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

[Jurassic]

Originally Posted by XSpearsX

Never thought in the last minutes of the Dakar Luis would yet again make me pour out my water bottle for something stronger. Come on Luis!!!! We are waiting for you!

Come on Luis, let's do this one more time!

[silentwolf]

Originally Posted by Lobby

The 123 bike finished 14th?

Sounds like the Dakar organization needs a little help with the seeding.

Well, Pyn started 168, what now 48?

ASO may need to get planted before worrying about seeding..

[Smithy]

Originally Posted by misc

I don't remember exactly but I think I told them about my site years ago. I'm not sure though, but in my stats I saw traffic coming from their site every year. Very nice to get their feedback. Thanks all for making this year a succes again!

By this point, I think we underestimate the reach and influence of Team F5. Carlton knows us. Planet Robby knows us. ASO knows us. It's an exercise in soft power, but power there is among the rabid hoard of followers here.

[Clancy]

Originally Posted by Stagehand

Awesome of Robby, congrats, Mischa! HOw did he even know about you?



In other news:


Well after 15 days of waking up rushing to my iPad to see if my husband is still alive I can finally say it's over. Today I am one proud, excited, happy, amazed and inspired wife/ person... Rod has finished the Dakar in 14th position overall.
I'm sure you will here from him in the next couple of days with an update, so stay tuned for that if your interested.
Thanks heaps for all your support for him, Everybody has been amazing. Cherie

Brilliant effort

[Stagehand]

Originally Posted by misc

I don't remember exactly but I think I told them about my site years ago. I'm not sure though, but in my stats I saw traffic coming from their site every year. Very nice to get their feedback. Thanks all for making this year a succes again!

F5 Spies everywhere

[Drif10]

Originally Posted by XSpearsX

Never thought in the last minutes of the Dakar Luis would yet again make me pour out my water bottle for something stronger. Come on Luis!!!! We are waiting for you!

He's defending his finishing position, he worked too hard to throw that all away now.

[catas]

Originally Posted by Flood

Heh.
Today's stage result are now actually changed, showing Faria as stage winner and Lopez down in 39th, +14'31".

Did those idiots really include his 15' penalty in the stage times?

same as last year

[troy safari carpente]

Originally Posted by JMo (& piglet)

And on one engine! (albeit not his originally...) - he is the ultimate strategist!

Jx

This is the only fishbone in the throat of the rules... as far as the "intention" of the one engine rule is concerned anyway.

Originally when the formula 450 class was introduced (2011) the intention was that the engine was sealed and marked and regarded as a homogenous component of the chassis. The cylinder head and or engine case covers could be removed and components serviced, but the removal of engine from the frame and/or splitting of the bottom crankcase was cosidered as a "change of engine".

You were allowed to have spare engine(s) but this was subject to a ti,e penalty... 15 minutes for the 1st one, 45 for the second and any subsequent ones.

THEN someone worked out that a couple of various configuration motorcycles/engines could not be "worked on" (cylinder heads, engine case covers) WITH the engine still in the chassis (Aprilia RXV, KTM LC4) ans so the rule about the engine and frame being "disassociable with one another" was altered/massaged under 2011/12 to allow the engine to be removed UNDER OBSERVATION OF A SCRUTINEER.

This was fair enough - I thought - but at the time wondered how MANY scrutineers they must have had to have on hand to monitor (at least) the elite riders machines & teams?

Now it seems that the engine change rule has undergone (another) reading between the lines metamorphosis, to allow you to use another competitors motor... and provided that is THE DONORS original motor, the RECIPIENT is deemed to be on an original engine...?! What a croc of rocking horse shit that is!!!? *

So in my capacity as factory team strategist, all I have to do in future is enter a factory team of - say - SIX riders... Two Aliens one fast assist waterboy and three (lets call them drones) who have STRICT FUCKING INSTRUCTIONS TO RIDE AT TRAILRIDE PACE (minimum required to avoid houring out on the sweeper truck... but get the pecious "donor engines" to the bivouac each night) and are there more or less in the capacity to transport donor powerplant components from bivouac to bivouac. Theoretically a factory rider could use three or four powerplants during the rally - win - not get a time penalty and be considered to have finished on an "original engine"?

Or does the same 15 minute/45 minute subsequent penalty apply? (SEE EDIT/RETRACTION IN TWO PAGES)

That's a farce and a mockery of the rule book and principle of what a marathon rally is.

One thing for sure, Cyril Despres (and his team) are master tacticians, a brilliant rider with a cool head and he used all means available to him (quite within the rules) to take a much deserved 5th dakar title.

I don't begrudge him this victory at all... I just think that the logic and application of the engine change regulation is flawed in this instance, and use the example above to show it's inadequacy... if creating a level playing field - where machine reliability are parameters by which a marathon rally should be measured.



*Sorry if all this is old news, but it happened over the marathon stage/rest day and I was engaged in shifting house and about one hundred other things... so the engine swap of Depres/dabrowski was not at the top of my attention/priority list. It wasn't until the gravity (and absurdity) of JMo's post above (Cyril the strategist) hit me.

[Sparrowhawk]

Mischa,

Thanks so much for your hard work. Donation made.

One suggestion if you decide to do it all over again in 2014. It would really help those monitoring the race on small screens if there were a way to keep the first few columns with the riders' names stationary as you scroll right to keep up with the WP & CP times.

[cyborg]

Bring it in Luis!!

[silentwolf]

Originally Posted by Drif10

He's defending his finishing position, he worked too hard to throw that all away now.

After all this time he couldn't disappoint his devout followers could he..?




GO! GO! GO !!!!!

[Flood]

Originally Posted by Smithy

By this point, I think we underestimate the reach and influence of Team F5. Carlton knows us. Planet Robby knows us. ASO knows us. It's an exercise in soft power, but power there is among the rabid hoard of followers here.

Carlton just started following me on Twitter 2 days ago. But since then, he shared the Pyndon call and my status updates on the Brits today.

[bluesurf]

Originally Posted by Cuttle

seriously!

Luis push it home!!!!!

I can almost hear Luis saying "I *HAVE* BEEN PUSHING IT. Have a little more patience, people!"


He'll be at WP4 and the ASS soon enough.

[misc]

Originally Posted by Sparrowhawk

Mischa,

Thanks so much for your hard work. Donation made.

One suggestion if you decide to do it all over again in 2014. It would really help those monitoring the race on small screens if there were a way to keep the first few columns with the riders' names stationary as you scroll right to keep up with the WP & CP times.

I will try to be back of course! I will only not be there if I'm not allowed to. I didn't have time this year to optimize more for mobile use, but I will work on that later this year ;-) Thanks for the tip and I will be back better ;-)

[misc]

Originally Posted by Smithy

By this point, I think we underestimate the reach and influence of Team F5. Carlton knows us. Planet Robby knows us. ASO knows us. It's an exercise in soft power, but power there is among the rabid hoard of followers here.

Indeed that's ony of the reasons why I can't thank everybody here enough. I'm also glad ASO allows me to do it and I'm standby to help them if they need it ;-)