Dakar 2014 Cliff Notes Thread

Flood · Jan 3, 2014

Ladies, Gentlemen,

this is ADVrider's traditional Dakar Cliff Notes thread. Its purpose is to offer the day's most important information and media, interviews and tweets that show up all over ADV and the rest of the net.

The Official Event Coverage thread - aka the firehose - will be moving at a brisk pace and will be hard to follow for all but the most desperate fans.

This thread will be locked, so that only moderators can post here. The mods will try to move the most informative posts here and we hope that the result is something everyone can follow.

Welcome, and a great Dakar to all - Racers, teams, lurkers and posters!

Bluebull2007 · Jan 4, 2014

Hayduke said: ↑

Alert!

I got the F5 shirt page set up!

http://www.fattees-printing.com/Team-F5/index.html

Thank you for the design work, Iron Horse!

We decided to go one color this year, keeping it simple for various reasons. I wasn't super happy with the shirt itself last year, so this year we'll upgrade to an "Ultra Weight", heavier cotton tee. Comes in any color you want as long as it's black.

As always, we'll be sending the money raised straight to the site, just like all the ADV shirts I print. This is a PRE-ORDER; the shirts won't be printed until we get the final numbers together, after the race (I'll take orders up to Jan. 20th, then print and ship as soon as possible after that.

Click to expand...

640 Armageddon said: ↑

FFR's FB

''140km into the first special a Dakar serious danger (!!!).. Marking up the first stage roadbook''

Click to expand...

.

Bluebull2007 · Jan 4, 2014

HogWild said: ↑

I found that portion {pic above} of the course in Google Earth. Here's how those points look:

All points in view:

KM 138,93:

KM 139,74:

KM 139,91:

KM 140,19:

About 50% of this stage is identical to Dakar 2011 Stage 1, in the opposite direction. Portions were also part of a WRC type rally later in 2011.
Click to expand...

beechum1 said: ↑

stage 3&4 going to be difficult. Less dunes, less sand, but more dirt tracks with dirt and rocks. Does the SA terrain favor the SA pilots instead of being in africa? I don't 'like to make comparisons. It's different, but we have the ingridents, difficulty, navigation....

Marathon, Salar, why only motos because it's a question of logistics. alot of vehicles. Very complicated. No asphlt. Not possible to take trucks etc. We're hear and we have to do it, but only with bikes. More trucks, more people, more helicopters, more medics,

we do the route 4 or 5 times each year.
Click to expand...

beechum1 said: ↑

Click to expand...

beechum1 said: ↑

Click to expand...

beechum1 said: ↑

Click to expand...

640 Armageddon said: ↑

Click to expand...

Bluebull2007 said: ↑

Sam on the podium

Click to expand...

Bluebull2007 said: ↑

I like this guy.

Sporting a mustache-beard thingymabob.
Click to expand...

Flood said: ↑

So great to see numbers 1,2,3 on the podium on 3 different bikes.
Click to expand...

Myway said: ↑

Click to expand...

640 Armageddon said: ↑

Click to expand...

.

Bluebull2007 · Jan 4, 2014

Dekatria said: ↑

Excuse the bad quality of my caps...

Al-Attiyah

Peterhansel

Sainz

Robby

The sizes of them Minis, good god :huh
Click to expand...

640 Armageddon said: ↑

HogWild.
There you go...

Click to expand...

Bluebull2007 said: ↑

Not bikes but nice regardless. De Rooy

Looks like Pizzolito

Here is a question for you guys: There are 196 riders on the official Dakar riders list but someone said there were only 174 bikes which started. Who dropped out and why?

Was anyone excluded at scrutineering?

Chavo!!

Tim Coronel
Wow! Sweating already.
Battery empty just in front of the podium. Engine to long idle.
But I have spare #dakar2014 pic.twitter.com/TWDIANaalt

Another pic from Team HRC
Thanks to everybody for your support! @Sundersam @GoncalvesSpeedy @rodrigueshelder @joanbangbang88 @JavierPizzolito pic.twitter.com/w3lnyCmTHX

They are really hammering out the social media. Good for them! Should be great to follow the guys.

Pic from yesterday:

Click to expand...

HogWild said: ↑

Photos from along the Stage 1 course...

Liaison just after the SS finish:

Click to expand...

Myway said: ↑

Click to expand...

640 Armageddon said: ↑

tserts, we have to get together and make an F5 room

Click to expand...

Myway said: ↑

Fire

Click to expand...

