Dakar Husaberg, Go! Gazza Go!

Hey!

I would think most of you guys are aware that Dakar started on New Year's Day. You may also know a forum member from Australia, Garry Connell, aka Gazza is running it on his Berg. There is a write up on his Dakar build on this site.

Three days in and he's holding his own.

The rule change for cc's on bikes is keeping things tight.

Casteu is leading over all on a Sherco 450 after his first stage win yesterday and 2nd today.

Fretigne took the win today on a Yamaha 450.

Depres is 2nd over all on his restricted KTM 690 2:10 behind.

Coma was penalized 22 seconds today for speeding through a town.

It's early so as we all know, anything can happen, even on the last day.

Sadly Dakar had its first fatality. A female spectator was standing outside a designated spectator zone and was run over by one of the German drivers in the Desert Warrior. I think that is one of the nightmares of every racer.

It's the nature of the business, both for participants and spectators.... and the bull collar locals that have minimal say about their home being used as a race track.

Update:

Germany's Mirco Schultis and Swiss co-driver Ulrich Leardi did not start today's race after being involved in the accident involving the 28 y. o. woman.

It must have been about as horrible an experience one can have as a racer. Standing over a spectator you ran over and trying to help as her life is slipping away.


I hope the holidays find everyone well.

My winter set up for city riding has proved to be exceptional so you all know the big smiles I'm having daily :lol:

This beast is awesome!

Cheers!

watching it at the moment and have got it programmed into record.

While watching the telecast of the start of Day 1 on Foxsports, I caught a quick glimpse of Gazza.

Today's very wet conditions in the mountains made it very dangerous for the competitors, most whom I am sure only wanted to get through in one piece. You can't win the Dakar on a day like today but you sure can loose it.

Shame about Coma getting a time penalty..he was penalised 22 MINUTES for speeding on day 1... going to be hard to fight back from that.

At this stage I will be putting my $$$s on Despres for the win. It is a long way to go and he knows how to win the Dakar. He and Coma are currently the only previous winners of the event to be riding this year.

do us all proud gazza ! :thumbup:

Go Gazza !!!!!!!!!
Keep your chin up and make it till THE end !

Dakar

Yes,
I managed to ring Gazza before he left and wished him luck(jealous as anything mind you), what an opportunity to ride in an event like that, something you only dream about at times! lots of planning , preparation, both bike and riders,time and 100% commitment to the event.
Reading up on yesterdays Dakar stuff over there , he looked like he had battery issues and had to take another battery and jumper leads to see him through that day.seemed like they are not allowed to change batteries or something??

Watch the Aussies section on the Dakar Site and it has a bit of a write up on how the Aussies are going over there.
Another Aussie from WA, Rob Pollard on a KTM 690 will be giving it his best. Had some penalties for speeding some where which set him back a bit apparently. I will be watching his progress also along the way also.Should do well!

Well got to go, SBS update on shortly on tv..

Any chance of a link to the Aussie part of the Dakar sie? I can't find it.

I cant seem to find where the info was on the dakar. here is some of the info i had on their progress. A few beers under the belt when I found it last night.



Garry Connell did well to claim 109th spot. On the eve of the race start Connell Dakar debutante suffered from a battery issue on his bike while it was in parc ferme. With rules preventing him from changing the battery, Connell was forced to run a secondary battery strapped to the back of his bike and jumper leads to make the liaison stage.

A few small problems with the positing of instruments and dash ornamentation kept his attention on a day he says was not about heroics but about riding to conserve energy. Connell's approach to his debut Dakar is one of concentrated competition, and the 53-year-old is relaxed about his Dakar debut.

Ahead of Connell, fellow debutante Rob Pollard set a solid pace, coming home 48th in provisional results, and first of the Aussies on his first real run in the Dakar. Pollard was surprised by his result.

"I took it pretty easy but still seemed to pass a few people," he explained.

"Obviously a few people out there have had troubles, even now on day one."

The 39-year-old likened the Stage 1 course to the Australian Safari saying, "It was all farm land and tracks, sort of like Australian enduro terrain. I like it a lot, but not on this bike, it's too heavy."

Sadly for Pollard, a 17-minute time penalty for an incredible 17 separate 'speeding' infringements on the liaison stage relegated him to 105th position on official standings. Pollard was notably distressed by the penalty, recorded on the bikes 'Tripy' GPS tracking system. The system is mandatory for all vehicles and tracks speed and direction at all times. Pollard said he couldn't understand where he was speeding, but has copped the penalty on the chin.

Might have been in the news section?

Looks like hes retired on stage 3, the first real desert stage, not sure why.

http://www.dakar.com/us/DAKAR/2010/stag ... bikes.html

Props to Gazza for the effort. What an ambitious undertaking.

Reading the above story--a race with speed limits seems a bit silly to me. I can go out my front door and get as many "speed penalties" as I want to. No need to cross the globe to line up in a race. I mean seriously, SEVENTEEN speed penalties in a single stage?

First off... those speeding penalties are incurred when going through a village or town ( and really is a bit of common sense) - something that occurred when the Dakar was in Africa as well - it is all in the name of safety. It is to limit the number of accidents that occur with spectators. There already has been one spectator death on this years Dakar.

BAD NEWS:- Gazza has had to retire!!

I was hoping he could last a fair bit longer if he could not make the finish of the race.

I have just finished watching the Foxsports coverage of Day 3 a short time ago and I thought 3 hours plus for 180ks for someone like Despres..must have been really tough. Coma dropped a lot of time as well and is now over forty minutes behind Despres who now has a ten minute lead over Casteau.

