Dakar Rally 2016

[Beez 5,091]

Well here goes, I hope I will be able keep this thread up to date throughout the rally.

The 2016 edition of the Dakar Rally starts near Buenos Aires, Argentina on Jan 2 with a short 10 km stage finishing in Rosario. This is mainly for the fans but the times will count and determine the starting order for Stage 2.

On Stage 5 (Jan 7) the riders enter Bolivia. There will be two marathon stages, one rest day and the finish in Rosario, Argentina on Jan. 16 for a total of 12 stages and 9237 kilometers (5739 miles).

You'll have to excuse me for a lack of details, hot links and images. I am at my sister's for Chirstmas and only have an iPad which makes it difficult to do those things and the official Dakar Rally site doesn't have the total distance. I will fill in details when I can.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Beez

[Dodge 7,265]

Very cool. 

[Beez 5,091]

Could Toby Price be the first Australian to win the Dakar Rally?

Last year he finished on the podium in 3rd. This was his first attempt in the Dakar so that is an amazing result. He was on the factory KTM team which is t the top team in the bikes category however he was riding in a support role because Spaniard Marc Coma was their lead rider. With Coma's retirement, Price will be able to show everything he has.

Here's an interview with Toby.

http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/12/22/meet-toby-price-aussie-taking-dakar-rally/

[Beez 5,091]

The American contingent:

Ian Blythe - KTM - Team Rally Panam

Scott Bright - KTM - Team Rally Panam

Alexander Smith - Team Husky

C.R. Gittere - Team Husky

Ricky Brabec - HRC Honda

Joe Janus - navigator in UK based big truck team (Rally Raid UK)

Robby Gordon / Kellon Walch - Gordini

Sheldon Creed / Jonah Street - Gordini

Here's some more background on some of the Americans off the top of my head.

Alexander Smith is the son of motorcycle hall of farmer Malcolm Smith (and moto hero of Beez). He runs Malcolm Smith Motorsports, a very large dealership in Southern California and is more a businessman than racer. He finished his first navigation rally this year at The Pharohs Rally and is just hoping to finish the Dakar this year. His Dad, Malcolm, also completed the Dakar Rally in I don't know what year.

Ricky Brabec is on the Factory HRC Honda team and this is his first attempt at the Dakar. He has won the Baja 1000 and 500 and just about every other desert race in North America and Mexico over the past few years. Team HRC Honda is the second best team in the rally behind Team KTM.

Robby Gordon has been racing trucks in the desert since he was a teenager. He's won just about everything except the Dakar and he's been trying to win that for over a decade. He also raced NASCAR for many years. He is confident, cocky and rubs many people the wrong way. He runs his own race team which builds the trucks he races in his shop. The Gordini is the second generation Dakar truck his team has built and 2016 will be the 2nd or 3rd year of running it in the rally. Robby's best result in the Dakar is 3rd place.

Kellen Walch was a motorcycle desert racer and has competed in the Dakar on a bike back when it was still in Africa. He has navigated for Robby Gordon before in the South American Dakars.

Sheldon Creed is in this late teens and this will be his first Dakar and first navigation rally. He currently competes in in stadium truck racing and is fast and crashes a lot. Many say he's too young and inexperienced and will ne out of the rally quickly.

Jonah Street is a veteran Dakar racer on bikes. I think he competed in 4 or 5 back when it was in Africa. He won some stages but never got to the podium for the overall. He is soft spoken, calm and an excellent navigator. If Jonah can keep Sheldon in check, slowed down and no crashes it's their best chance for a finish.

[Beez 5,091]

Top car team Mini All4 Racing hopes to win 5th Dakar in a row with the biggest Mini team ever!

