Have yet to see a thread so here goes... The OiLibya Rally of Morocco, originally scheduled as an international event, will replace the Pharaohs Rally in the 2013 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship Calendar. In order to maintain the number of events scheduled in the 2013 World Championship, the FIM, with the agreement of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Motocyclisme (FRMM) and the Organizer NPO, is bringing in the OiLibya Rally of Morocco as the final event of the 2013 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship 4 days till the start and so far we have seen the new Honda, the new KTM ... Cyril's bike went bang at the inca.. cant seem to find a entry list and dont know if he will be there. This IS the primer for Dakar 2014...
Good outside bet if 5 or so others have issues, got to be Coma, he'll be fighting all the way as the world championship depends on it! Oh and of course, my outside bet is Sam could be an inside one also that is providing he has something to ride in, now that the the bike to ride on is looking the part
Hoping HRC are doing that, and that it's better to have 2 sets than none, so do it now, or better still 2 days ago!
Hope they have that great online tracking like they did last year. Aside from the fact that the minute someone doesn't do well they throw the "we were just practicing for Dakar" card, this rally is probably second only to the big one. Bring it on, looking forward to seeing how it unfolds. New bikes, riders on new to them teams, etc
That's good to hear... I'm sure it was political why NPO lost their world championship status a couple of year's back, let's hope they retain it now, and perhaps see the reintroduction of the Tunisie too? I'm so in for this thread! Jenny xx ps. great route this year by the look of it too - it's going to be interesting with the finish over on that side of the country with the Merzouga Rally starting the day after!
By the way there is also the Baja Maroc, which starts 1 day before and the second stage is in common with the Rally. Andrea Mayer, Zanotti and Ruoso will be at the Baja only (and that's a pity)... I'm curious to see Ruoso for the first time racing on a different terrain only don't understand: how they will manage to have Baja riders (with no roadbook) and Rally riders (with roadbook) on the same tracks?
All sand this year. "Less than twenty kilometers of stony track" according to the NPO. To clarify a little confusion, Chavo is again racing the over 450 class in order to sew up the championship. Rules dictate the winner must contest 5 of 6 rallies. Points wise he cannot be caught but in order to secure the championship, he has to at least start Morocco. Oh and no more used mousse...hard lesson learned.
Sunderland, Rodriguez, Concalvez, Pain, Cardona, Verhoeven, Querales all of them in both races??? Merzouga and Rally Du Maroc??
Looking forward to what this event will bring, especially to see how the new bikes perform. It should be interesting to say the least!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rExiRDDB9gM&feature=share&list=UU58yBxyRrQo-59XGwEamZbQ Well, they all say it's quick - maybe Sam will be happier now his gear has been found and he can change his undies after 4 days
