Dakar 2013 - Official Event Coverage - thank you ALL TeamF5, lurkers and posters!

[troy safari carpente]

Originally Posted by Brodovitch

That's a tough one to explain. In Africa I thought it was much more of an endurance event - the new formula seems to me more like daily sprints: all out full gas. The tracks were 90% pure Offroad. Due to lack of infrastructure if nothing else.

If you want liaison to specials factoring, I think they are roughly the same as in SA. I might be wrong though

Percentage of special/liason (once in Africa) was much the same... but the difference was that many of the liasons were as long (or longer) as the specials, and (almost) as tough (non formed roads and tracks across the desert mostly... as opposed to the sealed roads (or at worst, fairly major gravel roads) that have been common in South American editions.

On (some) specials/liasons in Africa, the only difference in character was that the special was timed to the second, while the liason had a "due time" that you had to respect at the finish control and book in on time... if you were late, you got a road penalty.

As Brodo said, the Sth American "El Dakaro's" have been more like big long traditional marathon stage rallys; with one (sometimes two) Special Stages each day, linked with equally long (or longer) liason transport stages which use the public road network of the nations that host the event... In the "Africa days", just getting to a place like Agadez or Timboctu were a challenge in itself... no motorhomes in the bivvy's back then...

[Hayduke]

I don't want to spam this thread, but I keep getting PM's and emails from people asking about F5 tee shirts this year. Yes, I'm doing them.... They will be available to PRE-ORDER until the 20th, then I will be printing and shipping after that (probably a week later).

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

Proceeds will help the site a little; hope to send a decent check to Baldy as a thank you for giving us a place to discuss the greatest race!




BTW this is the final design, on a sand color tee shirt. If you don't want the shirt, I encourage you to still support the site by hitting the donate button and sending Baldy a little love!


Sorry for the

[Stagehand]

[Flood]

Originally Posted by ric678

Question for the Dakar historian here, When the rally was still going to Africa was there more real offroad racing?? Or still about 50%

Thanks

Usually there were a couple of European stages on gravel roads in forests before they went on the ferry to Morocco. There they had 1-2 days of rocky gravel roads, often crossing cold mountain ranges. The big dunes started in Mauritania.

The difference is that in SA they have to run convoluted loops to stay in somewhat open desert territory while the assistance vehicles -often standard campers- go on the main roads. In Mauritania, there was NOTHING for 100s of kilometers. No friendly Chileno with a pick up truck, just a few Touaregs with AK47s oncamels.

[Flood]

@PLANETROBBY

So we are hearing a possible gearbox issue is what might have caused the delay for Robby Gordon. Unofficial. Unconfirmed.

.

[Balkan Boy]

Originally Posted by troy safari carpente

On (some) specials/liasons in Africa, the only difference in character was that the special was timed to the second, while the liason had a "due time" that you had to respect at the finish control and book in on time... if you were late, you got a road penalty.

I thought this was still the rule for liaisons.
No?


Only two +400km liaisons (for the bikes) this year. Most are around 100-150km witch isn't so bad.

[Flood]

Originally Posted by Balkan Boy

I thought this was still the rule for liaisons.
No?


Only two +400km liaisons (for the bikes) this year. Most are around 100-150km witch isn't so bad.

What Troy is saying, I assume, is that both special and liaison were under off road conditions. Just because there weren't any roads to speak of.

In SA, when the special is over, you hop on the Panamericana, wave to the kids and maybe stop at a roadside café if you have time.

[Dekatria]

Planet Robby: possible gearbox issue is the UNCONFIRMED, unofficial report

[drc42]

Originally Posted by Balkan Boy

I thought this was still the rule for liaisons.
No?


Only two +400km liaisons (for the bikes) this year. Most are around 100-150km witch isn't so bad.

Yes, still the rule but I believe the point was in Africa the liasions were sometimes as difficult as the race making a penalty more likely. In SA most of the liasions are on paved or good roads and not as difficult to make your start time.

