The F5 Bivouac (rallye raid news) and W2RC - World cross country rally championship

Same way Garden of the Gods was formed.

From David Casteu's facebook

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/47giX94BvEs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Looks like Nasser is going to take it to Robby in 2013. - His California based team is building two seven-litre/liter Chevy V8 powered buggies.


http://www.dakarrallyraid.com/more-dakar-action-for-al-attiyah/

.

Great news, this should be fun!!!

Yep! Between him and Robbie - maybe 2013 will be the year of the 2WD overall winner?!

Jx

"and an electro-pneumatic system that can adjust tyre pressures from the cockpit, which is ideal when switching from rocky ground to sand dunes"

Isn't this what got RG in a bind with the race officials? Anyone know enough on the new buggy to comment?

I thought it got him into trouble because it discharged into the engine and made more power because of it. Or something like that.

Yes that's right... 2WD vehicles are allowed to have remote air inflation/deflation (on the driven wheels) as a concession to not having 4WD (whereas 4WD cannot have remote inflation/deflation at all), but not, as was suggested last year - to draw or dump air into the inlet manifold... ahem.

Jx

In that article Nasser eludes to Carlos Sainz driving the second buggy. Any word yet on who is driving the second hummer? Mark Miller?

Nasser's new "buggy"... four days (maybe)... five days tops.

He's got the balls and the basic skillset to be fast, but he destroys vehicles.

I hope Mark Miller makes a return. Not sure he'll ever win overall, but he's a good driver and competitor, seems humble and just happy to be racing when giving interviews.

Sure having VW to put a fresh vehicle under you every day is a big asset at DAKAR...

But my thought's were more along the lines of R&D and/or bringing a last minute project to the startline.

The article says it's (still?) being built in California... prior race development, testing...? The SoCal. boys build some mean offroad/Baja racers... but DAKAR she's a whole other game.

Will make for an(other) interesting aspect to the Auto division for 2013 in any case...

He ran a line from the system into the intake so that the tire pressure could be "sucked" down faster.

They said he was generating more power by using this "extra" air. Complete bullshit because 4 33" tire @30 psi would deliver air to that LS for only a split second.

As I understand it, he got DQed because he plumbed it in AFTER the intake restricter, and potentially negating some of the restricting effects of the restricter...

I may be wrong on that, and I am not saying I agree with the ruling, but that is just the way I understand it.

I won't mention unfiltered air entering the system, it passing scrutineering or anything else like that...

For me, the issue I have with the ruling is that they passed they system in tech, for sure this year, as I understand it for several years prior as well.

To examine it, pass it, and then bring it up later is chickenshit in my opinion.

And as Tony said, the potential gain is negligible anyway.

In any case, I'm a big Robbie fan, but until he learns how to manage and delegate, he's not going to win Dakar.

After I read that Jason was given the Caldecott Award I was thinking perhaps advrider could unofficially bestow some awards at the end of the 2013 Dakar. Nothing that has the seriousness of tragedy, like the Caldecott award, just a few fun designations that reflect our experience following the race here on ADVrider.

I propose The Snowman Award, for the rider who gets the farthest despite swallowed by the snowball.

Other possibilities:
- the most scandalous behavior (some reference to a moustache) or poorest sportsmanship (mud)

and . . . well, I can't really think of anything else right now. Maybe just those two.

Maybe the Pavey Award for finishing a stage under extreme mechanical consequences. I think Si Pavey changed his engine in the middle of a stage in 2011?

Or the Merkit Award for happiest guy in the bivouac. He will be missed this year