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Dakar 2019

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Dakar 2019, the 40th anniversary, starts in just over 3 days. Andrew Short from Smithville is running again this year. Looks like coverage for the US is RedBull TV and NBCSN. Robby Gordon is running again this year after a two year break. He's always good for a few laughs.
 
Robby Gordon met me at Talledaga years back. He’s a character.

I’m going with Toby Price for the win on bikes. I hope Laia Sainz does good now that she’s on team ktm
 
Excited about this. Will this be the year KTM loses?
 
... I’m going with Toby Price for the win on bikes. I hope Laia Sainz does good now that she’s on team ktm

Tobes is tougher than an old boot so I wouldn't bet against him but he's playing with a broken wrist so . . . . . ??? With the preponderance of dune stages, I'm thinking Sam Sunderland might be the one to beat. And Laia's been dealing with some sort of flu bug thing so let's hope she's whipped that.

Excited about this. Will this be the year KTM loses?

Nope
 
I’m hoping Toby slows down a bit because of his wrist and uses more of his navigation skills to be the sleeper and grab the win. But a broken wrist has got to be painful at any level of
 
Going to be interesting. It's shorter (10 stages), mostly dunes/sand & in one country (Peru). Reading between the lines of the various press releases all of the proposed hosts balked at the fees (and all except one, bailed) and by the looks of a schedule that's much cheaper to run, Peru had the upper hand in the negotiations (read as less $$ for the orga). Coma's departure only adds to the intrigue.

There's rumors of a return to Africa but I'm not sure the security situation is any better there now than it was during the debacle of 2008.
 
I would love to go down there and ride the dunes.... I look forward to seeing how Short does.
 
I'm friends with some current & previous competitors, the feeling is that for the bikes it has become a little too NASCAR'ish. Drop $35K on a KTM Rally 450 and you've got a stage win capable Dakar bike. Some are lamenting the loss of diversity on the podium particularly in the lack of anything aside a big single & the 450cc capacity limit.

Edit; interesting article

https://www.hartenduro.at/stories/w...Zi7dXW6w68D957A9HCKEZwOcB-AsIZP-YPtPCrs-ubQ10
 
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I like the idea of going back to tube tires. That alone will make them slow down and use more caution. But I really don’t see a high percentage of riders crashing severely. Sure the media shows the big bone breaking crashes but most go out on mechanical issues.
 
There's another Rally Raid going on right now that actually does go to Dakar. In addition they have a YouTube channel with each day's stage in French & Frenglish.

https://www.africarace.com/en

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTn9EbgjSnscelVOQKoIN9A

africa_eco_race_parcours_2019_19010101200000001.jpg
 
Sooo, someone smarter than me explain how Robby Gordon is driving a utv but it’s in the car class. I’m guessing engine displacement ?
 
Sooo, someone smarter than me explain how Robby Gordon is driving a utv but it’s in the car class. I’m guessing engine displacement ?

I'd certainly not claim to be smarter than you but . . . there is a sub-classification under the ASO Cars category that provides for "cars" that meet SCORE requirements and RG's Textron UTVs fit into that niche.

A better question might be "why" choose to race a UTV in the Cars Class. The 2019 ASO rules for UTVs stipulated maximum speed of 130kph with 1min/hr up to 135kph but that rule did not apply to "Cars." UTVs will do more than 130kph, apparently quite bit more, and RG saw that loophole, entered 3 Textron buggies in the Cars class, and built 'em. Then, well after RG was fully committed, ASO changed the rules, probably because some "factory" team(s) complained, and limited Car-class UTVs to 130kph, too. That was a crummy play on ASO's part, IMO, but they're all about the money and the "factory" Car efforts put a lot of loot into their coffers, so . . . . .

re engine displacement, I'm not certain but I think the Textron buggies have turbocharged 1000cc 3-bangers.
 
Ricky Brabec is impressing me this year. If he can stay hydrated and keep the bike together . Viva USA!
 
Just realized we had a Dakar thread!

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