.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

HogWild said: ↑

For those who haven't tried a rally, here's a peek into reading this page from the Dakar Stage 1 roadbook.
! = Hazrard
!! = bigger hazard
!!! = You can die here
P = Piste = the road or trail
S squiggle = twisty road
E3 = narrow
Down arrow = down hill
Up arrow = up hill
+/-V = road or trail is hard to see
WPM = Waypoint Masked (hidden waypoint you must pass through, sort of like a Baja SCORE VCP, but it won't show up on the GPS until you're close to it.
SER - Tight/sharp turn

There are about 75 symbols and abbreviations like these that the rider/navigator needs to memorize.
Each competitor has their own way of marking the roadbook with colored markers, to help read it quicker and more efficiently.

The first roadbook entry, at KM 138.45, basically says "watch out, the course is twisty, narrow, hard to see and goes down hill".

Click to expand...

.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

HogWild said: ↑

Here's the good stuff. This is my Google Earth file showing the exact course for Stage 1. The Google Earth imagery is pretty good in some places, and terrible in others. I have other imagery I use when the GE imagery is bad, which explains why my track is slightly "off the road" in some places.

Google Earth file - Dakar 2014 Stage 1 Course

Look here for photos along the course: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23134375#post23134375
Look here for some points in the roadbook matched to the GE imagery: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=23134138#post23134138

Click to expand...

.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

troy safari carpente said: ↑

Well another year, anothere f5irehose...

Testimony to the enthusiasm, anxiety and f5irst day jitters common on an event of this magnitude, we had a f5ew cyber-riders who checked in early for the f5irst liason and the cyber/rider cards have been marked an in true ASO'le f5ashion will be docked accordingly upon arrival at the cyberASS this evening - much to the idignation an surprise of the off5enders*... just like in a real rally!

(*I even considered cutting and moving the posts backe over to the "pre-event" thread... but thought... "naaaaah..." "better to leave thenm up as part of; doyles f5irst f5our pages of "early book ins" for the 2014 "F5 rogues gallery". )

meanwhile back in the real world... the Moto/quad competitors and majority of the AUTO/CAMION fiels have embarked on the first liason stage from Rosario to the DAY ONE Special Stage:

Cyril Despres with the #1 plate made his way first into the liason stage at 4.20 AM local Argentine time. The competitors have just under 6 hours to complete the transport stage to SS1... all depart the Rosario compound at their designated start time, and must arrive to the Start control of SS1 on their allotted time to "book in" for the competition stage.

Todays SS1 is 180 km's long and serves (ostensibly) as the first racing stage and will determine the start order* for DAY TWO (on sunday).

*In many previous editions of DAKAR (and other rallies) there has often been a "PROLOGUE" to determine the start order of the rally (DAY ONE) held in conjunction with the "pre-event" activities (scrutineering, Ceremonial start etc.). Traditionally a "prologue" is a shorter (5 to 10 km) stage set up as a "spectator friendly" venue... but - as far as the rally itself is concerned - is not much use in seeding any relevant start order. ie. the relatively short (often taped and arrowed) "motocross/cross country" nature of a prologue stage (that require little - if no - navigation at all) is really mostly a PR excercise.

For 2014, ASO have includeed a shorter (than normal) stage of 180 km's which I think is a great format. Long enough for the competitors to warm up/get in the groove. And located in an area (of the Cordoba region) where the public are more than familiar with spectating on the WRD events conducted for many years in this area... there should be NO PROBLEM with the number of spectators that are along the course to cheer on participants!

So what can we expect?

Despres starts off in the first position, then the first 10 riders at two minute intervalls... then the next 10 at 1 minute intervalls. there after two riders each, together at 30 seconds apart...?

How will this play out for the top 30 or so riders looking to position themselves for the DAY SS...?

Given the WRC/gravel road nature of the stage, navigation will be simpler (from the GPS/waypoint acquisiton perspective) than the "off piste" stages to come later as the even unfolds. What this means for the front runners is concentration on the roadbook and tripmeter (often refered to as ICO) in order to make all of the intersections and instructions (also know as "notes" or "tulips") in as good a pace as possible.

"Lead hounds and tracker dogs": Often on the "off piste" stages (over terrain with no discernable track/road to follow) the first few MOTO riders often MAKE the trail (over the years, Despres and Coma have proven to be in a class of their own at this), which means for the following 5 to 15 riders, there is a visual prompt/trail (through dunes etc) for them to "sniff". Inherreantly this means (but not always) that the best stage times on the "off pist" selectives can be set by riders in the position 5 to 15 bracket.

On todays WRC "style" stage, this "bloodhound" phenomena will not be as evident. What will be the three biggest factors in determining who will be quick on todays stage?

Dust. If the vconditions are dry/dusty catching and overtaking a preceeding competitor can be quite difficult/hazardous. The first 10 riders have the advantage of a two minute "dust buffer"... the next 10; one minute. Thereafter two riders every 30 second means (if it is dry) that from about position 30 and back there could be a continuos pall of dust above the 180 km route.

