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Dakar 2022 has started

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thanks, added to my recording list. Not expecting much tv coverage in the US, as usual.
 
Gonna pick Chucky on the Gas Gas, which for him is last year's model KTM with the Trellis frame. Plus those Australian riders are crazy fast in the desert. The new KTM is now a perimeter frame, and not sure all the riders have come to terms with it.

To me these are the best overall riders in the world when it comes to dirt bikes.

Stage 1A is in the books. The pictures of the dunes they rode in right off the bat were mind boggling.
 
Looks to be on the Olympic Channel 675 on Xfinity. You all notice NBC Sports Network channel 49 is now gone🤔

Disney /ABC / Fox / ESPN / conglomerate rules 😭
 
The coverage in recent years, even pre-Covid has really been lame. The rights holders really need to understand that seeing a minute or two of the top 3-4 racers each day and the standings is just flat out boring! There is nothing to really be interested in as a general spectator unless you are someone that has a special interest in a few racers. The best one yet was when Lyndon Poskitt did his Moto Malle ride and documented it. They should have racers/teams do more stuff like that if they want to generate more interest in the event/sport. As big as this is, most people that don't ride don't even know it exists, even for cars, trucks, and ATVs... The older stuff from 15-20 years ago was much more fun to watch because they showed a lot more racing.
 
sandman said:
Looks to be on the Olympic Channel 675 on Xfinity. You all notice NBC Sports Network channel 49 is now gone🤔

Disney /ABC / Fox / ESPN / conglomerate rules 😭
Click to expand...
They've stated most of the sports were moved to USA channel 242 DTV.
 
Two stages in the books and so far navigation is the key. Several big names including Toby and Ricky B. dropped almost an hour in Stage 1B. Stage 2 had more navigational challenges and TP made up a few minutes but Brabec is still almost an hour behind. Still have a long way to go but that is a massive amount of time to make up. Right now the top three are two Gas Gas with a Yamaha in the middle. Shorty is 36 minutes back in 16th after two stages.

Top American is Skyler Howes on a Factory Husky, sitting 5th 10 minutes back. He is very fast and could easily be on the final podium. Next American is young Mason Klein sitting in 14th and 32 minutes behind. The kid looks like he could be America's next Rally star. He is on KTM but not a factory ride.
 
William Wolfen said:
I really wish there was more coverage to watch. Rallying is the only sport I find truly interesting.
Click to expand...

Coverage is out there, but you have to invest the time unfortunately to find it. Lots of good recaps and highlights on YouTube and social media in general.
 
I don't know about y'all, but all the pictures I have seen with the wet sand is stuff we dirt bikers dream of.

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Dakar.com , listed in the first post, has what appears to be pretty good coverage. RedBull TV is another.
 
Those boys are truckin! I know these guys are top athletes but doggone that's gotta wear on the legs.
 
Joan is looking good. Still love watching our Texas friend Andrew Short on that good looking Yamaha WR450f.
 

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Stage 3 is in the books. Four Americans in the top seven for Stage 3, led by the 20 year old Californian Mason Klein. Amazing ride for this kid. It would be impossible to overstate how impressive a ride like this is. American Skylar Howes moved up to 4th in the overall standings, and he has the best chance to win or podium out of all the American riders. Picture for today. PERFECT wet sand conditions again.

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Stage Five today was not kind to top American and factory Husky rider Skyler Howes. He crashed and is out of the rally--sounds like he took a big hit to the head and does not remember anything about what may have happened.

That leaves the top American as our Smithville resident Andrew Short, sitting in 11th place about 35 minutes back in the overall motorcycle standings, followed by Mason Klein right behind him. Former American winner Ricky Brabec is not making up much of the hour that he lost on the first stage when he (and other top riders too) got lost. Overall leader after five stages remains Sam Sunderland out of Great Britain.

Today's picture is of MotoGP racer turned desert racer (rookie desert racer at that) Danilo Petrucci. He was today's Stage 5 winner after provisional winner Toby Price got assessed a 6 minute penalty.

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Day six is finished and we are at the half way point. Tomorrow is a rest day. Today's stage for motorcycles was stopped short, at only 100 KM total. The race organizers today ran the bikes on the same route as the big trucks and cars ran on yesterday. The sand is still wet, and the cars/trucks left a route that was pretty beat up, but very rideable (just not at 100% all out). Enough riders complained about the conditions that the organizers cut the stage short. The main complaint was that the course was so changed by the cars and the trucks that it did not match the roadbook, which does have warnings for bad hazards on the course (but not all).

So, this is what Dakar has become for motorcycles. A pure speed contest with less and less focus on endurance. Not sure what happened to going as fast as the conditions allow and keeping it on two wheels, but that is not a factor any more it seems. There is nothing worse than a keyboard warrior being critical of something happening half way around the world, but listening to the feedback today from some of the top riders, Daniel Sanders being one, the race could have continued.

Over bike position after six stages: Sunderland (GBR), Walkner (Austria) and Sanders (Australia). All within five minutes or so of each other. Top American is young Mason Klein (10th) who continues to show that he has the raw speed to ride with anyone in the world, and at 20 years old! He will be a KTM factory rider, guaranteed, for next year's race. Shorty is in 11th overall.

Picture for day. No, there are never any mud holes in the desert (from yesterday's car/truck route):

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Dakar coverage has some improvement to do, that’s for sure. But I sure love the glimpses we get each year. This is the bulk of my riding for most of my life. And I can appreciate what the riders are going through. Hope it’s a safe race this year with no deaths🙏
I was lucky enough to meet Ricky in San Diego and grab a last minute autograph session back in 2020 right after his victory.
There are quite a few places near us here in Texas for your sand fixes.
 

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Daniel Sanders, my pick for winning the bike category this year, had a major crash and is out. He crashed on a paved road, a highway really, at a T intersection. It was right out of the start on the way to the special test. Wasn't even racing. He broke his arm/elbow and will need surgery. Pretty significant shakeup in the overall standing with Van Beveren on the Yamaha now leading from Walkner on 2nd and Benevides in 3rd. Top American now is Shorty (10th) with Klein and now Brabec right behind. They are all around 30 minutes plus or minus behind. Brabec has made up about 25 minutes from his first stage debacle getting lost, and Shorty is quietly having a good ride and setting himself up to be in a position to keep moving up. Another long stage tomorrow.

Picture for today: Rocks in the desert.
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I am running out of stream but with four more stages after today, I will keep trying to update. Seems like the names of hamburgers and debates about cancel culture are far more important than motorcycle racing. Anyway...

Stage eight was a long stage as was stage seven. Two Americans had very nice stage 8 results, but lost time in the overall because they needed to beat the riders in the top three overall spots and that did not happen. Ricky Brabec was 4th and Mason Klein 5th. Mason Klein is now the top American rider overall in 10th and Brabec and Shorty not too far behind Klein. Shorty had a bit of an off day in Stage 8, not sure what happened. Top riders after stage 8 are Sunderland, Walkner and Van Beveren. Four stages to go, tomorrow being a shorter stage.

Pic of the day: Hard to imagine the overall scale and immensity of the Saudi Arabian desert.
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Thanks for the updates. You give me exactly what I’m looking for without having to dig. I’ll go dig later, but the summary keeps me going.
 
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