Motorcycle Nation Podcast

It is all over for 2010. As expected, Frenchman Cyril Despres was the winner in the bike class. Despres bested nearest competitor Ullevalseter (NOR) by 1h02′52″. Chilean Contardo finished third about 7″ behind Ullevalseter. As well as Despres rode in this rally I feel that the most impressive ride has to go to Spaniard Mark Coma. After a huge penalty midway through the rally that cost him six hours and another twenty-two minutes on top of that Coma rode to a fifteenth place finish 6h32″42″ behind Despres. Take away the penalty time and Coma would have placed second only ten minutes off the winning pace. I would call that some very skilled riding. What a disappointment for Coma.

American Jonah Street did the Stars and Stripes proud bringing home a seventh place finish. Street maintained the seventh place position from Stage 5 on. His best finish was in Stage 11 where he raced to a fourth place honor. The other American finisher, Ludovic Boinnard, completed the rally in fortieth position nearly sixteen and one half hours off the pace. The ladies were led across the line by Sweden’s Annie Seel 18h45′ behind Despres while Giannetti (67th) and Meier (85th) rounded out the female scoring.

One hundred fifty motorcycles started this grueling rally and whether for mechanical or rider problems sixty-two failed to complete. Off seasons will be spent trying to make the bike problem proof and the riders more tough. Some riders will be lamenting about all the what ifs that could have made them more competitive. We hope they don’t cry in their beer too long. Dakar 2011 is closer than you think!

Family and work responsibilities called me away for a couple of days which means that I have missed out on two days of the rally. As I check in today, fifty-three motorcycles have checked in for Stage 11 and there are some new faces showing up there. Of course, the current order may change once the race stewards validate the results but the leader of the stage, Netherlands Frans Verhoeven (51st overall after stage 10) surprised everyone crossing the line in first. US rider Jonah Street shows in second for the stage while the normal faces we see, Contardo (5th), Despres (7th), and Coma (9th) finish in the top ten.

We will check back in after the results are validated.

Talk about bad decisions. Spain’s Mark Coma has consistently found himself at the top of the overall standings throughout the first half of the Dakar Rally making it to the rest day in second overall with two stage wins under his belt. On rest day, he was handed a very harsh penalty of 6 hours for accepting help during a non race portion of a stage. Coma had a new tire installed prior to Stage 7 which is viewed as a major advantage. After the penalty was handed down, Coma was said to be considering withdrawing from the rally.

But, as the riders began Stage 8, Coma was lined up and ready to go. He must have taken some aggression out as he finished the stage 42″ behind Chile’s Lopez Contardo to place second for the stage. Overall rally leader Cyril Despres finished 6′01 behind Coma in fifth position. Amazingly, Coma’s finish brought him five spots up the overall leaderboard to nineteenth.

Jonah Street completed the stage in thirteenth position holding on to seventh overall. Ludovic Boinnard hangs out in forty-fifth overall as he continues to plug along. The ladies remain in the rally. Meier is in 89th position, Giannetti in sixty-eighth, and Seel in fiftieth overall. Stage 9 is under way as I finish this post up and you will see it either tonight to tomorrow. Stick around as competition heats up on the race back to Buenos Aires!

Stage 7 set up a long run down the coast of Chile that will end closer to Santiago but today took the participants from Iquique back to Antofagasta. It was another stellar run by Spaniard Mark Coma who led the bike class out of Iquique but found himself dropped to as low as twentieth position. At km 355 he had fought back to fourth position, km 448 found him in second, and he was back in the lead by km 509 ending the stage in second position 29 seconds behind stage winner Cyril Despres.
Frenchman David Fretigne spent some time at the front of this stage as well and has been riding strong since Stage 3 where he found himself in twentieth position. He completed Stage 7 in the seventh overall position. Jonah Street, riding for the Stars and Stripes, completed the stage in sixteenth position 42′06 off pace which leaves him in the top ten overall at number eight. Fellow rider Boinnard remains towards the middle of the pack reeling off forty-fifth position.

Annie Seel completed the stage in sixty third position which places her in the forty-third position overall. The other lady riders, Giannetti (70th overall) and Meier (89th overall) are well out of contention but must be commended on their riding ability and stamina. As of this writing, only 90 bikes have checked in which means the class has lost sixty bikes since leaving Buenos Aires. Anyone still riding must be considered tough.