Road book nav. The top 50 riders are all very competent at roadbook/tripmeter nav at speed (or they should be). Setting a good time on todays stage will be a combination of;

Balls, bravado or tactics? Depending on the combination of these factors (and largely on the weather) I would expect that the quickest rider will come probably from somewhere in start position 5 to 15...

Despres can go quick out front if needed (no dust)... but being bike one on this type of stage is a little like mine sweeping; finding spectatotor unaware, livestock on roads, ambiguos indtruction/roadsign somehere along the route (exactly this caught Coma a few years back). And I expect Cyril would be satisfies to position himself in the back half of the top ten for the start of DAY TWO in any case... so I not expect a blinder from him. Coma... much the same.

So who will be the quickest...? I dunno? But I have a feeling that with all of the above factors in the mix, and the hype juggernaught surrounding their effort, that the winner of todays 180 km "prologue" could well be a member of the red HRC squad.

Safe bet? Maybe? After all, they do have five chips on the roulette wheel don't they?

SS1 kicks off at 10:20 AM local Argentine time for the MOTO's... cyber pilots have your irritrack pages, POSIS, Mischas tracker, and all your assorted twitts tweets and random brainf5arts at the ready... It's gonna get F5 rowdy in here in a f5ew hours!
Click to expand...

.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

doyle said: ↑

My little Stage 1 preview:

Dakar 2014 Stage 1, What to Expect

It is with a great degree of expectation that we finally find ourselves at the start of another Dakar Rally. Stage 1 begins with a long, 405 kilometer liaison that the riders are projected to cover in about six hours. Bearing the number one plate, Cyril Despres leads the pack from the Bivouac in Rosario, Argentina at a bleary eyed 4:20 am local time for the slog to the start of the 180 kilometer special stage.

In usual, early stage Argentina fashion and as suggested by the stage profile below, gravel/dirt roads look to be the only option on the menu. Leading the pack is rarely an ideal position, but Argentina can often mean singular roads with little passing opportunities and if the area remains dry, the dust he kicks up may be Despres best friend.

Usual Dakar start times are in play, Cyril leads followed by KTMs Marc Coma, and then Hondas Joan Barreda each two minutes apart for the first ten starters after which the interval drops to each minute and then eventually riders further back in the pack start in tandem, two at a time.

What is different this edition is the newness of many situations. New bikes at Honda and KTM, and a new team in Yamaha for the reining Dakar champion, Cyril Despres. Each will want to stamp their mark on the rally and perhaps more importantly, strike some fear into the hearts of their competitors.

Look for a quick pace on stage 1, perhaps not a 100% pace, but at least a 95% pace as the top guys look to either hold on to past glory, or knock the kings off their thrones.
Click to expand...

.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

SteveDennehy said: ↑

From Brett Cummings #59:

""Hey all. This will be my last post until I manage to hack into someone's wifi in the bivouac. Today was filled with lots of excitement and I think we are all overwhelmed with the hype of the event and the spectators. The Argentinians are crazy about this race! Roadbooks are marked, 3am rise for an early start. First bike at 4:30. Last bit of comfort in my hotel bed for the next 2 weeks.

A huge big thanks to Trevor from Strocam Mining for making this possible. Thanks to Barry and Ray Ogilvie from Wewa for their contribution, A big thanks to all my other sponsors for all the help. Without these guys, it would never be possible.
Lets get this show on the road.

My office for the next two weeks"

What is that black thing cable-tied to his right handlebar, just to the left of the ICO switch?

Then we just got this from David Reeve's support team:
"Brett Cummings 59 past us again at 07:20 on 191km mark. Had stopped earlier for the call of nature"

Click to expand...

.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

redhat said: ↑

And the CP/WP distances, if anyone is interested:

CP1 & WP1 @ 29km
WP2 @ 66km
WP3 @ 105km
WP4 @ 145km
ASS @ 180km

This is off course when ASO didn't screw up with their scaling too much as this is taken from the drawing.
Click to expand...

.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

Mad Cow said: ↑

Before the Depart from Laurent Lazard (Uraguay) on FB

Click to expand...

.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

Mischa explains how to use the new tracker:

misc said: ↑

Hi everybody,

I think one of the most interesting parts of my website is "monitor.trackingdakar.nl". Most of you probably already experienced how hard it has always been to follow Dakar on small screens like mobile phones or tablets. On the other side it's also hard to optimize a website for all these different devices with different resolutions and browsers. I want to try to make things a bit easier or at least clarify the overview a bit for smaller devices. Of course this has some side effect: maybe you like the old overview more? Because it costs a lot of time to rewrite all pages I decided to start with the "monitor". I hope you like the idea behind it and I'm curious after your experiences. I'm to busy right now to follow the forum and other social media, but I would love to share it with you.

http://monitor.trackingdakar.nl/

On high resolution (HD) it will show everything like you are used to. On lower resolution columns dissapear, but most important information is still there. Maybe you should play a bit with the page size and check how it looks on mobiles or tablets. I think you will get used to it quite fast.

