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- Dakar Rally 2011
Dakar Rally 2011 Feed
20/01/2012
2012 Dakar Rally | Reaction of the riders | Quote, Unquote 20/01/2012
by Tim Sturtridge
Relive the blood, sweat and gears of the 2012 Dakar Rally with a quick word from the major players at the desert classic. Feel the highs and lows of the world's toughest test of endurance racing as...
18/01/2012
Dakar Rally 2012: The Final Stages | Photostory 18/01/2012
As the Dakar 2012 has become history, we bring you a selection of outstanding photos from our man in the dust, Marcelo Maragni.
16/01/2012
Cyril Despres’s Blog: Dakar Rally | Down to the wire 16/01/2012
by Cyril Despres
Cyril Despres wins his fourth Dakar Rally title in Lima and tells us about securing the toughest victory of his career…
15/01/2012
Daily Dakar Diary | Day 14: Dust starts to settle 15/01/2012
In Peru the word Pisco usually leads to a party but the leaders of the 2012 Dakar Rally must keep the champagne on ice for one more night...
Event Details
- Location
- Argentina, Chile (Map this address )
- Start
- 1/01/2011 at 12:00 AM
- End
- 16/01/2011 at 11:59 PM
- About
-
A full four months ahead of the start of the rally raid, and still two and a half months before the closing of registrations and the 2011 edition of the Dakar already has a full house in the bike and quad categories. The registration period for next year's event which will take place in Argentina and Chile, between the dates of January the 1st and January the 16th is nearing its end. Due to the overwhelming number of applicants, a waiting list has been drawn up by the organisers to allow for some of those that missed out to make a late registration if someone already registered pulls out. For the 2011 Dakar, motorbike manufacturers are following the lead of last year’s precursors and moving towards 450cc bikes or less. Following in the footsteps of Aprilia, who which managed to put Francisco Lopez on the podium in his very first outing in the raid, BMW have now registered and are sporting big ambitions with the creation of the Speedbrain BMW Rally Team. All riders in the elite category have to register with a 450cc, and the new outsiders will race on equal terms with the usual duel contenders of Cyril Despres and Marc Coma, who both won the last five editions of the raid they participated in on KTM bikes.
With regards to the cars, In 2010 A.S.O. decided to increase the air intake on petrol engines in order to strike the best balance possible between the two types of engine, petrol or diesel, which are currently used in all-terrain rallying. For the Dakar 2011, all the drivers from all teams whether professional or amateur, will be able to take advantage of this measure. Furthermore, teams running petrol-powered vehicles will be able to fit 6-speed gearboxes, in contrast to professional teams running diesel-powered vehicles, who will still have to use 5-speed gearboxes. The one to watch in this classification is Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who recently managed to bag his second consecutive title on the Silk Way Rally.
Dakar Rally 2011