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

[Stagehand]

Patrick Beaule:

Hi everyone! Just arrived at the hotel an hour ago. I am very tired! I took today's stage very easy and let all the riders who wanted to push go by. They was still a lot of "Dakar dream killer" rocks... I keep the wheel side up all day while I passed few guys with their engine destroyed. I help #163 to bump start his motor during the second half of the selective for 5-7 minutes but without any success for him :( on my side, I drove the last 200km with my hand up in the air showing up the "V" with my 2 fingers to the millions of fans beside the roads and highways. What a great feeling to have gone thru this HUGE challenge!!!!!! As many knows, I am dissapointed of my result. I said "result" because I am not dissapointed of my performance; I gave everything I had using my last 15 years of racing experience. The level of riders is now very high as per the organisation an as per the Elite list from the FIM. As a racer, I can tell you that it is more difficult to convince yourself to be patient in the dust instead of risking your Dakar going blind for few seconds. I promised myself that I would not do it once which I sticked to! I met Frede at the end of the last selective today and this brought me a very warm feeling of accomplishment. I filled up my Oakley goggles with tears between there and the finish line! :) As I said before, you can't go to the Dakar alone and I feel I had the the best team of the bivouac for 2013! I need to start with Bryan Flannigan who did an AMAZING job on the communications! My girlfriend Frede who was in charge of the visuals, project image, the KM program and much more! My mecanic JF Charlot who did and oustanding and professional work. He loved to swap my motor during the night of stage 4 whith none the less than Benjamin Melot (Cyril's mecanic). Just to give you an idea. I didn't had to get any tool out of my tool kit during the whole rallye! Many thanks to all the fans, donators to the KM program, I hope you proudly wear you ALDO/dakar T-shirt!! Thank you to everyone who trusted me me since the beginning! Thank you to my family (I LOVE YOU!!!!) This was the biggest dream of my life and the biggest project to prepare. LIVE YOUR DREAMS;DON'T WAIT!!!! Of course, this wouldn't have been possible without your help but also the help of all the sponsors. Pls support them by purchasing their products or simply "like" their page. The rider's name who towed me for 320km is Andrea Fesani. I will always remember you because you saved my dream!!! Stay tuned for the podium tomorrow. I have a surprise!!!! Good night and thank you a million times!!!



Cyril Despres:
From the outside looking in the Dakar is just an offroad motorcycle race but it really does consume so much of my life. I have to make lots of sacrifices such as not spending the amount of time I would like with my family. It’s only when I cross the finish line and feel the joy of winning this race again do I once again fully appreciate why I make all those sacrifices.

When I crossed the finish line today and counted my five victories on my hand I started to wonder where all the time has gone. Since my first victory in 2005 the following eight years has really flown past.

Of course every win at the Dakar is special but this one stands out for me because it is the first time I have been able to defend my title. Winning the Dakar two years in a row is rare and nobody has done it since Fabrizio Meoni ten years ago. Before Meoni there was Richard Sainct who won it two times in a row but for a decade nobody has been able to do it.

Now this time I don’t have to give my trophy to anybody else and that feels good. When you have won the Dakar one year and not won the next year like I had done three times you start asking yourself some tough questions. I think after retaining the title this year along with the KTM crew we can say we are the boss.

The Dakar is never a straightforward race and this year was no exception. You can never be sure of the win when there are days that you get lost in the desert, you don’t feel physically 100% or you have a small problem like I did with my fifth gear on the marathon stage. All you can do is never give up because this race is so long and everything can happen. I just stayed concentrated and did my best on each stage.

It’s great to have my team-mate Ruben Faria next to me on the podium because we share so much time training and racing together. I was pleased I was able to do my bit for Ruben on the Stage Twelve but his second place is his achievement and he should be proud of it.

Another of my great supporters is Red Bull and it’s great to know when you have won a race there is going to be a nice party waiting for you on the other side of the finish line. I can promise you we will be doing some hard partying in Santiago with the whole KTM crew.

[Lgo175]

[QUOTE

Cyril Despres:
From the outside looking in the Dakar is just an offroad motorcycle race but it really does consume so much of my life. I have to make lots of sacrifices such as not spending the amount of time I would like with my family. It’s only when I cross the finish line and feel the joy of winning this race again do I once again fully appreciate why I make all those sacrifices.

When I crossed the finish line today and counted my five victories on my hand I started to wonder where all the time has gone. Since my first victory in 2005 the following eight years has really flown past.

Of course every win at the Dakar is special but this one stands out for me because it is the first time I have been able to defend my title. Winning the Dakar two years in a row is rare and nobody has done it since Fabrizio Meoni ten years ago. Before Meoni there was Richard Sainct who won it two times in a row but for a decade nobody has been able to do it.

Now this time I don’t have to give my trophy to anybody else and that feels good. When you have won the Dakar one year and not won the next year like I had done three times you start asking yourself some tough questions. I think after retaining the title this year along with the KTM crew we can say we are the boss.

The Dakar is never a straightforward race and this year was no exception. You can never be sure of the win when there are days that you get lost in the desert, you don’t feel physically 100% or you have a small problem like I did with my fifth gear on the marathon stage. All you can do is never give up because this race is so long and everything can happen. I just stayed concentrated and did my best on each stage.

It’s great to have my team-mate Ruben Faria next to me on the podium because we share so much time training and racing together. I was pleased I was able to do my bit for Ruben on the Stage Twelve but his second place is his achievement and he should be proud of it.