If you don't like the dissapearing of the columns and want to switch back to the old view you can switch back easily by clicking the ">>" button on the right. You can then switch back with the "<<" button. The trick with dissapearing columns will be extremely helpfull on the longer stages with huge amounts of checkpoints and waypoints.

When (timing) columns dissapear you will see 2 columns at the end of the table with "Time" and "Pos". These are the times and positions on the last checkpoint or waypoint where the drivers passed. You probably noticed the grey header with a waypoint name: that's the last specific waypoint.

Enjoy the new page and I hope you like it! Have fun and please be patient the coming hours while I try to get and keep things up and running.

Best regards,
Mischa

UPDATE: I hope you are using new browsers, because these new features must be incompatible with older browsers. If this is a problem I will put the old version of the monitor there aswell.
Click to expand...

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

doyle said: ↑

...or how to drink from the fire hose and enjoy the taste.

The important things to know up front are the basics or Dakar rule applications. There are two sets of rules, French and English and the two may or may not be the same depending on the section.

It's also important to know that this is the ASO and the ASO may or may not apply those rules in any sort of logical or consistent manner. The good part is that the inconsistency tends to even itself out as the rally grinds on from stage to stage. That is to say in most general cases, what is considered by the fans to be an unfair ruling against a rider on day 2 may be repaid in the form of a ruling against his main rival in a later stage.

In the end of the rally, things tend to even themselves out and no real preferential treatment is afforded to anyone, even the French.

The stage:
Liaison:
Each stage can be broken up into several pieces, 'Liaison', 'connection', 'road section', 'transit section' are all the same thing. They all refer to a section of the total stage that is not timed, but is basically how the riders get from the bivouac to the start of the timed section. Liaison distances can be anywhere from zero to several hundred kilometers and can be before, after, or at both ends of the timed stage.

Depending loosely on finish placings the day before, riders are assessed a start time. Riders starting 1 through 10 are sent off in two minute intervals, starters 11 through 20 in one minute intervals, 20 on back in 30" intervals. Every now and then they'll stage mass starts of 10 or 20 riders at a time, but is may only happen a stage or two each year if at all.

Timed section:
This is where you get your boogie on. If you are in the top 30, you are dropping the hammer for a good placement. If you are farther back, you are most likely looking to survive to ride the next stage. It's important to know the motivations for participating. For the top 5 or 6, they are in for a win, nothing less is acceptable. For the rest of the top 30, they are hoping for a good placement in order to attract sponsors to have a go next year, maybe to gain some exposure or get noticed by a factory or top team, or they simply want a good showing to kick off a career in rallying.

The rest of the field consists of riders for which the finish is the win they desire. Whether it be a dream fulfilled, an adventure undertaken, or simply someone with more dollars than sense, these riders will never battle with the likes of Despres or Coma, but they will battle even more fierce opponents like sand, dunes, time, darkness, and their own will and stamina to carry on.

There are a few anomolies to these unwritten rules. Riders like Simon Pavey, Annie Seel, Mick Extance, Tina Mieir, Silvia Ginnetti, and Kemal Merkit. Riders who come back year after year, hover in the 50's to 60's as far as time and placement and gradually move up towards the end more out of attrition than outright speed. They have flashes of brilliance now and then, but they know they will not win a stage or even end up on the podium. For them and riders like them, the motivation is intensely personal and seldom discussed.

Every now and then a timed stage will include a neutralisation. A neutralization is usually an untimed section in the middle of a timed stage where riders need to get from one area to another. Usually this is when there is no feasible racing route through a particularly long distance. If it's a short go like through a village in Africa, the ASO will impose and closely monitor a speed limit. If it's long, they'll simply throw in a neutralisation section.

What we end up with is two timed sections and the total time of the stage becomes an aggregate of the two sections. Think of it like two stages in a single day with the times added together.

The end of a timed section may be right at the bivouac or there may be another liaison from the end of the timed stage to the bivouac.

Timed sections are broken into many segments denoted by waypoints. As a rider approaches a waypoint, once they get within a defined perimeter, the GPS comes to life, and an arrow points the way to the waypoint. When the rider gets to within a closer set distance from the waypoint, it registers, his time is recorded and he or she takes off in search of the next waypoint (WP). Interspersed through the stage are also Checkpoints. These are spots where (as far as I know) time is manually recorded by an ASO official and the riders card is marked. CP's may or may not match up with a WP, but they usually do.