• 12 MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles involved

• Mix of newcomers and Dakar old hands

Less than two months to go to the most important race of the season: the Dakar Rally in South America. Last January, the MINI ALL4 Racing designed and built by X-raid crossed the Dakar’s finish podium as winner for the fourth consecutive time! And this streak of success is supposed to be continued in 2016. 12 MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles, more than ever in the history of the sport, will cross the start podium of the 2016 Dakar in Buenos Aires. The 24 drivers and co-drivers, among them five Dakar winners, represent 13 different nations, with the line-up featuring a mix of experienced drivers and Dakar rookies.

The reigning champions, Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and Mathieu Baumel (FRA), are going to once again contest the legendary event with a MINI ALL4 Racing. The pairing can look back on an extremely successful season: after having won the 2015 Dakar – the second Dakar win for Nasser Al-Attiyah who celebrated his first triumph in 2010 – the pairing also prevailed in the battle for the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup title. “The MINI ALL4 Racing is a very competitive racing car, packed with all the experience of Team X-raid,” says the 44-year old. “And it goes without saying that I also want to win the 2016 Dakar.”

In 2014, Spain’s Nani Roma won for X-raid the Dakar hat trick. For Roma himself it was the second Dakar title as he already won the event’s motorbike ranking back in 2004. In 2016, he will contest the Dakar with a new co-driver – his compatriot Alex Haro. In the run-up to the season highlight, the two Spaniards already won their home event, the Baja Aragon. “I practiced a lot to be as well prepared as possible for the Dakar,” reveals Roma. “Following all the bad luck we had to cope with last year I now want to again battle it out for the win.”

For Orlando Terranova and Bernardo ‘Ronnie’ Graue, the 2016 Dakar will be nearly completely a home rally. The Dakar leaves Argentina for just three days and in these three days, the field will have to fight in the Bolivian heights. “With the MINI you can be very fast in many terrains,” underlines Terranova: dunes, open terrain or twisting tracks. In addition, the car’s stability is just incredible. The coming Dakar will be mainly contested in Argentina. This means a lot of pressure for me but I definitely want to be a factor in the battle for the win.”

Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) does not yet think about fighting for the win, this year. After all, he is going to make his Dakar debut! With Michel Périn, the four-time World Rally Vive Champion was teamed up with an extremely experienced co-driver. In the Baja Aragon in Spain his first race at the wheel of the MINI ALL4 Racing, Hirvonen secured the very fine third place. And in his first desert rally, the Rally du Maroc in Morocco, he finished fifth. His goals for the 2016 Dakar aren’t quite as ambitious as the ones of his aforementioned team-mates: “For me, making it to the finish – if possible without getting stuck – is the top priority,” says the Finn. ”Other than many other drivers I just lack the necessary experience.”

In addition, several other drivers also will make their MINI ALL4 Racing debut, in January: Adam Malysz, for instance, switched to the racer from Trebur in the early stages of the season. The former ski jumper will contest the event with co-driver Xavier Panseri who finished third with Krzysztof Holowczyc in the 2015 Dakar. Also new in the MINI ALL4 Racing camp are the Argentinean Nazareno Lopez and his co-driver Sergio Lafuente from Uruguay. Lopez made his Dakar debut in 2015 and finished 48th.

Poland’s Jakub Przygonski was racing on a motorbike, to date, and is going to contest the Dakar for the first time on four wheels. His co-driver will be Belorussian Andrei Rudnitski. Meanwhile, Briton Harry Hunt will enter virgin soil: he is going to contest his first Dakar ever. But the 27-year old can rely on the support of a very experienced co-driver: two-time Dakar winner Andreas Schulz. While it will be the Dakar debut for both China’s Guo Meiling and her co-driver and compatriot Min Liao.

Boris Garafulic (CHL) and Filipe Palmeiro (POR), however, already have got quite a lot of Dakar experience with the MINI ALL4 Racing under their belts. And the same applies to the German pairing Stephan Schott and Holm Schmidt. To date, the two Germans finished every Dakar in South America and are one of just two pairings who succeeded in doing so. For the Dutch pairing Erik van Loon / Wouter Rosegaar, the 2015 Dakar was extremely successful. By finishing fourth, they secured the best result ever a Dutchman could celebrate in the car category.

