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2023 Dakar Rally

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Interesting to follow
 
Thanks for the heads up. C'mon Ricky Brabrec (if he is racing).
 
Thanks for posting (reminding me), Sander. Here's the TV schedule for anyone who wants to watch.

www.advpulse.com

Here’s Where You Can Watch The Dakar Rally 2023 - ADV Pulse

It’s go time! The grueling Dakar Rally starts this New Year’s Eve, December 31st, kicking off what organizers say will be one of the most challenging races the event has seen in years. The biggest obstacle anyone will face is the route itself with 14 punishing stages, loaded with even more dunes...
www.advpulse.com www.advpulse.com
 
Well, no repeat winner as Sunderland had a crash and broke his shoulder. Rooting for the three USA riders. Brabec, Klein and Howes all off to good starts.
 
Texas T said:
Mason Klein was the young kid that gave instructions to Noraly (Itchy Boots) when she was on her way to the Baja Rally. I'll root for him just for that fact. :-)
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Well here you go then. He won Stage Two. Looking at his roost, I would say it is capable of being lethal, lol. For this week and next, looking at all these incredibly awesome pictures makes me wish I was 40 years younger and rich enough to fund a ride over there. Looks like so much fun.
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Also rooting for American rider Jacob Argubright in his first Dakar. Our Club for a few years hosted a round of the National Hare and Hound series and he was a top rider on a KX450 then. The last year we hosted he crashed and broke his wrist. His wife was one of the Admin folks for the NHHA so got to know her as well. Good peeps for sure.

He is just getting into Rally but is talented on a dirt bike. He has a steep leaning curve on navigation and rally race craft in general most likely. I think if he was inside the top 40 overall that would be a very strong showing. So far so good.
 
I think Stage Two was really difficult with the rocks. Matthias Walkner crashed hard and hurt his wrist. Slight fracture. I don't see him continuing the race. Two stages, two factory riders out. Could be a race of attrition this year, even more than it always is.
 
Johnf3 said:
Well here you go then. He won Stage Two. Looking at his roost, I would say it is capable of being lethal, lol. For this week and next, looking at all these incredibly awesome pictures makes me wish I was 40 years younger and rich enough to fund a ride over there. Looks like so much fun.
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I saw where he got a 2 min penalty for "speeding". I don't know Dakar's rules so can anyone elaborate on this?
 
Texas T said:
I saw where he got a 2 min penalty for "speeding". I don't know Dakar's rules so can anyone elaborate on this?
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There are sections you can't ride over X km/h. Most of the time it is sections near people.
 
RT_Slim said:
Thanks for the heads up. C'mon Ricky Brabrec (if he is racing).
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274c.png
Fall and withdrawal for Brabec
274c.png

The HRC - Honda Racing Corporation rider crashed at km 274 of the special and was taken care of by the Dakar medical team. Suffering from neck pain, Ricky Brabec was transported to a hospital for additional examinations. In 2020, he became the first American winner of the Dakar, and also the one who ended a series of 18 consecutive KTM victories on motorcycles.
 
Looks like Brabec is going to be OK from the medical tests that have been completed. Stage 3 win goes to Australian Daniel Sanders. He was flying today. Klein is 2nd overall only four minutes back and Skyler Howes had a strong stage today and has moved up to fourth overall.
 
Ocho said:
There are sections you can't ride over X km/h. Most of the time it is sections near people.
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I believe the liaisons have to be ridden at the posted speed limit.

The the way the 6 Day Baja Rally works anyway.

In the cars, I hope Sebastián Loeb's luck turns around after getting three flats on stage two.
 
I couldn't find a really good picture to post of overall race leader Daniel "Chucky" Sanders on the Factory GasGas during his Stage 3 ride, but this is better than nothing. Sanders could easily win the overall--he has incredible talent and raw speed just like all the top Australian desert racers. His deal is can he keep it on two wheels without a major crash that either destroys his bike or hurts him too bad to continue.

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William Wolfen said:
I wonder if there's going to be another reduction in maximum displacement to try and reduce the number of crashes...
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When Fabrizio Meoni passed away at Dakar in 2005, they had already banned the big twins like the 950CC bike he won on in 2002. Single cylinder bikes, though, still did not have a displacement limit back then. The ironic thing is that now the 450 bikes are so good, so reliable and the riders so fast that the 450s are as fast as the big bikes ever were, and there are more riders that can ride the small bikes then could master the big twins.

There is just no way at 120km/hour, which is routine for the top riders, that they can react to a ditch, a big rock, something in the course that is not in their Road Book or that has changed since the road book was printed. It is crazy. Organizers have tried to make the special tests more technical to slow down the top speeds, but the bottom line is that these top riders can override far past what they can see fast enough to react to.

Heck, we were just talking about Daniel Sanders. He was lucky to be alive after his Dakar crash last year where he ran straight into a traffic circle middle, ON THE WAY TO THE START OF A SPECIAL TEST. They were not even racing on the clock at the time. It was a transfer section!
 
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