[Flood]

The 2013 Dakar gets underway with a short 13 kilometre prologue south of Lima. Victory on the stage went to ‘Chaleco’ Lopez ahead of Frans Verhoeven. Cyril Despres (KTM Redbull) finished 5th with his team mate Ruben Faria just behind in 7th.



Cyril Despres



Today’s stage was like a long prologue, designed to decide the start order for tomorrow’s special, and as always there was a certain amount of tactical riding. Just to make it a bit more complicated the organisers gave the stage a ‘coefficient of 5’, meaning that the time for the stage was multiplied by 5. Apparently Chaleco’s tactic was just to go as fast as possible, while Helder Rogrigues was willing to lose some time overall to start down in 29th place tomorrow. Finally I simply decided to ride at a normal pace to finish 5th which seems to me a good position to start tomorrow. My team mate Ruben (Faria) judged it perfectly to finish just behind me.



Starting positions and tactics aside, it was good to get going today. On the 30th there was the start from home in Andorra, then there was the start of the rally yesterday with the briefing, but now at last we start the race in the middle of the desert and that makes me very happy.



Speak to you tomorrow.



Cyril

[troy safari carpente]

Originally Posted by Balkan Boy

I thought this was still the rule for liaisons.
No?


Only two +400km liaisons (for the bikes) this year. Most are around 100-150km witch isn't so bad.

Yes... again... the only discernable difference between many DAKAR stages back in the days of black africa was that the "liason" had a due time, whereas the "specials" were timed to second other than that the roads/terrain covered were often the same; erg. I remember one start control out in the middle of nowhere after the frontier between Mauritania and Mali after driving a liason for a few hundred k's... there was a control point, stop wait half hour, book in start the "special stage"... and it was just more of the same...

You are correct, that the timing procedures for liasons and specials are the same today as then... the DIFFERENCE I was illustrating is that the liasons in Sth America are (mostly) on sealed public roads or (sometimes) major dirt roads... but not the wilderness of many of the African liasons.

Hope I explained it better that time...?

[Deadly99]

Great start to the race

[wrk2surf]

Originally Posted by Dekatria

Planet Robby: possible gearbox issue is the UNCONFIRMED, unofficial report

perhaps he ground the gears without stopping the motor when he shifted to reverse trying to jump the podium

[Deadly99]

Granted it was a shorty but how about #160 & 186 (2 Chileans).....prologue makes sense....182 less bikes to pass tomorrow

[troy safari carpente]

Originally Posted by Dekatria

Planet Robby: possible gearbox issue is the UNCONFIRMED, unofficial report

Funny that... I thought to myself as RG was on the ceremonial podium, getting ready to back up for his jump... "hmmm... he seems to be having a spot of trouble picking up reverse...?"

At that point my mind wandered back to something that StrongBad said in the RG at DAKAR 2013 thread a week or so back;

Strong Bad
n00balicious



Joined: Oct 2007
Oddometer: 2,712

Been around for a long time. In Offroad racing an Albins tranny is commonly linked through a torque converter and NOT through a clutch. You have to start the car in gear and the biggest drawback is you have to shut the car off for going into reverse (off-shift into reverse-start-move back-shut car off-shift into 1st-start car) If you try to shift into first with car running and car stopped it either wont go or it goes and blows the tranny. Likewise with reverse which is the weakest gear in the Albins. The huge advantage is that the torque converter provides a hydraulic damper between the motor and gearbox causing both to last much much longer. However, I digress because Robby uses a clutch. Reverse is still the weak link in an Albins. Drivers say that if you have to use reverse on the race course you already screwed up, so don't get excited and try to jam it into reverse and make things MUCH worse! Clutchless shifts are possible but you need to "blip" the throttle to take the pressure off of the dogs. BTW a tranny like that will set you back about $40K, Robby prolly has 4 or 5 of them in the support trucks.