Another of my great supporters is Red Bull and it’s great to know when you have won a race there is going to be a nice party waiting for you on the other side of the finish line. I can promise you we will be doing some hard partying in Santiago with the whole KTM crew.[/QUOTE]

The MAN and a GENTLEMAN at that.

[KTMInduro]

Wow - woke up this morning and was 80 pages behind . 3 hours lost in the dunes and now my Dakar is also finally done. My engine - an Asus laptop blew up on Day 4. No new engine available so the rest of my Dakar has been on an ancient HP antique . Felt like Louis sometimes but what a ride, what a chase , but also what a relief to finaaly get to the finish line. Life can go back to normal tommorow

Congrats to Cyril, Ruben, Chaleco and KTM. it will indeed be interesting to see how Honda and Husky deal with the overwhelming domination of KTM at Dakar.
I've heard on the grapevine that Husky Indonesia may be entering a team next year,so I will be following this closely to see if they do indeed get the first ever indonesian rider to the start line in 2014.

A huge to Pyndon & Louis and all the Privateers who finished. You are the true spirit of the Dakar.

Thanks to all the F5 crew who contribute so much to this thread. Every year i learn so much about RR from you guys lurking here in the background. You guys rock

See you all year.

[Dread Pendragon]

Originally Posted by Bluebull2007

It went something like this (pick any stage):

Well I started out real early and I rode and rode, and got past by lets see now...yes, one bike. No two....Ah..that was yesterday - well the day before actually...., Then i got passed by a lot of cars. The dust and track was terrible. Lots of fesh fesh. Then I got passed by a whole lot of trucks, and just before they were all gone, my bike died. So I pushed for 32 km and then I rested for 20 minutes before pushing another 5km, some guys helped me for a while until they had to go home. So I pulled out my last spare cylinder and fixed it. I got the bike going again and well here I am. By the way what stage is this?

Check out the fans in front of the truck at :07

[Lobster Grrl]

Maybe next year Luis will ride a 50cc Ruckus

[JayBo1]

Well that's it then?? Run and won ... what's for dinner?

I mentioned early in the race (about Stage 3 or 4 I think) that I was real busy with a major project for work so wouldn't be contributing to the F5irehose this year. I just want to say that I've really, really appreciated all the inside news I got to pick up here on ADV. This was undoubtedly the best source for the behind the scenes background and news on the pack. Thanks everyone.

This year I worked so that next year I can play. Which brings me to the news I am most desperate for ... where will I be for the start and finish next year? In which city will I be for Xmas in 2013? In which city will I be nursing a hangover at the finish?

Cheers
JayBo

[kaia]

Originally Posted by drgunther

Originally Posted by rallyman1978

RIP Thomas Bourgin

Originally Posted by troy safari carpente

i was really hoping to make the top poster's list this year... if only i got posting credit for all my media thread posts / cross-posts.

[kaia]

final photos up from Dakar.com, stage 13. posted over in the Dakar 2013 Media thread... JUST FOR YOU!


#12 - JUAN PEDRERO (ESP)









#51 - SIMON PAVEY (AUS)



#5 - JOAN BARREDA BORT (ESP)




tldr; posted over in the Dakar 2013 Media thread... JUST FOR YOU!


stage 14 on the way!

[zenjen]

I just bumped an old thread started by Luis B. #150, in case anyone wants to offer their congrats.

The thread is titled "Dakar 2013".

.

[Deadly99]

Originally Posted by JayBo1

Well that's it then?? Run and won ... what's for dinner?

I mentioned early in the race (about Stage 3 or 4 I think) that I was real busy with a major project for work so wouldn't be contributing to the F5irehose this year. I just want to say that I've really, really appreciated all the inside news I got to pick up here on ADV. This was undoubtedly the best source for the behind the scenes background and news on the pack. Thanks everyone.

This year I worked so that next year I can play. Which brings me to the news I am most desperate for ... where will I be for the start and finish next year? In which city will I be for Xmas in 2013? In which city will I be nursing a hangover at the finish?

Cheers
JayBo

Good luck next year, I along with many of the F5 crew look forward to cheering you on

[Bluebull2007]

Originally Posted by kaia

final photos up from Dakar.com, stage 13. posted over in the Dakar 2013 Media thread... JUST FOR YOU!

tldr; posted over in the Dakar 2013 Media thread... JUST FOR YOU!


stage 14 on the way!

Thank you VERY much!!!

You can have my bronze

[Bluebull2007]

Originally Posted by Deadly99

Good luck next year, I along with many of the F5 crew look forward to cheering you on

+1

[Dread Pendragon]

Originally Posted by Dread Pendragon

Check out the fans in front of the truck at :07

I'm waiting impatiently for someone else to be amused by those guys. Amused and disgusted.

Red Toyota arrives at ASS.

[cyborg]

Originally Posted by kaia

I was really hoping to make the top poster's list this year... if only i got posting credit for all my media thread posts / cross-posts.

kaia, thanks so much for posting all those awesome shots this Dakar!

You can have my Bronze too. I was surprised to see I was in the F5 Top 20 given during the week I rarely had time for this addictive F5irehose thread.

P.S. I have a '07 990S Dakar too.

[Cpt. Ron]

If only I didn't have a job and family, I could have kept my neck above water.....

Thank you all for the effort to give us the information we wanted. Time to dehydrate....