Dakar 2015

[4x4BEES]

Sad news indeed.

[ChrisF]

As a matter of interest. According to Dirk von Zitzevitz, he and Geniel had a huge scare 10km from the end of stage-3 where they caught a huge jump and landed on the nose of the Hilux....

Any damages?

Nie so ver ek kan agterkom of wat hulle sê nie.

Sad news

The Polish bike rider Michal Hernik (no. 82) was found dead on the selective section of the third stage of the rally between San Juan and Chilecito at kilometre 206.

The circumstances surrounding his death have yet to be determined, as the competitor did not show any external signs of an accident. One report said he was not wearing his helmet when found

Really sad indeed. Evidently he was found about 300m of the track with no visible signs of a crash. This was his first Dakar. To me it sounds like he dehydrated

during last nights show they showed a rider entering a fueling point - marshall gets him off his bike and he is virtually carried to the shade .... fill the bike, 10 minute rest and he is on his way again !!!!

Temperatures ranged from 42 to 47 degrees !!!! DONT want to be in full kit at those temps !

[pietpetoors]

Temperatures ranged from 42 to 47 degrees !!!! DONT want to be in full kit at those temps !

I have tremendous respect for the bikers doing the Dakar. They must be extremely fit.

[Obelix and Dogmatix]

These drivers and co-drivers are pretty competent bush mechanics !!!!


The support trucks only enter the stage a few hours later - so you MUST be able to do the basic repairs yourself.



A program on Discovery this week about a privateer biker that did the Dakar last year - IMPRESSIVE !!

did not see the show but i know a South African finished last years Dakar as a privateer

[CasKru]

Some more pics....

[CasKru]

Love this ad

phpBB [video]

View Original

[Thunder02]

Love this ad

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View Original

I would love it too , but does not seem to want to play

[Thunder02]

Sorted
Brilliant

[Harold]

Starters for stage 1: bikes 161, cars 137, quads 45, trucks 63 = 406
Starters for stage 4: bikes 139, cars 96, quads 37, trucks 59 = 331

Drop out in 3 stages: bikes 22(14%), cars 41(30%), quads 8(18%), trucks 4(6%)

18% out in only three stages. The race has hardly started and things are going to get a lot tougher, this is definitely not a race for sissies.

This must surely rate as one of the biggest, dangerous, expensive and toughest land race in the world, but for how long? The militants/terrorists stopped it in Africa, could the environmentalist do the same in South America. Where to then, China or Russia?

[Die$eL]

Wow! Thanks Harold. That drives home the point of how difficult the race is!

I cant imagine how those guys manage driving in 50 degree celcius temps with full kit!!!

[zepplin]

................ The militants/terrorists stopped it in Africa, could the environmentalist do the same in South America.......??

What exactly is being dertoyed in the Attacama.............................nothing survives there!

But yes........always a possibility.

[Harold]

Status Quo
Starters for stage 1: bikes 161, cars 137, quads 45, trucks 63 = 406
Starters for stage 5: bikes 131, cars 91, quads 36, trucks 58 = 316

Drop out in 4 stages: bikes 30(19%), cars 46(34%), quads 9(18%), trucks 4(6%)
22% out in four stages and only a third of the race completed.........

Should be some dramatic photographs from toady's stage as there are sections of fesh-fesh, fine dust much like talcum powder.

How BIG is the Dakar: Here are some stats concerning the 2014 Dakar

Spectators:
Argentina: 2.5 million
Bolivia: 410,000
Chile: 1 million

Economic fallout and reputation for the host countries in 2014
The economic impact of the 2014 Dakar in Argentina amounted to 150 million dollars.
In Bolivia, the economic impact amounted to 62.3 million dollars.
The economic impact of the 2014 Dakar in Chile amounted to 40 million dollars.
The 1,200 hours of TV broadcasting for all the countries is estimated to be worth 420 million dollars.

In 2013, a public awareness study carried out on representative samples of the population of seven countries (France, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia and South Africa) confirmed increased awareness as the result of the Dakar: more than two thirds of people said that they were familiar with the event. More than 50% of them said that due to the images broadcast, they would like to visit one of these countries one day

International media coverage
In 2014 70 broadcasters provided 190 countries with images of the rally, corresponding to 1,200 hours of total coverage.
300 permanent journalists– 143 media – 2,000 accreditations distributed.

A digital Dakar: website, social networks, mobile applications, video-sharing website
Website: 78 million page views and 7.2 million unique visitors
Official videos: 4.6 million videos watched
In addition to the content provided on dakar.com, the official Facebook page brought together more than a million fans, while almost 170,000 followers signed up for the Dakar’s Twitter account.
Downloads: 508,000 (IOS, Androïd)

[pietpetoors]

Spectators:
Argentina: 2.5 million
Bolivia: 410,000
Chile: 1 million

OK I took it off my bucket list.
Imagine the chaos trying to fight your way through 2.5 million spectators.