Stage 8 will commence on Sunday with a run from Antofagast to Copiapo. Tomorrow will be a welcomed rest day for the riders and their equipment as well. We will check back in with the rally Sunday afternoon. See you all back here.

(Picture of Cyril Despres used under Creative Commons from Flikr)

It was a game of follow the leader in Stage 6 and unfortunately it was along the wrong path. Chilean Lopez Contardo, who started off the stage this morning for the bikes, veered off course around km 23 and many followed him including Spanish KTM rider Mark Coma. Not a good way to start the day. Coma put on a great show for the rest of the stage and was able to pull off the stage win with some quick, aggressive riding. The overall standings find Cyril Despres in first followed by Contardo. Coma’s save places him in fourth. The USA’s Jonah Street continues to put on an impressive showing in seventh position.

Stage 6 was not without spills as Portugese rider Paulo Goncalves suffered a broken collar bone in a crash at km 195 on the special. Goncalves left Antofagasta as sixth rider. Only 106 motorcycles started the stage this morning, down fifty-four from the original rally start. Injuries and mechanical problems are taking their toll.

We will check back in with the ladies and our other remaining US rider Boinnard during Stage 7.

Stage 5 brought many changes to the bike class as the title for this post tells us. Ok, there are definitely thrills in every stage so the spills and broken bikes are the news in this one. Perhaps the biggest news, and very disappointing to French fans, is that David Casteu is not only out of contention for the win but out of the rally for good. Casteu, who was leading all bikes in the overall standings, had a crash that resulted in a severe leg injury. Medics whisked him away ending his bid for the win. It was said to be a bad spill. So, that leaves us with broken bikes. The rider that led all bikes out of Capiapo, Mark Coma, experienced a breakdown that brought him across the line 39′35″ behind stage winner Lopez Contardo. This puts Coma in 8th position in the overall standings.

American rider Jonah Street finds himself in 7th position 1h12′46′ off the leaders pace while Boinnard sits in 58th position 7h04′51″ behind first position. Annie Seel continues to lead the ladies completing stage 5 in 61st position placing her 47th in the overall standings.

Stage 6 will take the riders from Antofagasta to Iquique which has a 418 km timed special. The riders will have two opportunities to fuel along the way and the terrain should lend to very fast speeds and some great times. We will see what happens tomorrow!

After missing out on updating the blog for a couple days, we return to some great news. As Stage 4 closed out today we find out that American KTM rider Jonah Street has moved from 14th position in the overall standings to 8th. The move up the leaderboard is the result of stages 2 through 4 finishes of 11th, 8th, and 15th. Street is 43′06″ behind the leader and still the top American rider. Ludovic Boinnard finds himself in 66th position over 5 hours off the leader’s pace but still moving up the leaderboard. Final USA rider Dirk Kessler failed to finish Stage 3 and is out of the race.

As for the ladies, Dutch rider Christina Meier brings up last place at position 118. Italian Silvia Giannetti has scraped to 79th overall and Swede Annie Seel continues to lead the ladies in a respectable 48th position, only 3h44′12′ off the leaders pace. If you caught the comment about Christina Meier bringing up the rear, you will notice that the motorcycle class has dropped 32 riders through the first 4 stages! Did I forget to tell you that this is a rigorous course?

Tomorrow, Stage 5 will take the riders on the second longest route at 668 km of which 483 km will be timed for placement purposes. This stage will move the riders from Capiopo to Antofagasta. They will experience some rocky terrain as well as Chilean fesh fesh, a very soft dirt that is very fine as well. If they are in a pack they will surely eat some dirt here. Frenchmen Despres and Casteu lead the two wheeler on the next stage with Despres leading by 8′53″ over his fellow countryman. These guys were considered two to beat from the very beginning and they are not disappointing.

We will be back tomorrow with Stage 5 results. Stay tuned for the update.

2010 kicks off with various rides all over the US with names like Hangover Rally and Frozen Bun Runs to name a few. But the biggest news in motorcycling to kick off the new year comes from Buenos Aires, Argentina as the 2010 Dakar rally kicks off. The Dakar Rally, seventeen days of the most rigorous off road motor racing, started today and will bring those lucky enough to finish the grueling race right back to Buenos Aires for the podium on January 17. Entrants race either motorcycles, quads, cars, or trucks. Merely saying trucks does not do justice to the monsters that tackle this course. Check out this so called truck.