Fretigne dropped 1:35:00 due to mechanical problems as well.

Johnf3 said:

Props to Gazza for the effort. What an ambitious undertaking.

Reading the above story--a race with speed limits seems a bit silly to me. I can go out my front door and get as many "speed penalties" as I want to. No need to cross the globe to line up in a race. I mean seriously, SEVENTEEN speed penalties in a single stage?

Click to expand...

I understand your frustration...and it is frustrating to be limited, but to us North American, racing in urban areas is not experienced what so ever. This is something that really romanticised the ISDE, was riding through people back yards, and riding 'my dirt bike' through city streets. The 07 ISDE in CHile, an area that the Dakar goes through, around Le Serena 500 km north or Santiago, rode through many villages, adn the temptation to speed was always there. It was wierd, the streets were maybe not that narrow, but there was no curb, only door steps that WERE the curbs.

They have to keep the public safe, and at least do their due diligence in that aspect.

THe racing continues once theyleave the pavement and hit the dirt.

But geeez, 17....he'd have to be lookign at the right hand and slapping it...bad hand!!!!

fryguy said:

Johnf3 said:

Props to Gazza for the effort. What an ambitious undertaking.

Reading the above story--a race with speed limits seems a bit silly to me. I can go out my front door and get as many "speed penalties" as I want to. No need to cross the globe to line up in a race. I mean seriously, SEVENTEEN speed penalties in a single stage?

Click to expand...

I understand your frustration...and it is frustrating to be limited, but to us North American, racing in urban areas is not experienced what so ever. This is something that really romanticised the ISDE, was riding through people back yards, and riding 'my dirt bike' through city streets. The 07 ISDE in CHile, an area that the Dakar goes through, around Le Serena 500 km north or Santiago, rode through many villages, adn the temptation to speed was always there. It was wierd, the streets were maybe not that narrow, but there was no curb, only door steps that WERE the curbs.

They have to keep the public safe, and at least do their due diligence in that aspect.

THe racing continues once theyleave the pavement and hit the dirt.

But geeez, 17....he'd have to be lookign at the right hand and slapping it...bad hand!!!!

Click to expand...

I understand the reasoning behind the speeding penalties, but 17 in one stage is a bit much for a race. We have a car racing series in the USA complete with power restrictions and speeding penalties too--NASCAR (woo-hoo). I saw Coma took a big speed penalty too, which will be a big obstacle to overcome for a front runner.

I guess they route through towns and villages for spectators and for support/logistics, but I am pretty sure there is quite a bit of open space in those deserts. If they are worried about safety, surely the race could be routed a bit better, and fewer speed restrictions would have to be enforced. Excessive involvement by commitees and such to decide penalties for various rules infractions for what is supposed to be a race ruins things fast.

That's a real bummer to hear about Gazza's retirement - I was really rooting for him to take 2nd on the podium - right behind Jonah Street! :^) And my heart goes out to Gazza as any serious racer understands just how much time, sweat, tears .. and huge buckets of money ... it takes just to get there and start.

Major props, Gazza! And may you get another chance some day, eh!

Cheers! E-Ticket

I was also very saddened to hear about the spectator fatality. :^(

I used to Pro-Rally cars in the US in the early '80s and spectator control (or lack there of) was a major factor in me quitting Rally racing.
There's *nothing* like the feeling of flying down a steep mountain road, doing the Swedish Flick perfectly, and throwing it sideways into the corner.... and then seeing a bunch of "Darwins" lined up .... at the EDGE of the road ... on the OUTSIDE of the corner ... and with a 10' tall dirt bank at their backs. :^O

Actually, I'm surprised there aren't more fatalities than there are.
My best wishes go out to that young ladies familiy and the unfortunate race team. - ET

too baad he had to pull out so quickly...

Maybe I am blind, but what is the reason for gazza's retirement, does anybody know? it's not the speeding penalties, is it?

From the Aussie ADV section:-
The blistering heat attacks from all sides and the swirling gusting winds do nothing but emphasise the hot assault. That same wind brings stinging sand – stripping skin, filling eyes and obscuring the mountains behind us.

This is the 'true Dakar' competitors have been talking about. A stage of sand dunes, wind and heat that demands full attention. Even at the bivouac, journalists, support crews and organisation staff battle the heat and wind. Protecting our eyes and throats with towels wrapped tight around our heads, here in this campsite vehicles are bogged deep in sand. Today it reached 59˚C ambient temperature in the dunes.

When this stage was run late in the 2009 edition, more than two thirds of the field didn't make it home on the Fiambala stage. As the course runs the opposite direction this year the stage is run much earlier in the race, but much remains the same.

Australia's Garry Connell is out of the Dakar after falling awkwardly in the sand and damaging his cruciate ligament. The 53-year-old Dakar debutante says he had to turn back on the dunes, and missed too many way points to continue.

Asked if he'll be back Connell replied: "Probably not. It was too hard to put this together, getting the dollars is hard."

"I'm glad I came, I just wish I'd made it at least a couple more days," he said.

Here are a couple of pics of Gary in action

Compare the differences in the time from Day 3 to Day 4.

Day 3:- 180ks @ 3.01.09
Day 4:- 203ks @ 1.46.58

Shows you just how hard Day 3 was!!!

that's a real bummer for gazza. i'm gutted for him...every penny and every hour has gone into that.

i suggest he leaves the bike there safe and goes back next year to finish the job! i bet it's worth more cahoona's where it is than back in oz! LOL!!!

unlucky gazza.

regards

taffy