2013 Dakar - go the Aussies !!

[Desertboner]

Originally Posted by SafariBerg

if you look at the final results, lots of the top 30 have done the whole rally on the same motor..............................makes all the guff about UXB 450's a lot of bollock's...............they are as easy as strong as the big bore single's of the pre 450 limit era

SafariBerg, as always you are sure right and stats tell the story. Nearly 70% completion rate this year which is by far the highest ever achieved in the past 34 years. Previous high was 60% in 2003 with an low of 17% in 1987.

There is a positive improvement in the last 34 years. What factors do think have had the most influence on this, the bikes, the riders or the switch to South American?

[CBVRacing]

Congratulations to the largest Australian contingent ever, it was so nice to see so many of you having a go in 2013.
Congratulations to the riders and drivers, but also to all the support teams, not enough is said about them and driving with no sleep, even on the road, is no fun.
Whether you finished or not, i bet you have learned something about yourself, and now the question remains...."what are you going to do about it?"
The answer in 2014? ;)
Happy celebrations now.
BRAVO

[SafariBerg]

Originally Posted by Desertboner

SafariBerg, as always you are sure right and stats tell the story. Nearly 70% completion rate this year which is by far the highest ever achieved in the past 34 years. Previous high was 60% in 2003 with an low of 17% in 1987.

There is a positive improvement in the last 34 years. What factors do think have had the most influence on this, the bikes, the riders or the switch to South American?

in order of most influence i believe

1 the weather, overall it was the coolest Dakar in south america, eg Fiambala weather was cool and limited impact this year compared to previous, just over 30C instead of 45-50C of recent years plus it had rained and the dunes had traction etc really only a couple of real hot days the whole event.........heat knocks out riders & motors

2 the quality of the field, lots of skilled riders, the top 50 or more starters were all nearly ex national champs back home at some stage

3 the bikes are very reliable

riders who have done a south america Dakar before said they thought it was easier this year, look at the time splits from winner to 10th, very tight, similar to the spread of the top 3 or 4 usually

[Desertboner]

Thanks SafariBerg;

Here the same graph with the numbers of starters and completed

[2upAussie990]

I haven't read the stroy, but the bad fuel that killed Bruce Garlands Dakar, was it not fuel from a Dakar controlled fuel stop, or did he scrape fuel from a 30 year drum they found somewhere.
Was he the only 1 to suffer from that refill if it was a Dakar fillup, surely if the Dakar organisers had supplied dodgy fuel then he should have been allowed to restart or not.

[Hay Ewe]

FANTASTIC effort all round
Well done all drives, riders and team support etc

(have been following from the side lines when able to)

Hay Ewe

[Gimme 2]

Originally Posted by Resist

All six of the Aussie riders are in! Overall Results:
Rod Faggotter 14th!, Ben Grabham 15th, Warren Strange 24th, Todd Smith 32nd, Simon Pavey 53rd, Matt Fish 110th, YES!
Paul Smith seventh on the quads! Epic result.

Did'nt Jake Smith come 32nd in 2011? same as his brother.
That'll do their brotherly rivalry a load of good , love that.
For me BG is the stand out, all are bloody awesome really. But with a comeback from injury it has to be said, he did an outstanding feat!

[davorallyfan]

Dakar over.

I really enjoyed this one.

Fish and Husky's effort were my personal faves.

[Brute]

Great effort Rod & all the rest of the Aussies .

[troy safari carpente]

Originally Posted by davorallyfan

Dakar over.

I really enjoyed this one.

Fish and Husky's effort were my personal faves.

+1



I think Matt's team ethic effort (and glimpses of his outright potential) both at Marocco in October and during this Dakar; together with the Husky/Speedbrain team, and on top of the foundation he has laid (together with mentor/former sponsor at CPW/KTM) in the Safari over the last three/four years, will see the Fish go on to bigger an better things in world of rally raid for sure.



Rod F... what a tradesmans effort! After his debut on dakar with Garry SafariBerg's Husa Australia team in 2012, Rod built on that experience, tossed his eggs back in his cherished "Yamaha" basket (I mean, he is a Yamaha dealer after all ) and leased a deal ride with the Yamaha Europe outfit for Dakar 2013. All his Safari background and a years Dakar experience under his belt... with a sound team behind him... 14th is a just reward!