I won't get too deep into the rules about delays, late starters, etc... as all that exists in the rules pdf here, but suffice to say, the ASO has penalties for everything and as I said above, the assessment of those penalties may or may not make sense and may or may not show on the timing lists.

Stage map from the Dakar.com main page showing CP's.

Stage map from the live timing or iritrack from Dakar.com showing WP's.

From the same page, this is the stage profile of the WP's. I actually like this better than the stage map as it shows the km's. One note of caution, the ASO is seemingly intentionally vague on their km markings and whether they actually line up with WP's or just denote the end of a particular type of surface, ie. the transition from gravel to dunes, etc...

The iPhone App map is actually the best and more like the old Dakar.com it clearlt shows the CP's and a nice dashed line to the km marking. Notice for instance, CP4. Had the line not been there, it would look like CP4 lines up with km609 when in fact it is listed at km593 a full 14km's earlier. When expecting a rider to come in, 14km's in the dunes can be quite a lot of time.

Hope fully that explains the basic mechanics of the stage and the movement of riders from bivouac to bivouac each day.

Timing:
First of all, if you want to track times like the best of them, yuou have to know your lists inside and out. Don't underestimate the difficulty of trying to figure out time splits while the pressure builds about posting it first as to not repeat, or 205, already posted information. PackMule has this down pat and is faster than anyone. Sure the time sheets give the split times form the stage leader, but what if you want to see how much time 5th place Ze Helio gained on 3rd place Chaleco from waypoint 4 to waypoint 5? This is where list knowledge comes in.

Waypoint times show up in the live tracking "follow your favorites" section of the dakar.com site and checkpoint times show up in the live tracking for the day here.

As you learn to use both of these, you'll understand how they can compliment each other.

For 2011, the ASO has drastically revamped their site and really took the wind out of the timing sails. One crucial element now gone is the physical time of day that a rider posted a WP or a CP. This was immensely helpful in tracking riders that have been lost, broke down, crashed, or simply slowed down. Now we only get the physical time of day for the start of each rider.

The four most important things to remember are this:
1) ASO timing is notoriously spotty. Not the times themselves per se, but when and if they show up. Because a rider has not posted a WP time does not mean the worst. The iritrack may not be working, the ASO official may have gone for coffee, the rider may have missed the waypoint.

2) Always keep in mind the start intervals of the riders. Cyril Despres may be leading Marc Coma by 10" from WP to WP, but when Cyril posts his time at a WP and Marc's time doesn't show up 10" later, many people panic that Coma fell or slowed up, or whatever. Keep in mind that Coma may have started physically on the stage 10 minutes after Despres. Understand that Coma's time may not show up until the 10'10" have passed. Once you get that, you'll learn when to expect a rider through a WP or a CP. Packmule and Flood are the masters of this and can usually pinpoint to a few seconds when a rider's time should be.

The live WP to WP timing is usually referred to as the iritrack. The CP to CP timing is usually referred to as the Posis list after the French name for it. When you really get skilled, you can start venturing into the French version of dakar.com because for the most part, the times are updated a little faster there. I'm speaking out of class here and giving up secrets bourne out of years of mad following, comparing notes/posts, and even sometimes having our own little races as to who can mine the times and post the results first. Many times followers get stunned when Packmule posts that Coma bested Despres in the last section to pull the stage win when no one else can even see the final times displayed. Packmule's French site list skilz are strong.

3) Lastly and I suppose equally important is to know that the ASO seemingly gets lazier and lazier about updating times as the day goes on. The fast guys have their times refreshed up to the lists pretty quickly, but if you are following a guy who is languishing in 134th place and is still out on the stage 6 hours after the first guys are in, good luck on keeping track. A perfect example was Luis Belaustegui and Mike Stanfield from Stage 5. Neither one showed on the final finish times, but when I checked the start list for Stage 6 late the night of Stage 5, low and behold, there they were. What this means is that the ASO crew packed it up. The times will ultimately get recorded within the ASO, but they may never show on the list. If they are on the next days start list, they made it in.

4) Withdrawals and the withdrawal list. Every other list is secondary to the withdrawal list and subject to change. In my experience, one that never does is the withdrawal list. If your rider ends up there but it's still a mystery where they are, they are out. I have never seen a rider make the list but still somehow continue on. I am not sure why the ASO is so spot on with withdrawals and spotty on everything else, but that's how it is.