But, we are here because we are enthusiasts of the two wheel kind, so our focus will be on the motorcycles. In the motorcycle class there are 34 countries and 12 different manufacturers represented. I plan on following the rally and will watch the leader board with my main focus on the American riders.

As I write this, Stage 1 shows that Frenchman David Casteu lead his fellow countryman Cyril Despres by 3 seconds at the end of the stage. Casteu finished the stage in 1h50′42″ over the 219 km sand and gravel covered terrain. American rider Jonah Street leads the home boys finishing the stage in 14th position. Fellow Americans Ludovic Boinnard pulled in 29th, 12′04″ behind the leader and Dirk Kessler completes 58′57″ behind the leader earning him the 139th position.

I am impressed that, in what may just be the most rigorous, physically taxing motorcycle races in the world, there are at least three female entrants in the bike class. Well, I think there are three. I don’t proclaim to be an expert on foreign female names so when I read through the entrants I leaned the way of a male when faced with one that could possibly go either way. Swede Annie Seel leads the ladies across the line in 45th position, 18′35″ behind Casteu.

Stage 2 will run on Sunday taking the participants from Cordoba to La Rioja. The terrain of the stage will change slightly while covering 294 km. We will be back with you tomorrow to check in on the Americans.

Ride Safe

I am starting this post as I begin to get ready for the race. I have not attended any of the practice sessions or qualifying up to this point because I was playing Mr. Mom the past few days. So, my stepson and I will be making some of the practice this morning and then on to the racing. All I know right now is that the front row will be Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Rossi. Spaniard Pedrosa scorched the Brickyard track on his Repsol Honda with a pole position record breaking run of 1:39.730. Indy is the closest thing to home for the Kentucky Kid Nicky Hayden and he has turned in his best effort on the factory Marlboro Ducati qualifying sixth while temp rider Mika Kallio crashed in qualifying and took a fifteenth spot. This is good news for Nicky as he has struggled all year on the Desmo and needs some good shows to keep that ride for 2010. But, if it ends up that he is forced from Ducati it is looking like the Rizla Suzuki bikes may be open. It will be interesting to see who ends up where next year. It is time to get moving and drive to Indy. Speed, spills, and thrills await!

Well, it has been a couple weeks since the race was ran and we had a great time. We had tickets in the first turn but only stayed there for the 250cc race. For the 125cc race we met up with friend of the show Dan Lo from CornerSpeedPhoto Below is a pic of me and Dan outside turn 2. You can tell that neither me or my son are photographers.

Me and Dan Lo outside Turn 2 at Indy MotoGP 2009

We walked around the track and ended up on the hill outside of turn 10 for the Premier class. From this vantage point you can see the pack leave turn 9 and motor down the back stretch. From there you have an open view of them braking for turn 10 and running through the 180 turn 11. Throttling out of 11 we could see them pick up speed for turns 12 and 13 where they dropped behind a rise in the track and we could get a glimpse of the bikes running through 14. 15 was out of sight but we could catch them as they motored out of the final turn and hit the front stretch headed for home.

We saw some pretty good racing early on but the race was pretty much over after both front runners Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda and Valentino Rossi on the Fiat Yamaha crashed out on the front side of the circuit. From there, Rossi’s teammate at Yamaha, Jorge Lorenzo pretty much only needed to stay on the motorcycle to ride to the win. The only excitement after that point was the battle for the final spot on the podium. Second place Alex DeAngelis ran a good race and slowly pulled away from Nicky Hayden leaving Nicky to battle off Andres Dovizioso for third. This was a favorable podium as Indy is considered Hayden’s hometown track. Track attendance was estimated at 76,000+ spectators so motorcycle racing is definitely welcome in Indiana.

Get your tickets for the 2011 Indianapolis Red Bull MotoGP now. Indianapolis puts on a great show and you won’t be sorry.

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Riding with Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Motor Company moving manufacturing to Indiana?
Competition Accessories leaving Ohio for SC.
Billy Lane is sentenced.
MotoGP in Indy this weekend
Other news and recalls.

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