...or whatever new-fangled name its called these days.
What a fantastic event. Amazingly hard work in very hot conditions over very tough terrain in very powerful SUVs and bikes... Ive always liked that.
What Ive noticed though, is that it used to be just Citroen with their adapted ZX hatchbacks, and Mitsubishi using Pajeros for the SUV class.
Now theyre all at it, which is good to see... BMW X5s, Chevrolet Silverados, Mercedes Benz M-class (New model), Kamaz trucks... excellent stuff. Think it started in Lisbon this year, whereas it used to be Paris every year...
Desert Raids are not a new thing - the Buenos Aires to Caracas "Carretera" was an incredible test of endurance, and that was over 60 years ago.
...that is Buenos Aires to Caracas AND back again. In the 1930s & 40s. It went through Lima, etc - up through Bogota.
There were 2 people in the cars, a navigator & a driver, rather like rallying. The cars were 2 door sedans, usually Ford or Chevrolet. Juan Manuel Fangio learned his racing in this amazing event, and won it in a Chevrolet several times.
They used to modify the cars, cut away part of the fender, lighten the body and tune the engines.
..citroen are the experts with continent crossing records dating back to the halftrack vehicles pre war...they did endurance records crossing the sahara desert and in the deepest jungles of various continents...the truck records are usually held by tatra for the dakar etc...an amazing event with superbly specialised vehicles and amazingly specialised drivers.....the 2cv 'raids' were amazing events too, many nutcases in deux cheveaux crossing deserts and jungles just for fun...one vehicle memorably crawling home with no gearbox oil cause of a holed casing but with the gearbox being lubricated from the top by feeding it bananas and other fruits/leaves by hand...amazing vehicles.......
Originally posted by biggbn: ..citroen are the experts with continent crossing records dating back to the halftrack vehicles pre war...they did endurance records crossing the sahara desert and in the deepest jungles of various continents...the truck records are usually held by tatra for the dakar etc...an amazing event with superbly specialised vehicles and amazingly specialised drivers.....the 2cv 'raids' were amazing events too, many nutcases in deux cheveaux crossing deserts and jungles just for fun...one vehicle memorably crawling home with no gearbox oil cause of a holed casing but with the gearbox being lubricated from the top by feeding it bananas and other fruits/leaves by hand...amazing vehicles.......
that is rather incredible...
Yes the Deux Cheveaux are famous for these expeditions. There was one in this years Raid.
Originally posted by remoterob: Yep, only 3 deaths and the banning of the entire DAF team mired this event.
If any of you enjoyed the Long way round, Charly Boorman (sp?) was riding in it this time.
Favourite vehicle has to be the Bowler Wildcat Dakars though.
Long Way Round was fantastic. Ive seen the TV series and read the book. One of my clients knew I would be into that, so gave me the book as a present. The TV series followed my reading of the book and i loved it. Glad I read it first, and watched it after. It gave me two different insights into their trip.
The Dakar rally has not been what is was. They never start from Paris these days. Is either from Barcelona or Lisbon (why call it Paris?)And bikers seem to be getting killed frequently. I would like to see the bikes catergory scrapped and leave just the cars and the trucks.
Originally posted by remoterob: Yep, only 3 deaths and the banning of the entire DAF team mired this event.
If any of you enjoyed the Long way round, Charly Boorman (sp?) was riding in it this time.
Favourite vehicle has to be the Bowler Wildcat Dakars though.
Long Way Round was fantastic. Ive seen the TV series and read the book. One of my clients knew I would be into that, so gave me the book as a present. The TV series followed my reading of the book and i loved it. Glad I read it first, and watched it after. It gave me two different insights into their trip.
How about when they rolled the Support Vehicle?!
This could deserve a seperate thread - how do you get a mod around here?
I've only watched the special edition DVd (which cuts out the 'ring ARGH) it just seemed like they did not really know how to drive a vehicle with a very high C.O.G off road - any more in the book?
Best bit for me was the giant Kamaz trucks (rigged or what though - "hes going our way" - yeah because we hired him to)
aint seen it yet, but im gonna buy it on dvd this week..yes palmira, we have got dvd's up here..gotta have somethin to watch as we guzzle our deep fried mars bars and irn-bru(made from girders)..i caught a similar but less extreme road trip on sky about a month ago, where vinnie jones and a mate went to the back of beyond in russia or mongolia or jibrovia...for miles on end in crap eastern european 4x4s to fish for the most ferocious fresh water fish in the world..a big fu**in pike like chap....eventually big vin hooked one and it took him about an hour and a half or so and about 8km down the river to land the big bugger..it was a facinating programme, wether you like vinnie j or not, well worth the watching
Don't be put off by the crapish first 5 episodes if you buy the special edition (don't know if its worth it since they apparently cut stuff out as well as adding it)...got to wait until mongolia till the fun starts.
Another interesting series on Men & Motors last summer was "Nick Sanders, Global Rider".
Middle-class, demure Nick rides his Yamaha YZX-R1 around the world, a sportsbike not really designed for long distances or over rough terrain, it was laden down with spare tires, water, supplies, tent all strapped to the rear of the bike. Was very strange, (just as it was on Long Way Round) to see this R1 in places like Thailand sporting a yellow license plate reading Y 632 TGK and the south london dealer sticker at the bottom. The R1 became extremely second-hand during the journey.
Nick himself is interesting & knowledgeable and presented it very well.
Ewan & charley seemed to have alot of spills, whereas nick didnt drop the R1 once. Although I will say that Ewan & Charley had to ride over some incredibly difficult terrain..
One of the Mitsubishi support vehicles was rolled over too. It was equally weird seeing those with Bristol license numbers going through Khazakhstan etc.
What would you do there, biggbn, there were no Haggis to hunt?
Just out of interest, which part of Scotland are you in? And have you ever driven the 100 mile coast road from Carlisle to Stranraer? That is perishing cold but an interesting road!
..good road but christ, thats almost england....i'm in dundee, ne scotland..we have some of the best driving roads in the country up here..and some of the best scenery in europe..really. if you are ever on holiday, get on yer bike or a suitable car and head up here..a9 to inverness, across to fort william along the banks of loch ness via fort augustus, down to oban, spend a few days exploring this area and glen coe etc...then head back home up and over the rest and be thankful and along the banks of loch lomond ending up at stirling...but when ya get home and realise what a blast you have had, and that you have only scratched the surface of our road network and scenery...dont tell anyone how good it was....we dont want the place overun with bloody tourists...we dont take kindly to strangers roun' 'ere.......na, yer gauranteed a warm welcome, come see for your self mate....
Yes the coast road is almost England - although its still a long way from here & very different terrain... Stranraer i think is actually further south than some parts of Cumbria...
I have been up to Largs and that was very scenic, but it was in winter & the roads were a bit icy!
Friend of mine drove his Volvo S70 to Forres - his route sounded a bit like the one you describe - rather nice in summer i expect! I must make the effort to do that - even if I fly to Edinburgh and rent a motorcycle from a dealer there. Ive tended to stick to France/Germany/Italy/Spain for motorcycling but I will go to Scotland and have a proper look arooooond one day. From what ive seen on the TV it looks fantastic & the roads are great. As Jeremy Clarkson said , "there is a racetrack called Scotland"...
You shouldnt have told me that, surely you dont want the sun eclipsed by the rims of trilby hats, and a lack of demand for Pork at the local butcher?....
Ive tended to stick to France/Germany/Italy/Spain for motorcycling but I will go to Scotland and have a proper look arooooond one day. From what ive seen on the TV it looks fantastic & the roads are great. As Jeremy Clarkson said , "there is a racetrack called Scotland"...