Grabbo... everyone in Oz knows what a talent/force of nature this bloke is. After the devastating injury last easter at the Condo 750, it's amazing the guy is up and walking... much less riding a motorcycle... racing one... in the toughest rally in the world!? If grabbo goes back to dakar in 2014... with KTM behind him, with a good build up over 2013 - maybe a FIM rally or two, and a fourth Safari title in his swag (maybe?), I would say without too much hesitation that Ben could start Dakar 2014 with a legitimate shot at running top 15's from day one... similar to other "new" KTM blood like USA's Kurt Caselli or a number of the other rented guns at KTM from europe, South Africa etc.



Strange Warren; 24th place in his 2nd Dakar... on top of a second outright at the 2012 Oz safari... legend! An inspiration to old fast blokes eveywhere! A damned fine ride by a damned fine rider!



SmithyT... Todd went to Dakar this year for his first time, with GHR behind him (they've been there twice previous as a team) and no doubt a little uneasy that his bro' and team mate Jake was not there as well... but with the advice of the other Smith probably engrained in his mind; "you can't comprehend it... till you are there for yourself mate..." or words to that effect? The result... placing wise -EXACTLY- the same as brother Jake came away with in 2011. The conclusion: these two guys (if teamed up on good bikes, with a good team behind them - both of which the GHR outfit are able to provide) with a budget that allows them to get to one or two other international rallies during 2013 and prepare - along with their Oz safari/domestic racing schedule, then both of the Smith boy's are capable of running top 20 in the Dakar from day one in 2014. It's just a question of budget and planning I reckon... all the ingredients are there now.



Si Pavey... what do you say...? Unstoppable. he might be an ex-pat Aussie and sound more like a welsh miner than an ocker these days... but everytime he opens his mouth or smiles at the camera I am reminded of AJC. Always a fun remark, never too down in the dumps - even if the chips are stacked unfavourably - and nine times out of ten... he comes through it like a champion. Great ride Mr Pavey!



Paul Smith... well, for a Quad(raplegic) you sure did the ADVRider and all the Oz safari fans out there proud mate. 7th place on debut at Dakar (and a stage win... and a real stage I might add; not some mickey mouse prologue or similar... he navigated his way to that stage win! ). THIS is an accomplishment for sure! Back at it next year to give those Patronelli's some hurry up eh?

To all the back up support personel and mechanics that supported these guys... JOB WELL DONE! The team members in the dusty trenches at dakar are every bit as much a part of a good result as the riders themselves and deserve their recognition as well!

To the Aussie riders that fell short of the finish podium this year... comiserations... but respect for giving it a shot. If it was easy, everyone could do it, and just anyone can't. So kudos for that.

Cheers to all that followed the dakar this year, here at ADVRider, via SBS, dakar.com, facebook or wherever... see ya' in the real world soon I hope.

[coak]

Fantastic event this year, and awesome to follow the daily updates.

The Aussie contingent did an amazing job - hopefully we'll see even more compete next year!

Matt Fish's 3rd on the stage was a highlight for me, as was Rod's consistency.

Brilliant to see Grabbo racing so well after his injury too!

My money's on one of these guys cracking the top 10 next year...

[*nick*]

quick summary of the bikes for the Rallye, no mention of the Australians but good viewing.

[MacMan]

SmithyT... Todd went to Dakar this year for his first time, with GHR behind him (they've been there twice previous as a team) and no doubt a little uneasy that his bro' and team mate Jake was not there as well... but with the advice of the other Smith probably engrained in his mind; "you can't comprehend it... till you are there for yourself mate..." or words to that effect? The result... placing wise -EXACTLY- the same as brother Jake came away with in 2011. The conclusion: these two guys (if teamed up on good bikes, with a good team behind them - both of which the GHR outfit are able to provide) with a budget that allows them to get to one or two other international rallies during 2013 and prepare - along with their Oz safari/domestic racing schedule, then both of the Smith boy's are capable of running top 20 in the Dakar from day one in 2014. It's just a question of budget and planning I reckon... all the ingredients are there now.

This is only the second time the team competed. ONE Dakar previously.

[BrotherT]

The Aussie contingent did themselves and us proud - well done on finishing the toughest one so well!
Thanks too to the contributors to this thread with the latest updates and inside information. Much appreciated.
I have huge respect for the riders' ability and endurance - what a race to watch.
Cheers!
BrotherT

[rallye]

Well done to all the Aussie riders !!.
its great to see such a good finsh rate ,and some very consistant riding from all of them, Warren did good for an old bloke .I hope next year there will be a good strong contingent from Aust too.
Well done