Originally, the Dakar was supposed to be started in Peru’s capital Lima to then take the field across Peru and Bolivia to Argentina and the finish in Rosario. But due to the El Nino effect that is expected to be particularly strong, this year, Peru’s government opted against an involvement of the country. Therefore, the 2016 Dakar will be contested in Argentina and Bolivia only. The start podium in Buenos Aires will take place on 02nd January and on the following day the competitors will start into the first stage. On day five, the field will cross the Bolivian border to return to Argentina three days later. After a day of rest at Salta, the second week of the Dakar will take the competitors to the finish in Rosario.

A special challenge will be the Bolivian heights. In the previous Dakar, several drivers struggled with problems such as headaches. In 2014 and 2015, only the racing vehicles entered Bolivia but in the 2016 Dakar, the entire Dakar baggage will cross Bolivia for the first time.

The biggest MINI ALL4 Racing line-up in the history of the sport

2016 12 MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles

2015 10 MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles

2014 11 MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles

2013 6 MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles

2012 4 MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles

13 nations: Argentina, Belorussia, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Spain and Uruguay

4 Dakar wins for the MINI ALL4 Racing: 2012 and 2013 (Stéphane Peterhansel), 2014 (Nani Roma), 2015 (Nasser Al-Attiyah)

5 Dakar winners in the line-up: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Nani Roma, Mathieu Baumel, Michel Périn, Andreas Schulz

Edited December 23, 2015 by Beez

[Beez 5,091]

Peugeot's All-Star team for 2016 Dakar Rally

 

 

You'd think having Mr. Dakar, Stephane Peterhansel, winner of 11 Dakars both on bikes and cars on the team would be a good start. Then add Carlos Sainz, WRC Champion and Veteran of many Dakars both in Africa and SA. Also on the team is Cyril Despres, 5 time winner on bikes and in his 2nd year in the Peugoet car. This year 9 time WRC Champion Sebastian Leob joins the team for his first crack at the rally. Will this dream team be able to dethrone the Minis?

 

http://www.motorsport.com/dakar/news/loeb-joins-peugeot-for-2016-dakar-rally-assault/ Edited December 30, 2015 by Beez

[Beez 5,091]

Underdogs #2 the Toyota Hilux team from South Africa.

Toyota SA Motors is pleased to announce the team that will tackle to 2016 Dakar Rally, which takes place from January 2nd to 16th in Argentina and Bolivia. The race, often billed as the toughest motorsport event in the world, will see three race Toyota Hilux vehicles from South Africa take part under the new team name of Toyota Gazoo Racing SA.

The new name reflects a global move by the Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) to unify its racing efforts, and will be expanded to include more racing formulae during 2016. The word ‘Gazoo’ has a long and proud history in Japan, and is synonymous with driving pleasure, fun and racing excellence.

For 2016, the new name will be proudly displayed on the three race Toyota Hilux vehicles that will compete at Dakar. These vehicles will be the New Generation Hilux which debuts in South Africa during February 2016. The latest evolution of the locally developed and built race Toyota Hilux features a new engine and transmission, with many refinements to the suspension and electronic systems, in addition to the bodywork being aligned with the latest New Generation Toyota Hilux.

These vehicles will be crewed by Dakar veteran Giniel de Villiers and his long-serving German navigator, Dirk von Zitzewitz; South African Cross-Country champions Leeroy Poulter and navigator Rob Howie; and Saudi racing sensation Yazeed Al Rajhi and German navigator Timo Gottschalk.