It probably is used as their catering list from bivouac to bivouac to prove to the catering crew how much food they should prepare

DSS, WP, CP, ASS, etc...
DSS - Starting point of the timed stage (French abbreviation of Departe Special Stage)
WP - Waypoint (electronically recorded time stamp)
CP - Checkpoint (manually recorded time stamp)
ASS - Not the nice Chilean girl screaming "Chaleco, Chaleco, Chaleco", but the finish of the timed stage. (French abbreviation for Arrive Special Stage)

As I mentioned, the various lists will give you just about all you need to track the riders. Don't be afraid to open up some tabs or some separate browser windows and have your various time lists up on each ready to toggle and refresh at a moments notice. The ASO's fancy new auto refresh will have you spitting nails by the fifth time you are copying a time from 14th place at WP5 and it refreshes back to the start times of the cars before you can select copy but it is what it is.

F5 - many are unsure of this and what it means. For us geeks that have been hovering over time sheets for the past few years, F5 became a joke about how often we are refreshing the browsers. For most PC based computers, the F5 key refreshes the browser just like the refresh icon does, but since many are typing it saves time to hit F5 over grabbing the mouse and clicking refresh. Nothing more complicated than that.

That's enough for now. Open up your browsers, open up your lists, start looking at times. Later tonight, I'll pick a tricky rider from today's stage and we'll have a lesson on tracking his progress through the stage and how we should know when he will hit specific waypoints.

It'll be late because I am like a vampire and never sleep, but look for an update sometime after midnight or 1am eastern US time.
Click to expand...

.

Bluebull2007 · Jan 5, 2014

HogWild said: ↑

Check out the decent on the Stage 1 liaison just after the finish. Too bad they don't race down that!

Click to expand...

nry said: ↑

Allan Roberts #165 facebook page.

"There is nothing I can say to describe today's events-it's bigger than anything I've ever seen, the crowds, the amazing people, the atmosphere, so that's it, the final parade and crossing the podium, the riders briefing, the photo of all moto riders, it's all done. My road book is marked, my camel back full and my bike ready, it all starts tomorrow-early. My start time for stage 1 is 0527, but first it's 405 km liaison just to get to the start of the special, then 180 km race stage(special) and then another 205 to the camp."
Click to expand...

Uller said: ↑

Click to expand...

nry said: ↑

He's written some good stuff

This just in...

"Here I go"

Click to expand...

EKIN said: ↑

Nice view from yesterday:

Click to expand...

SteveDennehy said: ↑

From Brett Cummings #59:

""Hey all. This will be my last post until I manage to hack into someone's wifi in the bivouac. Today was filled with lots of excitement and I think we are all overwhelmed with the hype of the event and the spectators. The Argentinians are crazy about this race! Roadbooks are marked, 3am rise for an early start. First bike at 4:30. Last bit of comfort in my hotel bed for the next 2 weeks.

A huge big thanks to Trevor from Strocam Mining for making this possible. Thanks to Barry and Ray Ogilvie from Wewa for their contribution, A big thanks to all my other sponsors for all the help. Without these guys, it would never be possible.
Lets get this show on the road.

My office for the next two weeks"

What is that black thing cable-tied to his right handlebar, just to the left of the ICO switch?

Then we just got this from David Reeve's support team:
"Brett Cummings 59 past us again at 07:20 on 191km mark. Had stopped earlier for the call of nature"

Click to expand...

redhat said: ↑

And the CP/WP distances, if anyone is interested:

CP1 & WP1 @ 29km
WP2 @ 66km
WP3 @ 105km
WP4 @ 145km
ASS @ 180km

This is off course when ASO didn't screw up with their scaling too much as this is taken from the drawing.
Click to expand...

Flood said: ↑

(Manually entered checkpoint) POSIS:
http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2014/us/stage-1/live-timing/sector-2-df-bikes-hours.html

Iritrack:
http://gaps.dakar.com/2014/dakar/stage-01/aso/ukie.php

Everything by Mischa:
http://monitor.trackingdakar.nl/
Click to expand...

troy safari carpente said: ↑

We are getting down to just one hour away from the DSS of SS1, as mentioned in the last couple of f5irehose pages there are several ways of f5ollowing the competitors progress during the SPECIALS with interval and stage times for the various CP's and multiple ways to track those riders (or clasification of riders) that you are interested in, using both the Dakar.com POSIS (CP times), the Dakar.com "live" GPS map or Mischas formidable tracker. But there IS NO "Irritrack" graphic GPS tracker overlay that can be followed - as is used on many other rallies... THIS is Dakar tracking old school - no visual representation.

Now if any (or all) of the above is Greek to you... please familiarize yourself with this old chestnut thread and it will help explain the basics, some terminology etc.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=650017&highlight=Dakar+timing

One hour till f5ITH...
Click to expand...

8340SU said: ↑

Good luck to you all!!!!!

Click to expand...

Flood said: ↑

Via Kevin Muggleton: Gassing up on the liaison.