Guess they not all at the same place at the same time, but still a bit crowded for me.

[CasKru]

Spectators:
Argentina: 2.5 million
Bolivia: 410,000
Chile: 1 million

OK I took it off my bucket list.
Imagine the chaos trying to fight your way through 2.5 million spectators.

Guess they not all at the same place at the same time, but still a bit crowded for me.

And also not the same day :)

As jy daaraan dink.... vat 'n rygby toets en 'n vol stadium en maal dit met 14 dae.... 65 000 (Ellis Park) * 14 = 910 000. En dit is in 'n gekonsentreerde stuk. Spry dit nou uit oor die totale area van die Dakar dan is daar 2.5m maar min

[Harold]

spry dit erder uit oor twee dae, (miskien drie); meeste tyd is dit in die woestyn.

[CasKru]

Evidently Geniel approached yesterdays stage more cautious knowing that he will loose some time as there were a lot of rocks and traps and they did not want to damage the vehicle now.

Poulter had an excellent stage and overtook a lot of cars. He was 8th on the stage and is now at 18th overall.

What is nice to see is that overall positions 2 and 3 are taken up by Hiluxes

[CasKru]

In the words of Dirk von Zitzevitz (translate from German to English by Google Translate):

Antofagasta, 08 January 2015. The first chase remain stubbornly turn: Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz have defended during the fifth stage of the Dakar Rally in second place. 458 kilometer stage led between the coast and the Cordillera from Copiapo to Antofagasta north of Chile. De Villiers and von Zitzewitz proposed a more conservative and gentle gait, mark a "calculated risk" on. Like their direct competitors who are struggling with a podium result, they had to even after a puncture a wheel change. While lost de Villiers / von Zitzewitz further 2.20 minutes behind the leader Nasser Al-Attiyah (X-raid Mini), but are still in close striking distance of them. After 1,745 of a total of 4,578 kilometers on time, they now rank in the interim standings 10:35 minutes behind their former teammates.


The audit made with lots of boulders and nasty-fesh fesh powdery sand one true because paced test for the participants. Lots of dust increased the danger of "blind" einzuhandeln a puncture.

That's ... that quote of the day

"Today we were very conservative and cautious way. Maybe a bit too cautious and conservative. At km 190 we had to change a tire and have not noticed that Yazeed Al-Rajhi has overtaken us. If we had noticed that, it would certainly have been a good wake-up call and we could possibly risking something more. We have just five steps behind and eight ahead of us. I think that our tactics worked well. Because our car did not get a single scratch today and we did not have a hairy moment. This was our enemy - as I have heard - very different. The time for increased risk is not yet come for us though. We are super happy. "

Dirk von Zitzewitz after Stage 05

And for any of our members that can read German:

Antofagasta, 08. Januar 2015. Die ersten Verfolger bleiben hartnäckig dran: Giniel de Villiers und Dirk von Zitzewitz haben auf der fünften Etappe der Rallye Dakar Platz zwei verteidigt. Die 458 Kilometer lange Prüfung führte zwischen Küste und Kordillere von Copiapó nach Antofagasta gen Norden Chiles. De Villiers und von Zitzewitz schlugen eine eher konservative und materialschonende Gangart, Marke „kalkuliertes Risiko“ an. Wie ihre direkten Konkurrenten, die mit um ein Podiumsresultat kämpfen, mussten sie einmal nach einem Reifenschaden ein Rad wechseln. Zwar büßten de Villiers/von Zitzewitz weitere 2.20 Minuten auf den Führenden Nasser Al-Attiyah (X-raid-Mini) ein, liegen aber nach wie vor in direkter Schlagdistanz zu ihnen. Nach 1.745 von insgesamt 4.578 Kilometern auf Zeit rangieren sie im Zwischenklassement nun 10.35 Minuten hinter ihren ehemaligen Teamkollegen.



Die Prüfung bildete mit viel Geröll und fies-pudrigem Fesh-Fesh-Sand einen wahren, weil temporeichen Test für die Teilnehmer. Viel Staub erhöhte die Gefahr, sich „blind“ einen Reifenschaden einzuhandeln.