More here

http://www.toyota.co.za/articles/toyota-gazoo-racing-sa-all-set-to-tackle-2016-dakar-rally

[Beez 5,091]

Underdogs #3, Robby Gordon and Team SPEED

2 Gordinis for #TeamSPEED In The 2016 Dakar Rally

Charlotte, NC (December 15, 2015) – Robby Gordon and Team SPEED are returning to compete in the 2016 Dakar Rally in full force with Two super car HST Gordini’s contending for the overall win. Gordon will drive his familiar bright orange #312 SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires/ TRAXXAS entry; while 2015 Stadium SUPER Trucks Champion, and X Games Gold Medalist Sheldon Creed, joins the team and will be the youngest competitor into a Dakar Rally piloting a similar looking #337 SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires Gordini

Gordon, a Dakar fan favorite is no stranger to the event making 2016 his 12th start. Since the first in 2005, Gordon has gone on to capture 12 stage victories, with five top 15 overall finishes. By capturing the overall third place podium in 2009, Gordon became the first American in the history of the Dakar to capture a stage win and overall podium finish, even as a manufacture.

Joining Gordon in the cockpit of the SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires/Traxxas Gordini will be previous 3-time Dakar navigator, and veteran Baja co-pilot, Kellon Walch.

“Kellon has been very involved in all our test sessions throughout 2015 as well as the Baja 500 and Baja 1000. The in-car communication and mechanical skills between the both of us is some of the best I have ever had for the Dakar.” stated Gordon.

More here

http://www.planetrobby.com/forum/topics/2-gordinis-for-teamspeed-in-the-2016-dakar-rally

In my opinion those are the teams to follow and have a shot at winning in the car category.

Also note that Gordon is completely wrong saying he is the first American to win a stage and podium in the Dakar. Maybe in the car class he is correct but many Americans have won stages on motorcycles and Chris Blais and Jimmy Lewis both got 3rd overall and Danny LaPorte got 2nd. Typical Robby.

[Beez 5,091]

More info on the USA riders.

http://www.dirtbuzz.com/newzz/2015/12/26/get-to-know-five-americans-to-race-2016-dakar-rally

 

Coming up this week I will post some details on the top motorcycle teams and riders.

 

In the meantime how about a gallery of photos from last year's rally?

Edited December 28, 2015 by Beez

[Fido_le_muet 5,198]

I used to follow Dakar when it was still in Africa but now that it's in Latin America, the TV coverage has completely vanished.

And now it's happening in the middle of the night for us Europeans so it's even harder to follow.

[Beez 5,091]

Are you serious!? You're in France!

I thought you guys got an hour of same-day race coverage and then another hour of behind-the-scenes/lifestyle coverage every day.

ASO is French and so are many of the best riders/drivers.

 

Here in the states we get a half hour highlight show that is a day old. It's pretty lame.

I follow the rally on this thread at ADVrider.com

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/off5icial-2016-pre-dakar-arrival-scrutineering-and-start-podium-ceremony-prologue-thread.1103897/

It's a bunch of rally addicts that pull info from everywhere around the net, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and insiders at the rally.

[Fido_le_muet 5,198]

Just checked the TV schedule :

 

30 mins of highlights per day, about the previous day...

It's on Eurosport only (paid channel).

 

What you described was a long time ago...

When the race was in Africa, we had a 15min recap at around 8pm and then a 45min highlights at 11pm with race recap, interviews, standings for cars, bikes and trucks. The whole thing.

I even think there were afternoon segments during the weekends but not sure about that one.

 

Now...

Edited December 28, 2015 by Fido_le_jedi

[Beez 5,091]

Meet the Factory KTM Team

Jordi Viladoms (Spain) Senior member of the team finished 2nd in 2014 and has been riding the Dakar since 2006. This will be his 10th Dakar. Prior to that he won several Spanish motocross & enduro titles. One of the favorites to win this year.

Toby Price (Australia) Won Stage 12 last year and finished 3rd overall in his debut Dakar.

Matthias Walkner (Austria) Current FIM Cross-Country Rally champion and former MX1 and MX3 motocross champion. Dropped out of last years Dakar, his debut, on Stage 10 due to food poisioning.

Antoine Meo (France) 1st Dakar, 4 straight World Enduro Championship titles.

