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

Cyril is still with Red Bull. Red Bull working with Husky? Seems unlikely. Still think he's trading two wheels for four. He's had a couple of medium-severity crashes as of late and has a new baby girl at home. Maybe Mrs Despres has motivated him to switch to slightly safer 4 wheeling.

Helder has always to my knowledge raced with a low profile and very small crew. Their previous efforts with great results were done from a van and a quickshade. He may not like the big team concept and may have got his way on this one?

Good luck to him!
Cheers
Pilbara

http://world.honda.com/Dakar/video/20130328/index.html

Interesting insight into their PR message. I seem to recall JC having to wait for spare parts from a Hummer to continue his race so the statement "...all three riders got minor problems but didn't stop their machine," (2:45) seems misleading.

Any new pics of the bike ?

It's true that Speedbrain owns all the rights but both Husqvarna and BMW rally bikes are very different from G450X enduro bike. G450X ran PDS, Husqvarna and rally bikes rally are using linkage in suspension.
Actually BMW/Speedbrain used a small and virtually unknown subcontractor to fix issues with G450X frame for Juha Salminen few years ago (everybody remembers how Knighter left BMW with a bang). For that purpose they manufactured 5-10 different frames which by the end of the season brought Salminen some victories in EWC already. The very same subcontractor manufactured frames for last year's Dakar bikes. It's true that design of these rally frames is based on 'Salminen' G450X frame but incorporates linkage and support for huge rear subframe-mounted tank. This year's Dakar bikes used evolution of these frames manufactured by Speedbrain itself.
So in fact Speedbrain frames have practically nothing to do with standard G450X frames. Different geometry entirely.
By the way - that small subcontractor devised and manufactures a device which became pretty popular among Advrider users recently. So for us here it is not so unknown anymore but owner of that little workshop still prefers to fly below the radar visibility range - so don't ask me :)

Sorry the new bike.

Any news on changes? (Safety improvements ...:) )

HRC are telling me there will be an announcement about the 2013 team some time after Abu Dhabi.

The new thumper of Joan Barreda.

More cc anyone?

The new baby girl at home is a very practical consideration. And also, speaking from a carreer/ego standpoint, with five Dakar wins is it possible to outdo himself? It would seem that to stand down from the sharpe edge without having been slain by it yet would be a very good strategic move. Perhaps thats why I'm not Cyril The Great, though

That's all I know. At least they're saying anything.

A good point... however, Peterhansel has Six...

Jx

Now I'm no rally expert, but I think this is an often overlooked and undervalued point. Especially for those who think Cyril is switching to 4 wheels. If was betting I'd bet he doesn't switch to cars until he has two more Dakar wins. Yep, two! I said it. I think he wants that record for himself. Seriously why would he make the switch now? It doesn't make any sense especially when he only needs one to tie that record.

I have a question.
What's the 450cc pioneer David Fretigne doing these days. I know he was slated to be on the Husky team is years past but things have been quiet since injury.
I miss his presence.
Anyone have news?

Tweet from Jago Pickering:

"Dakar Rally: Frontline to Finish Line ITV4

A new two part documentary is about to hit our TV screens. Starting on Wednesday 24th and finishing on Friday 26th of this month, Dakar Rally: Frontline to Finish Line will be on ITV4 at 9PM."


I wonder if it would be possible to get a url to stream this event via vlc media player. And, you know, watch a little snooker between shows maybe.