| Team Dome BMW - Simon & Nick: 6th Jan 2005/1 |
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Dakar Rally reaches the dunes
Competitors in the 2005 Telefòncia Dakar Rally finally reached the African
desert on day six of
the event. It was a day that experienced riders enjoyed and novices struggled. The rally travelled
622kms from Smara to Zouerat, in Mauritania. BMW's Off-Road Skills instructor, Simon Pavey
rode his BMW to finish the stage in 99th position and is now 86th overall
in the gruelling 17-day
event.
"The entire 120km liaison was off road," said BMW F650 GS rider,
Simon Pavey about the sixth
stage of the rally. "The liaison was difficult and then in the special
there was a sandstorm in the
dunes. I was riding really well and only fell twice in the soft sand, but
I broke the silencer on my
bike and then it overheated. I stopped and let it cool down for 20 minutes
and then I was able to
finish the stage."
"When I arrived back at the Bivouac last night the support crew had
not arrived so I had to fix the
bike myself, although I did have some help from [Long Way Round's] Charley
Boorman [who is
doing a recce for next year's event].
"Today is the marathon stage of the rally. It will be a long day of riding over big sand dunes and
camel grass. We will finish in the dark tonight, so I am going to work
hard and have fun."
Day seven of the rally has the longest special of the entire rally – from Zouerat to Tichit. It starts
with a 9km liaison and is followed by a 660km special. There will be a
mixture of navigation
difficulties, camel grass and numerous sand dunes. Then at the end of the
day all of the
competition vehicles will be enclosed in a parc ferme area, where competitors
will not be
allowed to work on their bikes.
Simon's team-mate and fellow BMW Off-Road Skills instructor, Nick Plumb
was forced to
withdraw from the 2005 Telefónica Dakar Rally on Tuesday due to a technical
problem.
"I had some problems with the bike and I missed my start time for
the special stage," said
26-year-old Plumb, who was travelling by coach to Agadir, before flying
back to the UK. "When
I finally arrived at the start of the special the officials said that I
couldn't start it [because he has
missed his start time] and I had to ride to the end of the stage, so I followed the support crew on
the road. About 30km from the end of the special, just before the check
point, I rode back on the
track and went through the final check point. This caused confusion and
the officials said that I
had to ride the whole special, even though the officials at the start of
the special wouldn't let
me start it. It was the end of my rally and I am completely gutted."
Italian Frank Meoni won the sixth special stage of the 2005 Dakar rally. Norwegian Pal anders
Ullevalseter was second and South Africa's Alfie Cox third. In the motorcycle category
Frenchman Cyril Despres leads the Dakar, followed by Marc Coma and then Meoni.
In the car special, Colin McRae was forced to retire from the race after
crashing. Peterhansel
claimed the special ahead of Hiroshi Masuoka while Bruno Saby, third, takes
command of the
overall.
Highlights of the 2005 Telefónica Dakar Rally can be seen on Eurosport.
See your local guide for
details. |
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