i've been avidly following the PD.

supporting andy caldecott untill he had to retire (mashed ankle), any mc other than KTM & of couse the vw toureg buggy team.

but...

the vw team is out of line honours finishing because the neither the driver or co driver of the leading car new how to deflood a motor. they simply yelled at the car for stopping after blindly xing a water section and then waited for assistance costing em 9 hours...

where's the vw self reliance ethos and where's the PD "us against the odds" ethos gone???

i rekon a few of us here would make ideal drivers/navs for the event.

before you can win, you first must finish

Thats what happens when you use proffessional drivers, they don't prepare the cars themselves, if they did they would know how to get it going again, I would have thought factory teams participating in this type of endurance event would have given their drivers a crash course in emergency mechanical repairs, at least they would have been able to get their vehical going again.
Rob....

Yeah, I saw that and was yelling 'pull the plugs' from behind my beer!

Was that the petrol or the v10 deisel one?

Either way that hydro lockup could have really bent the motor!

Two big road stages now due to bandit activity.

Mad Max (manx) anyone???

I believe they are using a 5 cyl diesel, half of the V10, or something weird.

I think their main problem wasn't that the motor was flooded, but it was hydrauliced and has bent the conrods and/or the bottom end. That is why they got towed and then had the entire motor replaced, which is still the subject of contraversy as they aren't allowed to change the block.

Cool race though, I follow it everynight. That's some seriously soft sand out there. I feel sorry for the bikes. Pity the 2WD yamaha seems to have died or is nowhere to be seen.

But don't those V6 nissan's sound sweet. Ah, the sound of a high revving naturally aspirated V6

the cars are diesels V5
also ari vatenen got stuck in the same spot for over 3 hours and he has won 5 times and been in it for years
most of those guys fix all their own problems.

They showed a 2 wheel buggy the other day driving in with the front wheel completely buggered and pointing in the wrong direction but he made it and was towing another car as well, mitsubishi i think.

The motorbike guys are absolute maniacs and i just love watching the trucks loping along.

About time someone showed us the race.
and why isn't a porsche chayanne in there

Yes - I have been enjoying the PD as well. The SBS coverage I was watching the other afternoon fairly sucked in its commentary. The footage was fairly awesome though.

The GPS aspect of the rally is an interest to me as is the vehicle set ups. I love the internal shots of the tubing, dashes and suspension set ups.

The bikes and trucks are cool to watch. Saw one of the trucks on its side the other day. Had a few head being scratched. Also saw a truck cut across in front of a car by get leaving the road and heading straight for the end of an apex. The car had to fully stop and let the truck go - as would I.

The bikers are mad. I couldn't believe the whole set up over and in front of the steering axis. No wonder they struggle in the sand.

Anyhow - It great getting the action here finally. They need a classic class and get some of the past Dakar cars competing. Would be a great comparison of how much has changed.

Bronze

I agree
We always seem to be starved of this sort of coverage. I spose we have Pay TV to blame for that!
Rob....