Click to expand...

8340SU said: ↑

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mrVoRwifePI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...

8340SU said: ↑

Impresionante el Dakar en enlace por Autopista hacia Córdoba. Foto de @jorgedominico pic.twitter.com/BeLRKMjSD8
Click to expand...

schattat said:

Almost got a shock from reading this:

13:49 Bikes: Beltrami back in business

Against all odds, the Italian has apparently managed to repair his engine and is heading towards the start of the special, about 300 km away, at a normal pace.

13:46 Bikes: Beltrami in a tight spot

Francesco Beltrami's engine has broken down 40 km into the link section. The Italian's Honda 450 has left him stranded near an urban area. The experienced rider's future in this Dakar seems gloomy.

Click to expand...

Nice dude, meet him during the Australian Safari 2012. Very limited English, but I learnt plenty of Italian to communicate with him. He also had bad luck there with his engine. I did a cylinder replacement on his Honda after his breather hose of the cylinder head came loose and sucked in dirty air causing him to lose compression. Let's hope his motor holds up!
Click to expand...

8340SU said: ↑

Rally Vantage ‏@RallyVantage 4h
A boy climbs a tree to get a glimpse of vehicles during the symbolic start of the @dakar Rally in Rosario on Saturday
Click to expand...

.

Bluebull2007 · Jan 5, 2014

8340SU said: ↑

Facundo Suarez ‏@suarezfacu 1m
@ChalecoDakar al palo! #dakar pic.twitter.com/69Dy3tYU0t
Click to expand...

640 Armageddon said: ↑

Bivouac constructions ...

Click to expand...

8340SU said: ↑

15:29 Motos: Pain chute et repart
Le français aurait chuté au kilomètre 18 de la spéciale et pu repartir immédiatement. Il a franchi le CP 1 après 28,7 kilomètres en 14ème position provisoire en ayant perdu 48 secondes sur le leader.

3:29 p.m. Motorcycles: Pain falls and leaves
The French have fallen at kilometer 18 of the special and leaved immediately. He crossed the CP 1 after 28.7 kilometers in provisional 14th position having lost 48 seconds on the leader.
Click to expand...

64_Armageddon said:

Balkan Boy said: ↑

Dakar.com
Click to expand...

40 km into today's special, Catalan riders Oriol and Gilbert Escalé seem unable to catch a break. Gilbert had a mechanical during the special, before CP1, and is now being towed by twin brother Oriol after a failed attempt to repair his motorcycle.
Click to expand...

:huh

This is not good, but it is nice that the brothers started together and run as a pair. Will try to get some info from the Team...
Click to expand...

.

Bluebull2007 · Jan 5, 2014

flatboarder said: ↑

[RG] dakar.com: "The American was supposed to start at 1:07 pm local time, but his locating device shows he has stopped in the start area. The crews that set off just after him are already inside the special. Is something wrong with his Hummer?"

What Hummer?
Click to expand...

.

AndreasM said: ↑

So, with the fast riders in, my attempt of an analysis - remember, I know nothing about this kind of stuff

To start from the beginning, the top 3 is hardly a surprise. Barreda was also very fast last year, and especially on a stage which was not too navigation-intensive(?), he could be expected to do well. Coma/Despres just underlines that not only can they be consistent, as we know, they can also be fast if they want to.

With Despres in 3rd, I think he has a solid starting point for tomorrow: The gap of one minute is negligible, he'll "just" have to catch up to Coma and stick with him, and he can keep everything under control without having to open the track at all - should Barreda make a mistake, there is still Coma to open. The stage will end in dunes, and Barreda might have a harder time being just as fast when he is opening.

Sunderland had a great first stage with a top ten finish, just as planned. If he is as good at navigating as many people seem to think, he'll be a top contender if he can keep his head together. Also a solid show by Grabham, who overtook plenty of people going from a starting position of 29 all the way up to 11. While I had heard good things about him, and he seems like a really god guy, I'm somewhat (pleasantly) surprised he did that well.

Speaking of surprises, something must have gone quite wrong for my fellow Scandinavian, Ullevalseter. He fell all the way from 18th to 43rd place, and even if he may not be the fastest, I had expected much better from him. Will be interesting to hear the cause of that.

With all that said, the biggest surprise for me was Duclos at 4th, I must not have done my homework properly, I don't even remember having ever heard his name

Finally, I'm crossing my fingers for the Escale-brothers. Having to tow and be towed all the way home has got to be extremely taxing. Not a good start of the rally for them.
Click to expand...

Barreda Crash

Myway said: ↑

Click to expand...

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

Bluebull2007 said: ↑

I'm sure Coma will be delighted with this result. Coma does not like Stage 2's so will be happy to follow.

