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

NOICE...

sorry if this is a repost , Are Leatt Brand neck braces mandatory or are there other brands acceptable ?

There are other brands (Alpinestars, Scott), and I think they are not mandatory... IIRC Jonah used to race without one

Tough going on todays F5-Stage 11, but finally caught up. You guys and gals have already said everything worth saying I think, and I've watched the FR4 and ES coverage. Amazing pictures, video, data and interviews. Caselli was FLYING!!!! :eek1

Kurt, Lyndon, Laia, Luis, Manuel and all the Dakar underdogs, utmost respect.

I was wondering about that youngest 19yr old rider entered this year, I forget what his name was from 900+ pages ago, how is he doing?

Tomorrow should break 1000 F5pages by mid-stage!

Robbie (?) Van Pelt, #147

43rd overall! Brilliant

Thanks, that's awesome too! One tough kid, hope he makes it all the way.

Robert van Pelt, indeed. His father rides along in one of the trucks.

And he's Malle Moto!


Arg... 11 hrs at work, 3 hours with wife and kid, and NO Dakar. How do people LIVE like this???

I tried to find a Rookie list for Mischa but didn't have much luck

If (b) is the case, I think you need to find their "slightly hidden" stash of photos and expose them!

No, Jonah wore a neck brace - in '09 at least.

Damn pity he (re)broke his wrist - he was in a solid 2nd place and looking good for a win should the leader ( Coma or Depres ? ) have had any issues.

Good morning y'all from Europe

If my pre-start observations were right this should be actual ranking of rookies.
Pos Name Make Time Variation Penalty
1 001 - DESPRES Cyril (FRA) KTM 33h48m29s +00:00:00 +00:15:00
15 040 - VAN NIEKERK Riaan (ZAF) KTM 59h24m29s +01:36:00 --:--:--
18 092 - ISRAEL ESQUERRE Jeremías (CHL) HONDA 59h52m39s +02:04:10 +00:27:00
19 057 - GRABHAM Ben (AUS) KTM 60h04m14s +02:15:45 +00:15:00
21 034 - METGE Michael (FRA) YAMAHA 60h31m52s +02:43:23 --:--:--
33 029 - CASELLI Kurt (USA) KTM 85h45m03s +03:56:34 +03:20:00
36 162 - FORMAN Tim (GBR) KTM 86h12m15s +04:23:46 --:--:--
41 156 - SMITH Todd (AUS) HONDA 134h45m51s +04:57:22 +00:15:00
42 087 - SOUVIGNET Romain (FRA) YAMAHA 134h48m30s +05:00:01 +00:15:00
43 103 - PATRAO Mario (PRT) SUZUKI 135h13m20s +05:24:51 +01:00:00
44 077 - CARDONA VAGNONI Nicolás Alberto (VEN) YAMAHA 135h15m13s +05:26:44 --:--:--
48 119 - DESPONTIN Mikael (BEL) KTM 136h17m55s +06:29:26 --:--:--
49 147 - VAN PELT Robert (NLD) HONDA 136h21m13s +06:32:44 +00:10:00
52 168 - POSKITT Lyndon (GBR) KTM 136h33m50s +06:45:21 --:--:--
59 089 - CUMMINGS Brett (ZAF) HONDA 137h23m25s +07:34:56 +00:15:00
60 083 - VAN GINKEL Alexander (NLD) KTM 137h30m56s +07:42:27 --:--:--
61 146 - MARTENS Sjaak (NLD) KTM 137h31m25s +07:42:56 --:--:--
66 196 - VILLARRUBIA Julián (ESP) YAMAHA 162h13m21s +08:24:52 +00:15:00
67 137 - BUSQUETS Alex (ESP) HUSQVARNA 162h29m39s +08:41:10 --:--:--
68 154 - BEAULÉ Patrick (CAN) KTM 162h30m30s +08:42:01 +00:30:00
73 159 - AGUILAR Jorge (SLV) KTM 163h03m06s +09:14:37 --:--:--
76 116 - BORRELL GONZALEZ José Israel (ESP) KTM 163h36m20s +09:47:51 +00:45:00
81 164 - HIRIGOYEN ANDR (FRA) KTM 164h06m05s +10:17:36 --:--:--
83 078 - ERASO ANGLADE Rafael Ernesto (VEN) YAMAHA 164h26m24s +10:37:55 --:--:--
88 167 - ORTIZ JUAN CRUZ (ARG) YAMAHA 164h55m42s +11:07:13 +00:15:00
94 184 - MORENO KRISTIANSEN MATEO (COL) KTM 166h36m56s +12:48:27 +00:30:00
96 153 - MAURI Fabio (ITA) YAMAHA 191h12m42s +13:24:13 +00:07:00
99 195 - ZUMARAN César (CHL) YAMAHA 191h35m20s +13:46:51 +00:31:00
102 190 - SARMIENTO JUAN ESTEBAN (COL) HONDA 195h04m05s +17:15:36 +00:15:00
105 189 - SALDARRIAGA Marco Antonio (COL) KTM 196h17m11s +18:28:42 +00:31:00
106 155 - ECHEVERRI MEJIA Juan Esteban (COL) YAMAHA 197h55m57s +20:07:28 +01:45:00
107 039 - FISH MATT (AUS) HUQSVARNA 202h47m10s +24:58:41 +09:15:00

I might be thinking of Quinn then... ?

Ivan Jakes has a strong support team back at home

Nice! Calling Mischa to the White Courtesy Telephone...

Most excellent!



So Mr. Nate, I"m sure this is a massive 205, but any chance of getting Casselli in on a Rally Radio interview?

AAHH, Thank you michalCCR.

was just gonna ask if we could start a list on Rookies, but you've sorted that out.

Laia and Miguel fought it well

Mission acomplished for Miguel Puertas
It is his ninth consecutive Dakar and the last 48 hours remind him only too well of just as exhausting a situation that he experienced on his first participation in 2004. At the time, Miguel Puertas raced to catch up time for 3 days and 3 nights before capitulating. Yesterday evening, when he arrived at the bivouac at La Rioja, Laia Sanz's water carrier was almost completely worn out. However, this time he is staying in the race. “After the day of stage 9, when I towed Laia almost right throughout the stage with a tow rope and we finished at 5 o'clock in the morning, we set off again after two hours of sleep. Due to the tiredness and because there was no longer anything at stake in the general standings, we decided to ride the stage together. We didn't have any mechanical problems, but our aim was simply to finish normally and recover to be able to get back into the pace of the race. The problem was that after 150 kilometres, the entire service core on Laia's bike (where the counters and Iritrack, amongst other things, are located) fell off. We think it was one of the falls the day before that damaged it. We attached it to Laia's camel-bag and set off again slowly. It weighs 10 kilos, so we took turns to carry it. As a result, we arrived at the bivouac at 10 PM completely exhausted. Over 48 hours and two stages, we only slept 6 hours”. After 32nd in 2010, his best result, and 63rd last year, Miguel Puertas, a Spanish air force pilot, has fulfilled his duties as an experienced and reliable water carrier. In Fiambala, he was savouring a plate of spaghetti, but also a job well done and just how far he has come since 2004 and the withdrawal in Bamako, on the 8th stage...