Dakar 2009: Rest Day-Honda Motorcycle Report from Bikes in the Fast Lane

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Dakar 2009: Rest Day-Honda Motorcycle Report

January
2009

  File under Dakar Race Honda
  Author: Honda Press Release
  Location: Normandy, France

Fear for the second week of Dakar

Dakar rest Day © Honda

At the end of the restday, in the bivac you still hear the sounds of wrenching, welding and hard work. Also at Dakarsport / Team Honda Europe. Vadim Pritulyak has arrived late in de afternoon, and his bike needs a lot of work after. He is lucky when ASO puts him on the startinglist for the 8th special, as he did not return from the stage on time. When Henk Hellegers tells him the good news, he gets a big high-five from Vadim. Pritulyak had leaking fueltanks, causing him to loose a lot of petrol. After a long wait and a lot of help from other competitiors and the crowds he managed to reach the finish after 13 hours. In the mean time he wasn't so lucky as Jurgen and had a collission with a horse.. The second part of the connection went along very high mountainpaths, with difficult trailsections, so he and a French competitior decided to go back to Mendoza and use the road to ride to Valparaiso.

Dakar Rest Day © Honda

If ASO had taken their rules literally they would have quite a lot less competitiors in the race at the moment. A lot of cars and trucks were still stuck in the dunes. Luckily ASO has taken a very friendly approach here, as these tough situations happen more often in Dakar. Especially because a lot of the assistance trucks, carrying the much needed parts, are still stuck in the dunes. Stage 10 and 11 will be decisive. The route Copiapo-Copiapo and the following marathonstage will be hard to survive for most competitors. This tough first week has not only taken out a lot of competitors, but has also given a serious blow to morale of the teams. Some of them are very worried about the Atacama desert. As it is a rather dry and hot place, it is dangerous for those who do not or cannot take care of themselves. Carlos de Gavardo, Dakar-veteran from Chile says the dunes can be ridden well, but 670 km remains very long..

Dakar Rest Day © Honda

The finish in Cordoba will be very special. It appears that already thousands and thousands are camping along the route, and more than a million people are expected in the city itself. Quite a promise, the team is looking forward to it - even though the competitors live from day to day, with only the finish in Buenos Aires on their mind.