So if Coma just sits behind Barreda tomorrow, Cyril will have to ride faster than both catch up this advantage. This is the trouble when there is a third spoke in the wheel (so to speak).

Assuming the above then at some stage Barreda will make a mistake which would put Coma in the lead and that would be when Cyril could catch up.

The thing is looking back to 2009-2010-2011, Coma always started in the lead and then began to pull away from Despres. After rest day Coma would let Despres win stages and he would just tail him, refusing to let him get a big lead and forcing him to open the stage each time.

So really having Barreda gives Coma a small safety net to ride fast, just following Barreda's tracks as he opens the stage at lightning pace.
Click to expand...

Dekatria said: ↑

Sunderland +4m33s, Pizzolito +8m9s, Przygonski +8m23s
Click to expand...

8340SU said: ↑

STAGE 1 TOP 10

Pos. N° Name Hours Time variation
3
BARREDA BORT JOAN (ESP)
12:49:31 02:25:31 -
2
COMA MARC (ESP)
12:48:08 02:26:08 00:00:37
1
DESPRES CYRIL (FRA)
12:47:11 02:27:11 00:01:40
22
DUCLOS ALAIN (FRA)
13:15:27 02:27:27 00:01:56
10
GONCALVES PAULO (PRT)
13:05:56 02:27:56 00:02:25
5
LOPEZ CONTARDO FRANCISCO (CHL)
12:56:55 02:28:55 00:03:24
23
PEDRERO GARCIA JUAN (ESP)
13:18:18 02:29:18 00:03:47
18
SUNDERLAND SAM (GBR)
13:14:04 02:30:04 00:04:33
17
METGE MICHAEL (FRA)
13:13:04 02:30:04 00:04:33
21
BOTTURI ALESSANDRO (ITA)
13:17:19 02:30:19 00:04:48
Click to expand...

.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

]Rubby with problems. Apparently taken BEFORE the start of SS1:

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

With Barreda winning SS1, followed by Coma +37", Despres +1'40 and Duclos +1'56" we have a Honda-KTM-Yamaha-Sherco result.

Sultan of Sand Sam Sunderland came in 9th at +4'33", Aussie Ben Grabham is in 11th +4'50.

HRC star Helder Rodrigues had yet unknown problems that cost him 8 minutes, he is down in 22nd. Same goes for his water carrier Javier Pizzolito who had to stop for him.

Flood · Jan 5, 2014

Rider's reactions after SS1 from the official site:

http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2014/us/stage-1/quotes-bike.html#ancre

Uller said: ↑

Cyril Depres-

"I got a bit emotional..."

"A winding special with lots of breaking and accelerating. 180 km of this was a great way to get the ball rolling! I took some time to find my bearings and ease into my pace. The first special is always tough when you come from cold Europe and you get thrown into the thick of things, so I'm happy to get good feelings. I got a bit emotional at the start, what with starting a new adventure... It was a difficult year, with the decision to move to Yamaha, and then having to prepare the motorcycle, working with the entire team... So when D-Day comes, it feels good to be racing again."

Duclos-

Important to hitch myself to the right wagon..."

"I'm over the moon because I had lots of fun, my Sherco didn't miss a beat and it was a real pleasure to ride on this type of course, where it almost rides itself. In short: fun, speed and a nice bonus at the finish with this result! It was important for me to do well from the beginning in order to hitch myself to the right wagon for upcoming stages.

Barreda-

"I'll try to keep it up"

"I'm really happy with the first stage. At the beginning I had some trouble easing into the race due to a slight problem with the suspension, but afterwards everything went smoothly. We'll work on it to ride even faster tomorrow. I'll try to keep up this pace in the next few stages."

Coma-

"I took things easy"

"First days at the Dakar are never easy. It's difficult to find and maintain your pace straight away. So I took things fairly easy and, as the day wore on, I got the right feelings and found the right pace. All things considered, I'm happy because it's important to clear the first stage without running into trouble, and that's just what I did."

Goncalves-

"Everything's going to plan for me and Honda"

"It was quite difficult for a first special, with a very slippery and tricky 180 km course, especially on the mountain sides: if you fall there, you're going all the way down! So I decided to take it easy at the beginning, but little by little I eased into the pace and gained some confidence. At the end I accelerated and posted the fifth best time on the finish line. I'm happy because my teammate Joan Barreda won the stage, which means I'll start just behind him tomorrow and we'll be able to work as a team. So everything's going to plan for me and Honda."
Click to expand...

Log in or Join

Dakar 2014 Cliff Notes Thread

Flood F5lood.

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Log in or Join

Useful Searches

Dakar 2014 Cliff Notes Thread

Flood F5lood.

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Bluebull2007 Adventurer

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.

Flood F5lood.