Laia Sanz (Spain) 13 time champion in World Trials, 4 time champion in World Enduro and 2015 Dakar female winner, 9th overall, which is the best female finish ever. This will be her 6th Dakar.

 

[Beez 5,091]

Meet Team HRC Honda

Paulo "Speedy" Goncalvez (Portugal) My pick for the overall winner, Gonk got 2nd in 2015 which was a much better result than 2014 where his bike caught fire and burned in the desert. This is his 10th Dakar.

Juan "Bang Bang" Barreda (Spain) "Win it or bin it" seems to be JBB's racing philosophy, he often bring his bike into the bivouac in pieces and keeps his mechanics busy. His best finish is 7th in 2014.

Michael Metge (France) This is his 3rd Dakar and he will be JBB's water carrier.

Paolo Ceci (Italy) He is a top 20 rider and will be Gonk's water carrier in his 5th Dakar.

Ricky Brabec (USA) He's won a lot of desert races and championships in North America but at 24 this is his first Dakar. He hopes for a top 25 finish.

 

[Beez 5,091]

Meet the Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team

Helder Rodrigues (Portugal) Helder has been a consistent Top 10 finisher in his 9 Dakars. Hi best finish was 3rd in 2011 & 2012. I think he could win this year and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Alessandro Botturi (Italy) A former rugby player, Alessandro has had a strong career in World Enduro and ISDE. This is his 5th Dakar and first time on a factory team.

 

[Beez 5,091]

Meet the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team

Pablo Quintanilla (Chile) Fast and familiar with South American terrain, this is his 4th Dakar with a best finish of 3rd in '14.

Ruben Faria (Portugal) a Dakar regular since 2006, and who delivered his best performance in 2013 when he finished second overall. Faria has had three top ten finishes in the Dakar and is very capable of a strong finish.

Pela Renet (France) This is his first Dakar

 

 

 

NOTE: KTM bought Husqvarna 2 years ago so if the Husky rally bikes look exactly like the KTMs it's because they are. They just have different stickers on them.

Edited December 31, 2015 by Beez

[BryannosaurusRex 1,173]

I've just seen on the news that 10 spectators have been injured in the prologue by a car losing control.

Ten Injured As Rally Car Crashes Into Crowd

At least 10 people have been injured, five seriously, after a car came off the road and smashed into spectators during the prologue of the Dakar Rally in Argentina.

The prologue - which took place before the first stage on Sunday - was immediately suspended following the accident involving Chinese Mini driver Guo Meiling.

Her car veered off the course 6.6km into the 11km prologue on a stretch of straight country road near the small town of Arrecifes.

Four medical helicopters, three medical vehicles belonging to the race organisers and eight local ambulances were sent to the scene.

Arrecifes health officials said a man and his 14-year-old son were the two most serious cases.

"In total, we had 10 patients, including four children and one pregnant woman, who is OK," said Daniel Modesto, the head of the local hospital.

But race director Etienne Lavigne said 12 people had been hurt, including Guo, whose Mini ended up battered, with its bonnet lying on the ground.

Up to 60,000 people are thought to have been lining the route of the prologue.

In 2015, Polish motorcycle rider Michal Hernik died at the end of a stage, while the last accident involving spectators at the Dakar Rally was in 2011, when one person was killed.

Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb had safely negotiated the prologue in his debut on the Dakar Rally.

Dutchman Bernhard ten Brinke, driving a Toyota, had claimed victory, taking 6min 08sec to cover the 11km course, beating Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) and Xavier Pons (Ford Ranger).

Loeb is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Ari Vatanen, who won the Dakar Rally on his first attempt in 1987, back when it was raced in Africa.

"It was important to clear the prologue and avoid any mistakes on the first day," said Loeb, who is driving a Peugeot 2008 DKR, having previously raced almost exclusively for rival French manufacturer Citroen.

The Paris-Dakar Rally began in 1978 and the course traditionally ran from the French capital to Dakar in Senegal, but due to security threats it has been staged in Argentina and Chile since 2009.

