Official- 2011 Dakar Rally Preparation and Lead-Up Thread

Go Jenny! I've been waiting for the t-shirts to be available.

Best of luck to you!

28 days and counting...

Dave

28 days until my boss gets pissed off, my wife begins to whine, my f5 key gets worn out, I exceed my bandwidth due to torrents......and we get to kick back in front of our screens cheering on our favourites. Yehaa ! Better than Christmas...Dakar is coming :)

I hate waking up early on my birthday, so maybe I'll let the first day get watched in "recap" mode. Can't wait for this thing to start!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRp-85As3PA

Just saw the official trailer, and am wondering about the fantastic "Han Zimmer-esque" track that comes on at around 3.20. I know there are some music lovers here .... :)

Bravo to all contenders - hope to get some some decent coverage here in Canada - alas, on Speed channel these days, it's NASCAR and Barnett almost every time I turn to that channel -

thanks!

dl

https://morrismotorcycles.wufoo.com/forms/buy-a-kilometer-of-annies-dakar2011/

A nice girl!

Oh yeah!!!

Great susprise after the small jump and fall in the midle of the mud...:eek1:eek1:eek1

Thanks for the video...

I too am really looking forward to the race! So what is the best way to keep track, via video, or text, of the Dakar, here in the USA? Last year I watched the "verses" television station which had some limited coverage, but I would sure like to be able to get more info than that.

Thanks

Also, great video, really enjoyed that. I would love to ride the H&L someday, it just looks like a blast. I am sure by the time I am able they too will be a big huge race and have out-priced me... haha

right here on adv, you wont believe the amount of info that comes together here from all the rallt trainspotters around the globe , not to mention live call ins from satges & bivuacs. We often know whats happening before the team managewrs & service crews.

If you havent been here for Dakar yet you are in for a treat not to mention wearing out the F5 key

Has caught my interest!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VYoOp-nJ9k&feature=player_embedded

Enjoy!

Do we know if OLN will be airing highlights this year? Thay did not last year.

This is true! - I'll certainly be calling in to Rally Raidio (www.rallyraidio.net) as regularly as I can, plus feeding info back to you all via this Facebook page that has been set up on my behalf:

Dakar 2011 - follow me on Facebook!

Please feel free to cross post info from those sources into this thread here!

Jenny xx

ps. and check out JennyDakar.com too of course x

Hi all. Some news from the antipodes.

The GHR Honda Australia blog site is now up and running.

There should be plenty of updates coming over the next 3 weeks before the event.

http://ghrhonda.dirtbike.com.au/

http://ghrhonda.dirtbike.com.au/blog-dakar-2011/

Tredici Aprilia alla Dakar 2011

Il team Aprilia Giofil si presenta in forze alla trentaduesima Dakar, in programma dal 1° al 16 gennaio in Argentina e Cile. Cinque piloti ufficiali e otto privati tenteranno l’assalto alla corsa sudamericana, capitanati da Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez.

Mancano tre settimane all’inizio della 32^ edizione della Dakar. Per il terzo anno consecutivo il rally più celebre al Mondo sarà ospitato in Argentina e Cile e quest’anno la categoria moto/quad ha registrato il tutto esaurito, con 230 equipaggi al via.

Tra questi, pronti ad affrontare i 9605 chilometri del percorso, suddivisi in tredici tappe, non poteva certo mancare il team Aprilia Giofil. Forte del terzo posto assoluto ottenuto nella passata edizione, la compagine guidata da Filippo Assirelli si presenta non solo con grandi ambizioni e motivazioni, ma soprattutto decisamente rafforzata nel proprio assetto.

L’uomo di punta sarà ancora il cileno Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez, carico a mille per la sfida che per metà si svolgerà nel suo paese. La limitazione imposta da ASO ai top driver, che potranno correre la Dakar con moto di 450 cc, sarà il filo conduttore della Dakar 2011, con molte squadre ufficiali schierate a partire da KTM, che negli ultimi anni ha monopolizzato la corsa. Proprio in questa rinnovata sfida Aprilia è decisa a recitare un ruolo da protagonista: le RXV 4.5 Tuareg hanno un anno di esperienza e sviluppo condotto sia nelle gare in Africa che con vari test e il già elevato potenziale della moto è cresciuto ancora.

La potenza e l’affidabilità del motore bicilindrico, le ultime modifiche alla ciclistica e le nuove mappature della centralina elettronica saranno le armi a disposizione di Lopez per cercare un grande risultato alla Dakar. Il cileno, come lo scorso anno, potrà contare sul catalano Gerard Farres nel ruolo di “portatore d’acqua”, un aiuto prezioso in una gara lunga come la Dakar.

Ma un altro iberico è appena entrato a far parte del Team Aprilia Giofil: si tratta di Joan Barreda, giovane proveniente dal cross e dall’enduro, che da poco si è affacciato nella scena delle Baja e dei grandi Rally. Barreda è già considerato l’astro nascente della disciplina e alla Dakar cercherà di tenere fede alla propria fama di pilota velocissimo.

