Dakar ....time for a racing fix

[Bigyin]

For those of you who dont follow the Dakar over the years now might be a good intro to it. Slightly shorter than before and began today with the 1st of 12 stages in the Saudi desert. Take your pick from bikes, cars , buggies and trucks. Tjis year they have added a classic class for cars from rallies pre 2000.

The real heroes of the assorted classes of Dakar as we all know are the bikes and within those the "Originals" formerly known as Malle Moto. Rider on his own, doing all his own maintenance and prep and repairs. The organisation feeds them, provides medical help and carries a box of spares and tent from stage to stage so its their when and if the rider eventually makes it in after a 750km day in the dunes so he or she can fix and re prep the bike ready for a 6am start the following day

Follow the progress with highlight programmes each night about 9 or 10 pm on Eurosport

We might even have another British winner in Sam Sunderland who most fans of bike racing will never have heard of but is a former Dakar winner and consistent winner and podium place in the Rally Raid events

[Yorick]

I watched last year but only about half way. Dunno, just gave up.

[Bigyin]

I watched last year but only about half way. Dunno, just gave up.

Now you are a dirt rider you will realise just how good these guys are on sand and gravel......Over 100 mph on the flats looking for tiny dips that will throw them for 100m arse over tit , blind crests on dunes, rocks that look like soft sand etc etc

[Yorick]

I watched last year but only about half way. Dunno, just gave up.

Now you are a dirt rider you will realise just how good these guys are on sand and gravel......Over 100 mph on the flats looking for tiny dips that will throw them for 100m arse over tit , blind crests on dunes, rocks that look like soft sand etc etc

Oh yes, they are truly amazing, but it lost interest after a week. Will try hard this year sir.

[Bigyin]

Oh yes, they are truly amazing, but it lost interest after a week. Will try hard this year sir.

There is fuck all else to watch so i look forward to the highlight programmes each evening and they never fail to impress me. The factory lads for just how fast they are and the malle moto for just how resilient they are

And there are cars and other stuff too

[Yorick]

Oh yes, they are truly amazing, but it lost interest after a week. Will try hard this year sir.

There is fuck all else to watch so i look forward to the highlight programmes each evening and they never fail to impress me. The factory lads for just how fast they are and the malle moto for just how resilient they are

And there are cars and other stuff too

O.k.. What channel is it on ?

[Dodgy69]

Found this but not sure how good it is.

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme ... ode-guide/

[Bigyin]

O.k.. What channel is it on ?

From the first post at the top

Follow the progress with highlight programmes each night about 9 or 10 pm on Eurosport

In all seriousness Spanish TV will probably have its own coverage as they like bike sport a whole lot more than UK telly

[Skub]

I painted a door today,now I need to watch it drying.

[Bigyin]

I painted a door today,now I need to watch it drying.

Bog Hopping Heathen

[Yorick]

O.k.. What channel is it on ?

From the first post at the top

Follow the progress with highlight programmes each night about 9 or 10 pm on Eurosport

In all seriousness Spanish TV will probably have its own coverage as they like bike sport a whole lot more than UK telly

We do have Eurosport here

[Bigyin]

I painted a door today,now I need to watch it drying.

I really hope this video works ..... Balls of steel at that speed on sand

[Yorick]

OK, I've caught up on the first 3 stages. At first I was pissed off with all the waffle and padding, but that's eased off a bit.

What I did find interesting was that we have all the terrain that they ride on, here on our little island. Rocky paths, stoney sections, big sand dunes and open desert. Every time we go out for 3 or 4 hours, we have a little Dakar race ourselves . When we hit the desert and the big dunes, we tend to have a little play

Nothing I saw that I wouldn't have a go at. Obviously much slower, but I have learned a lot by following my pals who have been doing it 20 years


Anybody fancy popping over here for a long weekend ?

[Bigyin]

OK, I've caught up on the first 3 stages. At first I was pissed off with all the waffle and padding, but that's eased off a bit.

What I did find interesting was that we have all the terrain that they ride on, here on our little island. Rocky paths, stoney sections, big sand dunes and open desert. Every time we go out for 3 or 4 hours, we have a little Dakar race ourselves . When we hit the desert and the big dunes, we tend to have a little play

Nothing I saw that I wouldn't have a go at. Obviously much slower, but I have learned a lot by following my pals who have been doing it 20 years


Anybody fancy popping over here for a long weekend ?

Try that terrain at your track speeds at somewhere like Mallory as its not a top speed circuit ...... thought you might like it more once you realised it was similar terrain to where you play

[Dodgy69]

I enjoy it. 2 wheels init. I think navigation is a big part of it. No L/H turn at the red lion sort of thing, so wasting time going the wrong way is very popular.

I've never rode on sand, but they seem to glide the front, keeping it pinned and weight back. Look for the flattest route through, how hard can it be.?

God knows how the chains cope. Yep, it's a good watch.

[Bigyin]

I've never rode on sand, but they seem to glide the front, keeping it pinned and weight back. Look for the flattest route through, how hard can it be.?

Same technique on mountain bike on the dunes i ride on. weight over the back, front light and choose a gear where you are spinning a lot and go for it...... sometimes it even works, sometimes you bog down or end up on your arse

[Yorick]

I've never rode on sand, but they seem to glide the front, keeping it pinned and weight back. Look for the flattest route through, how hard can it be.?

Same technique on mountain bike on the dunes i ride on. weight over the back, front light and choose a gear where you are spinning a lot and go for it...... sometimes it even works, sometimes you bog down or end up on your arse

All of the above

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Dakar bikes are doing about 90mph on sand, I don't think I've been that quick on sand, but I have been 70 mph on sand, btw the dryer the sand the harder it is to ride on, wet sand isn't particularly difficult, anyway the knack is to go fast enough to skim over the top, keep the front end light (your bum should be on the back mudguard) and try not to brake or slam the throttle closed, small, smooth control movements are the key.

Also remember a fully fuelled Dakar bike probably weighs over 200KG, a fully fuelled DRZ400 weighs 150KG and a two stroke enduro bike is a lot lighter than that.

I have seen someone do half a loop in sand and land on their head with the bike (a DR200) on top of them, this was on a beach in Crete.

[Yorick]

I found out today that on Spanish TV, they have a 90 minute show every day. I wonder why Eurosport only show a 30 minute jobby ?

[Bigyin]

I found out today that on Spanish TV, they have a 90 minute show every day. I wonder why Eurosport only show a 30 minute jobby ?

Because Eurosport deal with a lot of countries that dont really give a shit about bikes and rally raid, Spanish TV love motorsports and bike racing of any sort. i did say you would probably find better coverage on Spanish TV

When you have people like Marquez, Rins and Mir on billboards and every petrol station forecourt smiling back at you and yet in the UK its a minority sport and the vast majority of the population when asked about a bike racer will answer Barry Sheene or Valentino Rossi (maybe)