they have little or no back-up. It's all about getting to the end. Good on them!

 

[Towpack]

I enjoyed the Dakar for the last few years when it moved to South America, more diverse terrain and challenging IMO. The real heroes for me are the privateer bike riders who not only have to ride the thing but do their own navigating and spannering to boot, plus try and fit in some sleep somewhee along the route! That's a REAL endurance race! To the drivers in the top teams the different stages are just a series of individual races to be threashed out, a co driver to do the navigating and a fully equiped backup team to fettle the car while they relax and have a shower/meal/kip etc.

 

[Rodger]

The Dakar has finished, so I thought a summary may be appropriate-
Total distance 7806 kms (4879 mls) of which 4688 kms (2930 mls) are 12 special stages and a prologue.
Class/Starters 285/finishers 183/ave speed of winner
Bikes/100/63/ 62kph
Quads/16/11/48kph
Cars/64/48/66kph
SXS/61/41/55kph - side x side
Trucks/44/20/61kph - many are support vehicles
Classics/24/23/ points based
In the Production class - Toyota were 1st and 2nd (38th & 40th overall) and in 4x4 petrol Toyota had 5 of the top 6 places.

No doubt the UK sports pages are full of Sam Sunderland taking third place on a KTM - they aren't!?!
Are these people tough? Sara Garcia (2nd in bike Ladies) rode the last two stages, about 500 kms, with a hole in her leg into which you could fit a Zippo lighter. She had this treated at the end of stage11 but forgot to mention her 4 broken ribs (!) because they would have stopped her riding the last stage.
SXS - Chris Meeke, a 2020 WRC competitor, won an early stage but ended up 41st and last in the class but he finished his first Dakar!
Trucks - The winning Kamaz's time would have been good enough for eighth in the car class. Mr Sugawara won the under 10 ltr class in his Hino and, unfortunately, the Dutch firemen retired on stage 6.
Classics - The only retirement was a Mercedes G320 wagon. The LCs finished 4th(90 series), 6th, 11th, 14th & 20th. The 20th had turbo and overheating problems and a big crash and they went 3 days and nights without sleep because of repairs and this is supposed to be the easy class! And the ladies in the 911 finished 15th.

Regards,

Rodger

 

[Mick W]

Well if anyone is planning to enter they'd better hurry as no combustion engines allowed after 2025. Dakar will never be the same...….

 

[Tractionman]

Then, they will all be solar powered, Mick.

 

[Grimbo]

Well if anyone is planning to enter they'd better hurry as no combustion engines allowed after 2025. Dakar will never be the same...….

Are they serious ?
No truck currently under development will be remotely ready or have the performance needed by 2025 ...that's 4 years away .
That decision will spell the end of Dakar as it will become the worlds slowest endurance race and also the worlds least spectacular unless you count the many palls of smoke that will arise from the desert as all the household appliance wannabes burst into flames as their battery's overheat .

The Dutch fireman's event ended in "retirement" ..... shorthand for a massive crash that showed just how tough the trucks are and how safe they are..... the fact they all walked away from a crash scene with a debris field more akin to an aircrash is a tribute to the trucks builders .( I think the battered Iveco was even driven from the scene )

The performance of the trucks is astounding being only 1 kph slower average than the bikes and 5 Kph than the "cars" ..... a loose term as the cars are nothing like any other car in the world..... the trucks mostly are still using live axles and a chassis ... often as pointed out carrying spares for race cars and service crew members yet still at race speeds .

The bikers are indeed a breed apart...... absolute balls of steel and that's the women ;-) .... huge respect for them as physically they face the biggest challenge .
A beach race at Weston and in Scheveningen Holland was more than enough to kill any aspirations I may have had to have a go .

 

[Grimbo]

Dutch Firemens Truck after crash ...."one careful owner "

 

[Grimbo]

And pre race/crash condition ;-)