I finally got to watch the last half of the Dakar rally that I taped. I saw one quad and it was in the pits during an interview. Not one mention that there are even quads in this event.

They seem to spend allot of time with Robby Gordon, he wasn't too happy about being a team player for the leading female teammates. He also talked allot of trash about his VW he was racing, I am sure VW loved that! Are there limits on what type of mods can be done to the cars? Why don't we see any Baja style truggies out there?

What about those trucks, do we have anything like that out here in the US? Talk about the ultimate foundation for a motorhome or tow vehicle

 

The reason for all the 2 wheel action is........who were the major sponsors??????? KTM, rEDbULL( who sponsors the KTM team). they are just plugging their advertisers.

 

I don't know the exact classes, but I believe classification depends on engine size and the type of car you ride. One of the buggies had a V8, but it did not finish and was outrun by the factory cars from the start. There was a Baja style pickup, but it was way down the order, and It crashed out around 3/4 of the race.

The builder of the V8 buggy said that the V8 was too heavy for the tight and technical sections, but it will be better suited for stages with open desert and sand. Lots of stages was more suited for rally type cars, and the smaller lighter cars seem to be able to do the 1st part of the race much quicker than the bigger V8's.

 

I'm through 4 of the 5 nights of broadcast (PVR is a wonderful thing). I too was surprised about the lack of coverage of the quads. The speed explanations certainly make sense. The overall race was some of the most fascinating television that I have ever watched. It is just amazing what those vehicles and drivers/riders have to go through just to finish the race. The sand and dunes looked like they would swallow a vehicle whole is spots, they were so soft.

Robby Gordon's performance certainly shows that it takes as much luck as skill to win the race. I noticed he made up over 7 hours of time after his big wreck. He was 21 hours back and cut that to just 14 hours with a few stages left.

It would be spectacular if ATV manufacturers made a concerted effort to race in the Dakar. Looking at the terrain, I would rather be on an ATV than one of those motorcycles. When the 1500 cc quads are manufactured, maybe they will have a shot. I noticed most of the bikes were 650 cc (with a few at 450 cc). With some modifications, it would seem that one could get a quad that would go 100+ on the straight aways and out perform the bikes in the sand and mountains.

 

Watched all five hours and only quad I saw was when they were stuck out in the sand at night and he was huddled up behind his thermal blanket. Just happened to be a DS..Sucks no coverage of the quads at all..

 

I just read a write up in Dirt Bike Magazine about the KTM 710cc motorcycle that Team KTM raced in the Baja 1000 last November. According to the article it was "detuned" compared to what KTM races in the Dakar Rally, but it still had a top speed of 117 mph, 13.5" of suspension travel, and could go just over 100 miles between fuel stops.