For the first time in 30 years the Dakar Rally is being staged outside the African Continent, this was forced by the Terrorism actions of 4 French citizens and 3 Mauritanian soldiers‰Ûª murdered in the weeks leading up to, and forcing the cancellation due to the direct threats to competitors of the ‰Û÷08 event.
Competitors and Event Staff safety is number one by the ASO, the Dakar Organisers and the only decision that could be made was a heart breaking cancellation of the event at the start of the ‰Û÷08 event Town of Lisbon.
With the above in mind there has been a lot of unfinished business for all ‰Û÷08 entered competitors to attend to and
Dave Schwarz, one of only 2 Australian competitors entered, the other being
Simon Pavey of the
Charlie Boormans Race to Dakar Documentary fame are both eager to get going.
The event starts and finishes at the Argentinean capital of Buenos Aries. The 14 stages totaling 9,574 Km‰Ûªs will work it‰Ûªs way through 11 Argentinean provinces and 3 in Chile, with one well earned rest day after Stage 7 on Saturday the 10th at Valparaiso in Chile.
Dave is ably supported in the ‰Û÷09 event and once again secured the truck support services of San Francisco based Rally PanAm, also
Garry Connell another Aussie looking for adventure has brought a seat in the support truck and will be kept busy and offer a hand where ever he can.
Also the big news is that Dave has been extremely lucky to have the Iconic Motorcycle builder and developer
Ian Drysdale of Drysdale V8 fame offer to be Dave‰Ûªs mechanic. For Ian his once in a lifetime ‰Û÷09 South American Dakar Adventure will be spent spinning the spanners, and giving Dave the extra confidence that he is getting the highest level in servicing of his KTM 690 Rally at the end of each days stage.
As for any motorcycle enthusiast the idea of ever competing and riding a 36 litre, 280 kilo factory rally bike over 9,574 km‰Ûªs in the Mystique Dakar Rally is only a dream, but one that can be achieved with the Heart and Desire and Passion for ADVENTURE!
You can keep up to date with Dave‰Ûªs dream in his ‰Û÷09 Adventure via the Dakar Web site ‰ÛÒ
follow the links to iritrack
www.dakar.com
Dave has many supporters including family, friends and of course a small group of loyal sponsors who contribute to this epic event K.T.M Australia, Motorex Australia, Adelaide Kerbing, Thor, Bark Busters, Scott Goggles, one industries, Beyond Rehydration, Leatherman.