Das ist … das Zitat des Tages



„Heute waren wir sehr konservativ und vorsichtig unterwegs. Vielleicht ein bisschen zu vorsichtig und zu konservativ. Bei Kilometer 190 mussten wir einen Reifen wechseln und haben dabei nicht bemerkt, dass uns Yazeed Al-Rajhi überholt hat. Hätten wir das mitbekommen, wäre das sicher ein guter Weckruf gewesen und wir hätten eventuell etwas mehr riskiert. Wir haben gerade einmal fünf Etappen hinter und noch acht vor uns. Ich denke, dass unsere Taktik bisher gut funktioniert. Denn unser Auto hat heute keinen einzigen Kratzer bekommen und wir hatten nicht einen haarigen Moment. Das war bei unseren Gegner – wie ich gehört habe – ganz anders. Die Zeit für erhöhtes Risiko ist für uns aber noch nicht gekommen. Wir sind super zufrieden.“

Dirk von Zitzewitz nach Etappe 05

[CasKru]

Some more pics




And some of the rest of the field

[4x4BEES]

Brilliantly awesome pictures there

[The Legend]

Brilliantly awesome pictures there

+1

[Toppie4x4]

Very good.........maybe we should ask them about dust proofing..............surely they would not have any issues with dust

[Toppie4x4]

Verbeel ek my of is Geniel besig om gat te skop!!!! Lyk my hy kan hierdie skof wen??

[zepplin]

Lyk my Pieter moet sy snorkels daar ook smous.

[pietpetoors]

[CasKru]

Seems the TV Helicopter is the reason why Geniel could not cash in and win the stage as they were leading all the way..... in his words :

Good stage for us today. Pity about tv heli getting to close to us making a lot of dust and causing us to hit rock and puncture

[Mars]

Seems the TV Helicopter is the reason why Geniel could not cash in and win the stage as they were leading all the way..... in his words :

Good stage for us today. Pity about tv heli getting to close to us making a lot of dust and causing us to hit rock and puncture

Unbelievable. Surely that is not allowed? I wonder if he can file a complaint?

[Harold]

What's left for this week:

Starters for stage 1: bikes 161, cars 137, quads 45, trucks 63 = 406
Starters for today: bikes 111, cars 76, quads 24, trucks 51 = 316
Drop out: bikes 50(31%), cars 61(45%), quads 21(47%), trucks 12(19%) Total= 35%

From 406 only 262 left to race.

Thanks CasKru for the awesome photos - better than Top Sport video!

[Pora]

And as you can see from the image below, taken by Giniel’s navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz, he is running right on the Qatari’s bumper when required, at over 190kph…

See more at: http://www.topgear.co.za/n ... urn false;

[Die$eL]

Here is the video:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... =2&theater" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CasKru]

Respect....

[Dingo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vhNMLD ... e=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

only a second or two, but listen to that V8 running at it's maximum, they ran like that for basically 100km's across the salt pan

[Dingo]

A man of few words and even more so of smiles, that smile shows that he had fun on the marathon stage. Maybe he's just thinking of what Nasser's reaction was when he was stuck to his bumper at 190kmh.

Happy Giniel.jpg (26.05 KiB) Viewed 7138 times

[Dingo]

Two hectic crashes at the same spot, fortunately there were no injuries.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=82 ... 60&fref=nf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Wayne]

So here we are half way through the race. Any questions?

[CasKru]

Two hectic crashes at the same spot, fortunately there were no injuries.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=82 ... 60&fref=nf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hectic... the sad part is that sometimes it is actually the spectators that dig a small "trench" just before a jump which then causes the rear of the vehicle to kick up like that. Wonder if this was not the case......

[CasKru]

Was vanoggend weer bietjie lus om te speel....

[Toppie4x4]

Miskien moet iemand net vir Geniel se dat SHORT CUTS nie werk nie!!!!!!!!

[Toppie4x4]

Geniel............

It was our mistake and we have to pay”

“It was not our day. We made a terrible, terrible navigation mistake. Obviously that's cost us the race, so we're sure now that we can only try to consolidate something on the podium, but the race is over for us, so, you know, sometimes it goes like this in the Dakar and there's nothing you can do about it. There was one place where we were really struggling to find the way point, I mean obviously it was an off-road area, the wind was from behind and there was so much fesh-fesh and dust. We just kept turning around. I don't know, we spent I don't know how long there, but it felt like forever to find the way point. It's not impossible for Nasser to make a mistake, but with the lead he has now he can take it really easy. The day was very hard but, for sure, he can take it very easy now. It was our mistake and we have to pay. It's not nice, it's not nice to always fight for second. It's very, very disappointing, but it's happened and there's nothing we can do about it now; it's finished”.

[pietpetoors]

:scared:

[ChrisF]

:scared:

RELAX


It was one of those DIFFICULT days in the dunes !! MOST of the field lost a LOT of time.

Giniel is now FIRMLY in 2nd place - too far to catch that Mini, but also further ahead of third place.




JIP, sadly no longer able to push to catch the Mini

[CasKru]

:scared:

RELAX


It was one of those DIFFICULT days in the dunes !! MOST of the field lost a LOT of time.

