Dakar 2012

[corax]

I'm still enjoying this year's race, but I'm seeing a lot of favoritism to the french riders/drivers - C.Despres' "Mud-gate" and the river crossing incident immediately come to mind

BTW . . . the organizers are very tight lipped about what kind of illegal performance enhancement they are accusing him of, but my theory (from bits and pieces dropped in several interviews) is that he's using engine vacuum to speed tire deflation through the CTIS.

Yesterday he had some problems and lost 1.5hrs, today he won the stage by nearly 20 minutes
The pressure from his tires would do nothing to engine performance given the mass amount of air an engine is gulping at speed.

 

[doug720]

An American will face an uphill battle with the French organizers of the Dakar for one simple fact...Money!

The Dakar means little to 99.9% of Americans, but in Europe it's huge. Most sponsors, entries and fans are from Europe, if an American wins in a non-European vehicle all the sponsors loose a lot of their sponsorship investment. No European company can advertise anything if an American wins in an American (OK Chinese) vehicle.

The Dakar exists due to the mostly European sponsors and can only survive with them. TV ratings for the Dakar are down since it was moved to South America, and if an American wins...Well that's not so good for the Rally and the sponsors!

I think the organizers will do all they can to make it hard for Gordon and Hummer to win because it affects their bottom line.


This year is the first time Gordon has been more than a novelty and a threat to win. I think Nasser was encouraged to quit to make it harder for Gordon to win (No team help on the course) and to assure himself some future ride in a competitive Euro team car.

JMHO,

Doug

 

[zolo]

Lots of theory's.

Maybe just maybe RG is not winning simply because he is not winning? He is getting beat by a field of freakin Minis.

As for his mate not having a spare alternator belt to continue well that is fishy. Why in the name of all things holly wouldn't yo have a spare belt?
I hate to think organizers would do such a thing as to try and stop a team from winning simply because he is American but who knows.

 

[Rallyroo]

As for his mate not having a spare alternator belt to continue well that is fishy. Why in the name of all things holly wouldn't yo have a spare belt?
I hate to think organizers would do such a thing as to try and stop a team from winning simply because he is American but who knows.

I got the impression that Al-Attiyah that he already changed the belt once (one spare used during the stage), tightened the belt a couple of times, and eventually had no more spares.

The quitting and leaving by Al-Attiyah makes it sounds like he and Gordon ended on bad terms.

 

[zolo]

I got the impression that Al-Attiyah that he already changed the belt once (one spare used during the stage), tightened the belt a couple of times, and eventually had no more spares.

The quitting and leaving by Al-Attiyah makes it sounds like he and Gordon ended on bad terms.

That makes more sense for the belt. To bad. The Hummers are cool. The rear engine deal is something Id like to see in person.

I'm by no means an expert. But I have 2 friend that are race mechanics for various teams and have stated RG is rather hard to work for or work with.
So its no surprise if that was the case.

 

[Christian P.]

Amazing shots

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/01/the-2012-dakar-rally/100223/

 

[Flagster]

Only US rider to finish the moto...53rd place...Go Neduro!!!!

 

[Cody1771]

Only US rider to finish the moto...53rd place...Go Neduro!!!!

Right on Neduro!!

Sent from my GT-P7500R using Tapatalk

 

[048642]

Amazing shots

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/01/the-2012-dakar-rally/100223/

Got to love the fact that the four leaf clover is the only part of that rig not burning in the picture.

 

[deadly99]

I was on the support crew for Team Rally Pan Am. Here's a few photos from my trip. Had a great time, was bummed two of our riders did not finish (Jonah Street and Bill Conger) but was stoked that Ned Seuse got a finishers medal. The scenery, cultures, etc were amazing. Over 17, 000 feet while crossing the Andes stands out as being on the more memorable moments. We were in a f350 pimped out as a support vehicle.

 

[deadly99]

 

[deadly99]

 

[deadly99]

I'm writing a book about this years Dakar titled "Tales From The Bivouac - Dakar 2012"

It will be in an 8x11 format, glossy color magazine style. It is written from the view of the support team and follows our team and folks we met along the way. It was a great experience and I look forward to sharing it with others who have gotten caught up in the mystic of the Dakar Rally.

 

[zolo]

That looks amazing man. Im glad you had a safe and fun time.
I could only imagine the rush of being a part of such a great race. Good on ya for getting that oppertunity.

 

[trailsurfer]

Great Pics!