Following on from the report on Dakar on 12 Jan we now have a compilation from Day 10 of the Dakar 2014.
Ex Eudunda lad Shane Diener is going well in his first attempt at the Dakar.
- Shane riding in Sand Dunes at Dakar 2014
Part of Shane Diener’s online report of the latest day,
“By the end of the 185km bitumen liaison the tyre had no centre knobs but the rest were fine. Sitting at the start of the final 215km the first of the cars arrived, that always makes you nervous. It was a fast open stage so would suit the cars.
[pullquote]Good news, I actually enjoyed the dunes this morning, it certainly wasn’t super fast but I could actually approach the dunes with some confidence and not fear the unknown of what’s on the other side! [/pullquote]
“I started 20 minutes in front of the mini, with a heap of other bikes between us. I made the decision to chance the tyre and ride hard to try and avoid getting swallowed by the cars. Luckily, the first car got me with 4km to go and the second car within the last 2km. They create an amazing amount of dust. I managed to pass a heap of bikes and it felt awesome to finally be able to ride really well.
“Another big day tomorrow, 605km of mine tracks with 120km of dunes in the Atacama Desert.”
You can follow Shane’s messages online on facebook (you don’t need an account or to be logged in to view – which is great!).
Linden Forbes in support describes one of their camps,
“2 nights ago the camp was the worst so far! Goggles required to just eat and do anything due to the dust storm, it’s was nuts! Last nights was much better and was at the base of the biggest dune I’ve ever seen and also the end of the special stage. This dune was way up in the sky it seemed and to see riders still racing side by side down this dune was mind blowing.”
Further on Linden describes the border crossing,
“Chile so far has been good and crossing the border was different with sniffer dogs going through everyone cars and trucks!” (on Facebook)
And from Allan Roberts, (also on Facebook)
“3 to go! … Today was a tough navigation day and very windy which helped a little with the Fesh Fesh(bull dust) it was deep in parts but again I got through. Some fast sections I think I hit 163 at one point. … I rode in a lot of dust behind some quads, it took me some time to pass, but prevailing eventually.”
All three Australians are still doing well,
We all wish the riders a safe ride.
Results at http://monitor.trackingdakar.nl/ and here is a snippet of the Aussie Results at the moment.