[Fido_le_muet 5,198]

Wouldn't be Dakar without injured spectators...

[Beez 5,091]

The opening prologue of around 12 km was for spectators and to determine starting order. I'm still catching up.

Today's stage, Stage 1, has been canceled due to torrential rain. More rain in forecast.

If you are in the U.S. Coverage is on NBCsports channel and starts tomorrow at 5:30pm est. daily highlight shows.

[Beez 5,091]

I used to follow Dakar when it was still in Africa but now that it's in Latin America, the TV coverage has completely vanished.

And now it's happening in the middle of the night for us Europeans so it's even harder to follow.

Apparently it's on France 4. Does that help?

[Beez 5,091]

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/150622046" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

Robby Gordon from the prologue stage.

 

They are racing today! Stage 2 is not cancelled!

At this point the some of the bikes have almost finished and the cars are just starting. It's too early to tell but it looks like Dakar veteran Alain Duclos on the Sherco is leading and Australian Toby Price on his KTM is 2nd.

 I'll update when the bike & cars have finished.

[Fido_le_muet 5,198]

Yeah Beez I saw quickly that there were a few Dakar programs on public channels.

I need to take a closer look but I saw a 2 min recap at 8pm (1 day old) and a 30min recap at 00:20am (1 day old too).

Need to have a closer look at the France 4 programming.

[Beez 5,091]

 

Austrailan Toby Price (#3) wins Stage 2 and leads the overall in motos, but the big news is Dakar rookie Sebastian Loeb (#314)wins his first Dakar stage ever in what is his first Dakar Rally ever! Will Loeb begin to dominate rally/raid like he dominated WRC? The early stages in Argentina are mostly gravel roads and are very similar to WRC stages but the Peugeot is rear wheel drive and very-unlike a rally car.

 

 

Mr Dakar, Stephane Peterhansel (#302) got 2nd, 2+ minutes behind with last year's winner Nasser Al-Attiyah (#300) finishing 8th. American Robby Gordon (#312) sits in 22nd overall, 17 minutes behind the leader. Lots of kms left though.

 

 

Did you know?

Top WRC rally driver Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) is competing in the Dakar for the first time this year. A veteran of 12 seasons of WRC is driving an All4 Racing Mini (#315), Mikko will be partnered with four-time Dakar winning co-driver Michel Perin. Finished 5th in Stage 2.

 

American motos finishing positions in Dakar Stage 2:
21 Ricky Brabec HONDA +00:10:50
47 Ian Blythe KTM +00:25:29
76 Alexander Smith HUSQVARNA +00:42:54
85 Scott Bright KTM +00:47:41
103 Cr Gittere HUSQVARNA +01:06:16

 

If there are any riders/driver you like me to update on let me know. Or if you just want who is racing for your country and how they are doing.

 

Stream France 4 for free and no sign ups from this link,

http://oklivetv.com/france-4-live/

[Fido_le_muet 5,198]

So cool to see Loeb win his first Dakar stage ever !

This guy is truly amazing.

I wish he would come back to Le Mans and win it just one. He came so close when he finished 2nd. On a Pescarolo no less !

He is truly a genius driver, already one of the best pilots of all time.

Just look at the palmares of this guy !

• 9 times WRC Champion in a row !
• 2nd overall at Le Mans in 2006 !
• 6 WTCC wins !
• 3rd overall at WTCC in 2014 and 2015 !
• Winner and record holder at Pikes Peak ! Annihilating the previous record by 1.5 minutes !!!
• Winner of the 2012 X Games !
• 4th overall at FIA GT 2012 !

It would be a dream to see him win a F1 Grand Prix and win the 500 miles at Indy !

[Fido_le_muet 5,198]

Just checked, there's a 1 hour program everyday on public television with live coverage (if I understood correctly)

Will definitely check it out tomorrow after Scouring the hell out of the Projects