Altra new entry nel team è quella del franco/congolese Alain Duclos, da molti anni uno dei privati più veloci in assoluto. Lo scorso anno Duclos terminò la Dakar in sesta posizione assoluta e quest’anno cercherà di migliorare ancora in sella all’Aprilia Tuareg.

Ultimo, ma non per importanza, il nostro Alex Zanotti. Il sammarinese sarà l’unico a correre con la versione “light” della Tuareg 4.5, moto che ha già dimostrato un ottimo potenziale al Pharaons Rally. Naturalmente Alex cercherà di mettere a frutto l’esperienza fatta lo scorso anno, con l’obiettivo primario di portare a termine la Dakar in un’ottima posizione.

Ma il team Aprilia Giofil, oltre ai cinque piloti ufficiali, seguirà anche altri otto piloti privati, tutti in sella alle bicilindriche RXV. Si tratta dell’italiano Francesco Beltrami, del danese Jes Munk, dei belgi Frank Verhoestraete e Jean-Pierre Lejeune, degli olandesi Wouter Van Der Beek e Erik Koffman, del greco Vasilis Orfanos e dello spagnolo Antonio Gimeno.

Tredici piloti in totale, che saranno assistiti da dieci meccanici e tre manager, uno spiegamento di forze importante, che potrà contare su due camion 6x6 e tre auto 4x4 per l’asssitenza. Senza dubbio il team Aprilia Giofil sarà il più numeroso alla Dakar 2011, che prenderà il via il 1° gennaio dall’obelisco di Avenida 9 de Julio, a Buenos Aires.

http://www.giofil.com/press/107/

Italian to English translation


The Aprilia team Giofil forces is presented in the thirty-Dakar, to be held from 1 to 16 January in Argentina and Chile Five riders and eight individuals will attempt an assault on the South American race, led by Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez.

Missing three weeks at the start of the 32nd edition of the Dakar. For the third consecutive year, the most famous in the World Rally will be hosted in Argentina and Chile, and year in the motorcycle category / quad has sold out, with 230 teams at the start.

Among them, ready to face the path of 9605 km, divided into thirteen stages, could not miss the Aprilia team Giofil. Building on the third place achieved in the past year, the team led by Philip Assirelli occurs not only with great ambitions and motivations, but also significantly strengthened in its structure.

The point man will still be the Chilean Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez, load much for half the challenge will take place in his country. The limitation imposed by the ASO top drivers who will race the Dakar motorcycle of 450 cc, will be the theme in the Dakar 2011, with many teams from KTM officers deployed, which in recent years has dominated the race. Just this renewed challenge Aprilia is determined to play a leading role: the RXV 4.5 Tuareg have one year of experience and development conducted in both races in Africa that the various tests and the already high potential of the bike is still growing.

The power and reliability of the twin-cylinder engine, the latest changes to the chassis and the new mapping of the electronic weapons will be available to Lopez look for a great result at the Dakar. The Chilean, like last year, will rely on the Catalan Gerard Farres the role of "water carrier", a valuable aid in a long race like the Dakar.

But another Iberian has just joined Team Aprilia Giofil: This is Joan Barreda, young from the cross and dall'enduro, who recently appeared at the scene of Baja and the great Rally. Barreda is already considered the rising star of the discipline and the Dakar try to live up to its reputation as a fast driver.

Other new entries in the team is that of the Franco-Congolese Alain Duclos, for many years one of the fastest ever private. Last year the Dakar Duclos finished in sixth position overall this year and will try to improve in Aprilia Tuareg.

Last but not least, our Alex Zanotti. The San Marino is the only one to run with the "light" version of the Tuareg 4.5, motion that has already demonstrated a great potential to the Pharaohs Rally. Of course Alex will try to capitalize on the experience of last year, with the primary objective to complete the Dakar in a great position.

But the Aprilia team Giofil, in addition to the five official drivers, followed by eight other private riders, all riding the twins RXV. It is of Italian Francesco Beltrami, Dane Jes Munk, Belgians Verhoestraete Frank and Jean-Pierre Lejeune, the Netherlands Wouter Van Der Beek and Eric Koffman of greek Vasilis Orfanos and the Spaniard Antonio Gimeno.

Thirteen riders in total, who will be assisted by ten mechanics and three managers, a major deployment of forces, which will rely on two 6x6 and three 4x4 trucks for ASSISTANCE SERVICES. Without doubt the team will be the largest Aprilia Giofil the Dakar 2011, which will begin on 1 January obelisk on Avenida 9 de Julio in Buenos Aires.

Does anyone have good maps from argentina? Im following the race and want to have the printed maps on my tank bag..

Thanks

While you're at it, put this in your GPS:
http://www.proyectomapear.com.ar/
That's what we had when we chased the race on bikes in 2009. It worked pretty well in Argentina and Chile, and it's FREE.

I have been reading so much about the Dakar race I had to get out and ride. It is 20 degrees F here, but the inspiration was overwhelming. Thought I'd ride to Paris.(Ohio)

Thanks HogWild, Ill certainly do that!

JOAN BARREDA

Foto: Niki Martinez. Enduropro.com