Dakar 2019

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I hear on the news, that the race is shorter and only Peru, due to finances. Hope the race will be good
 
They are destroying the single most epic endurance race ever to dawn on us humans. It started going south when it went, well, South. The Paris to Dakar was the best of the best.
 
Pitbull said:
They are destroying the single most epic endurance race ever to dawn on us humans. It started going south when it went, well, South. The Paris to Dakar was the best of the best.
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Paris - The 2019 Dakar Rally will be run solely in Peru with the start and finish in Lima, organiser Etienne Lavigne announced on Friday, adding the race aimed to return to Africa in 2020.
...

"We already have some avenues open, notably in Algeria, Angola and Namibia, where we've had very high-level talks with for several months," said Lavigne.

"If we can no longer host it in South America, we must find countries that have a topography that can offer up 10-12 days of competition," Lavigne said.

https://www.sport24.co.za/Motorsport/dakar-organisers-eye-african-return-in-2020-20180518
 
Southern Africa has everything a true Dakar needs.

Dunes in Namibia. Open desert spanning Namibia, Botswana and the Northern Cape. Green, rally-style terrain in Angola.

Start in Angola, blast down the skeleton coast in to the Namibian dunes, cross in to the Northern Cape and loop back up in to Botswana.

You could even finish in Cape Town. Angola-Namibia-Botswana-Northren Cape and finish in the shadows of Table Mountain. Could even cross the continent; Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa/Zimbabwe and finish in Mozambique.

And above all, Southern Africa is, all things considered, a lot safer than North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East (other regions with comparable terrain).
 
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Pitbull said:
They are destroying the single most epic endurance race ever to dawn on us humans. It started going south when it went, well, South. The Paris to Dakar was the best of the best.
Click to expand...
It has gone downhill since the event was forced out of Africa due to politics. I think I'm with @thestaggy: It would make sense to host it in Southern Africa if they want to stick to a theme of desert-rally-raid.
 
thestaggy said:
Southern Africa has everything a true Dakar needs.

Dunes in Namibia. Open desert spanning Namibia, Botswana and the Northern Cape. Green, rally-style terrain in Angola.

Start in Angola, blast down the skeleton coast in to the Namibian dunes, cross in to the Northern Cape and loop back up in to Botswana.

You could even finish in Cape Town. Angola-Namibia-Botswana-Northren Cape and finish in the shadows of Table Mountain.

And above all, Southern Africa is, all things considered, a lot safer than North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.
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Now this would be epic.

LCBXX said:
It has gone downhill since the event was forced out of Africa due to politics. I think I'm with @@thestaggy: It would make sense to host it in Southern Africa if they want to stick to a theme of desert-rally-raid.
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Yea I too like that idea.

And better coverage. They have also skimmed on the Coverage from what it was back in the day. 30 minute daily highlights is just not enough. need a have a channel running it for the full duration of the race
 
Standings after Stage 2

1547011316792.png

Loeb and Roma were blitz fast on stage 2, De Villiers finished 4th. Peterhansel got stuck in a dune for 20 minutes and I've no idea what happened to Al-Attiyah as he held a minute lead heading in to stage 2.
 
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Disaster for Giniel on stage 3. He struck a rock that destroyed his Hilux's sump, losing 4hrs30m and dropping him to 34th overall.

Things got even worse yesterday on stage 4. This time teammate Bernard Ten Brinke hit a rock and as the lowest running Hilux, de Villiers is now the donkey that will have to sacrifice his race if his teammates need assistance, that includes taking parts off of his car if Nasser or Bernard need them. He lost a further hour assisting Ten Brinke.

In some good news, Nasser Al-Attiyah seems like the man to beat so at least one of the Hiluxes is flying the SA flag.

1547204071093.png

Ten Brinke is 19th, 3hr21m behind.
De Villiers is 29th, 5hr59m behind.

We've gone from 3 Hiluxes in the top-10 to 1. :(
 
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Fantastic little video. Great to see that even though the race has shrunk in scope, it still has those Dakar moments.
 
Car standings after Stage 8.

1547622425641.png

Giniel has forced his way back in to the top-10 after a string of good finishes. 9th on Stage 5; 8th on Stage 6; 6th on Stage 7 and 4th on Stage 8. He'd easily be inside the top-5 if not for his accident and him having to assist a teammate as a result of being the lowest placed Hilux.

Teammate Bernard Ten Brinke is out of the Dakar, but it looks like Toyota will get two cars home in the top-10, barring a disaster.

Heartberak for Ricky Brabec on the bikes. He retired from the lead during Stage 8 and with his retirement that ended Honda's 30-year wait to win as well as the chance to become the first American to win the Dakar. Impressively, Toby Price took the lead on the bikes and he's ridden the whole race with a badly injured wrist.
 
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thestaggy said:
He'd easily be inside the top-5 if not for his accident and him having to assist a teammate as a result of being the lowest placed Hilux.

t.
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I haven't really followed the race, but wouldn't he easily have been in the lead if he didn't get lost for a day?
 
pinball wizard said:
I haven't really followed the race, but wouldn't he easily have been in the lead if he didn't get lost for a day?
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Nah, I doubt it.

He hit a rock and destroyed his sump. 4-hour penalty for that, plus the time lost coming to a stop and trying to fix the car. Another hour lost the following day when he had to stop and assist his teammate. At best he would be 6-hours better off. He's 7-hours off the pace so at best he'd be in the race for a podium.

Giniel's never been fast, he's just always been extremely consistent. The way Nani Roma has driven this year is usually the way Giniel drives. No (few) stage wins, but always finishing in and around the top-5, so it is safe to say that he'd be somewhere around 2nd - 6th.

Nasser Al-Attiyah has been on another level; clean, fast and consistent. Loeb is probably outright the fastest when he can get trouble-free runs.
 
Giniel's recovery drive continues, 3rd on Stage 9. Along with Stephane Peterhansel's withdrawal (His co-driver injured his back following a nasty landing) and a nightmare stage for Carlos Sainz, Giniel has now moved up to 8th.

Standings as they head in to the final Stage.

1547701738180.png

Loeb had another troubled day yesterday. Giniel would easily be on the podium now if not for his misfortune on Stage 3. But at least it looks like the locally-built Hilux will win in Al-Attiyah's hands.

The third Hilux driven by Bernard Ten Brinke withdrew on Stage 8.

On the bike front, we had a local rider - Stuart Gregory - contesting the Original class. The Originals are riders that contest the Dakar without any team support. All you get is a toolbox and you have to service and repair your own bike after every stage. He had been running 14th overall after Stage 7 before retiring with mechanical trouble on Stage 8. These guys and girls are considered the real heroes of the Dakar as they race in the spirit of the pioneers of the Dakar.

There is also another South African rider (Kenneth Gilbert) and a rider from Botswana (Ross Branch, nicknamed the ''Kalahari Ferrari'') competing in the main bike category. Branch is currently 12th overall and Gilbert is in 19th. They're both making their debuts, so they've ridden exceptionally well.
 
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