Giniel is now FIRMLY in 2nd place - too far to catch that Mini, but also further ahead of third place.




JIP, sadly no longer able to push to catch the Mini

It's not over until they reach the finish line. Roma rolled his Mini yesterday so Nasser could also still have problems of his own.

[Dingo]

It's not over until they reach the finish line. Roma rolled his Mini yesterday so Nasser could also still have problems of his own.

Or this can happen, how cruel is this for Alrajhi who was lying a brilliant 3rd overall. He stopped to fuel up and quick check before the stage at a remote service and the Hilux won't start up again - sadly he's pulled out of the Dakar.

"Another spectacular turn of events on the Dakar! Author so far of a superb third place in the general standings on his first Dakar, Yazeed Alrajhi has had mechanical problems with his Toyota and is said to have decided to drop out of the race just several kilometres from the start of the day’s special."

[CasKru]

Very sad indeed.

[Tenk]

Ek dink nie ek sal Giniel kwalik neem oor hy shortcuts probeer vat nie. Hy sit al baie lank agter daai mini en lyk my hy het net nie heeltemal die spoed op meeste van die dele om verby te gaan nie. Miskien is dit iets wat Hilux volgende jaar aan kan werk,( wat van n v6 met n TRD supergager? ). Soos Caskru se dis nog nie verby nie enige iets kan nog gebeur. Ek dink al wat Geniel nou eerste plek kan besorg is as die mini breek, want Nasser ry nou teen n rustiger pas na die einde toe, of kan dit dalk juis n faktor wees in terme van dit te rustig vat konsentrasie verbreek ens. Tyd sal leer, maar dink nie Giniel het te sleg gedoen tot nou toe nie, en van al die hiluxe is hy die naaste aan die voorloper steeds.

[Harold]

Just hope Geniel can win a stage!! He deserves one.

[rigardt]

i was swearing at dstv for not showing stage 10 !! until I saw stage 11 and the flood they had which stopped them from broadcasting stage 10. I really hope giniel wins at least 1 stage. watch out for Yazeed Alrajhi next year !! the hiluxes are doing very well I must say. no other cars are coming close to them. so its mini (with a turbo) compared to a N/A motor. very unfair if u ask me. look at any other motor sport and the turbos and N/A is in a separate class. I don't see the hilux with a N/A motor ever winning the Dakar. they will however always be close. when was the last time a N/A motor won the dakar in any way ?

[Oupa Stig]

One cannot really moan about the turbo business I guess... Rules were there for all to be read before the race started. But yes, it does feel a bit lopsided.

Next year I'll lend Giniel the turbo off my KZ. As long as he returns it unbroken.

[rigardt]

One cannot really moan about the turbo business I guess... Rules were there for all to be read before the race started. But yes, it does feel a bit lopsided.

Next year I'll lend Giniel the turbo off my KZ. As long as he returns it unbroken.

mickey in actual fact the big guy designing and building all these hiluxes in south Africa (cant remember his name now )blame it on the beer :) ) has been protesting about this for the last 2 years. claiming its unfair to put turbo's against N/A in the same class. especially in the high altitude stages. however they always get turned down.

[Oupa Stig]

My offer on the KZ's turbo stands.
But I need it back, I have work to do.

[ChrisF]

One cannot really moan about the turbo business I guess... Rules were there for all to be read before the race started. But yes, it does feel a bit lopsided.

Next year I'll lend Giniel the turbo off my KZ. As long as he returns it unbroken.

mickey in actual fact the big guy designing and building all these hiluxes in south Africa (cant remember his name now )blame it on the beer :) ) has been protesting about this for the last 2 years. claiming its unfair to put turbo's against N/A in the same class. especially in the high altitude stages. however they always get turned down.

you dont go asking for an oval ball when joining a rol-bal club ....

they KNOW the rules !!


USE the rules to YOUR OWN advantage ....



that said, its only the Mini of nassa-watchamaface is faster than Giniel and the other arab.

[pietpetoors]

Any new news?

[Oupa Stig]

2e. Amazing hoe die tye uitgerek het. So een of twee stages terug was almal bymekaar.
Welgedaan Giniel en span!

[Bushwacker]

[FIRSTGEER]

His 2nd place makes us truly proud of him.Well done

[pietpetoors]

Well done Geniel and team!

[4x4BEES]

Well done Geniel and team!

+1

[CasKru]

Well done Geniel and team!

+1000

[CasKru]

Also hats off to Leroy Poulter & Rob Howie.

And to Willem Saaijman on his quad who not only won the last stage, but finished 9th overall on his debut

[CasKru]

[Die$eL]

Well done to the team!!! Truly impressive performance.

And the Lux performed brilliantly with no reliability issues