had to share this pic, but didn't know where to put it... simply awesome opening spread to an article in spanish SoloMoto magazine...
Well.... ive got my fingers crossed for a couple of mates that are scheduled to ride with Stan and Lyndon..they're just waiting to see if their letters are thumbs up, or thumbs down..As they were sent to Stan's house and he's been in France all week, they have to wait until he gets home this weekend! Poor buggers.. There is one other Brit, Paul Jay, who got the news this week, he will be riding with Honda Europe. I think Craig Bounds had applied too, but not heard any updates recently.. last I heard he was selling everything that wasn't nailed down and looking for a used 450rr..! Havent heard of any others just yet, but potentially 10 riders in total would be fantastic news for a Brit contingent!
Craig's definitely applied, and is proceeding on the basis that he's going to get accepted. Him and Tamsin are off to the Aus Safari in Sept as a 'warm up'. No idea what bike he's planning on using for the Dakar, they're using a couple of their riding school DR-Z's for the Safari
Ignacio Chivite has been accepted with his 1970's 2-stroke Bultaco Pursang. He already competed in '11 and didn't make the cut last year.
Manuel Lucchese has written on facebook he is in Also Fabio Mauri (an expert Enduro rider with several Six Days on his shoulders, did pretty well at latest Sardegna Rally and is winning the marathon class at the Italian Motorally Championship... with a Wr250R, not F!), Luca Viglio (very good at the Pharaons last year) and Andrea Fesani who previously had to let his place to Ciotti for an accident just before the race... Let's see about other Italians, I know Francesco Catanese was hoping to participate...
Awesome Burn last year hurting yourself right before departing as well as your crash and food poisoning in previous years....this is your year to finish Don
Somebody put that man in a safety bubble until January! <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mI7vz9Bd664" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Ben Grabham is in !! Australia's top rally racer Ben Grabham is all go for Dakar 2013 Ben is 3 x winner Australian Safari, mutlitple Finke and Hattah desert race winner, ISDE E1 winner, A4DE winner and multiple Australian national GNCC, enduro, long track and supermoto championships winner Ben is Australia's most credentialed rally racer since Andy Caldecott to take on Dakar so will be great to see how he takes on the big one
Yaaaay Grabbo! That's great news SafariBerg! Now here's a strong candidate for "rookie of the year" award at Dakar 2013... He's done/won everything there is in rallies, enduro, dirttrack and desert racing down under... and humbled some pretty big national and international names in the process... ISDE gold's and class wins. He has never really been one to let the nerves/hype of a "big race" ever ruffle him much either... Ben gives me the impression, that with his demeanor and the results/experience/team behind him, that he won't let his debut appearance in the big show at Dakar phase him that much? Aside from the injury he had back in April (the one possible chink in the preparation armour), I wouldn't be surprised to see Grabbo do some good things on the daily result sheets. Will be real interesting to see how he goes at the Merzouga rally in Marocco later this year... that will be his first real baptism of fire with the off piste/sand dune style GPS navigation.
Simon Pavey is going to attempt his ninth (7 finishes)dakar -his sons going with him as well - RIDE WELL -
Merzouga will be purely a learning ride for Ben, like you say getting into the GPS and off-piste style of rally as well as the big Dakar style dunes, plus it will be his first rally back after recovery from the Condo back injury.................still knowing Grabbo once the rythym settles in........ will be good to watch how he goes. Dakar 2013 is year 1 of a 3 year plan
Great news. Hope he goes well. Cool head and plenty of talent. He must have had a change of heart because after racing the baja 1000 a few years ago he wrote that he didn't want to go in the dakar.
Well I'm sad to report that despite all hopes 2013 is not going to be my year. this is the second time I have put it off I'm gutted. I did not apply this year due to work and financial commitments that have been dogging me all year. The economy has been crap and I have spent most of this year trying to raise money for a mine in Bolivia, which has not been coming. Now it looks like we will have to lay off 167 people, and this has been very distracting, obviously. As a result, I have gotten a lot less time in the saddle than I wanted, and I'm not fit at all. To make matters worse, I missed the Desert Challenge which I wanted to do AND the Dos Sertoes for the same reasons, and SWAMBO wants me to do a couple more rallies before she is willing to let myself do the Dakar. She is not supportive of the Dakar, worrying that I might die. The good news is she has finally come round to actually letting me go ahead with the planning, which though it does not sound like much is a MAJOR win. At least I did one rally this year, albeit only a 2 day in South Africa (the Amageza). I finished with a good time despite my low fitness levels. So I have been forced to shift my Dakar to 2014, and will have some good news on the bike front soon. It also means I will be part of the F5 on-the-ground reporting team for 2013. Congratulations to all of those riders who made it. I will definitely be behind the Brit teams, living my dream through them. If any of you know any riders who need a hand in Lima ahead of the rally, please let me know. Neil
