Dakar on VS.

[Motoracer13]

They're showing alot of the Dakar race one VS over the next week. Argentina to Chile, I would so do that!

[Hank Moody]

I'm going to set the DVR right now! Thanks for the heads up...

[troy]

I'm really enjoying the coverage this year! They are doing a much better job showcasing the motorcycles than years past.

I'm loving watching privateer Jonas Street! This guy is not backed by any sponsors and has only an old F350 truck and a buddy who is a bike mechanic. And he won stage 5 and is in 2nd place overall! He seems like a really humble guy. He is up against guys who make their living racing motorcycles and have entire teams of top mechanics, huge support trucks, and sponsors with deep pockets. Jonas was working his normal job full-time until 3 weeks before the Dakar. He didn't even get time to practice. He was expected to suck in the sand dunes, and he blew them all away. The guy can ride.

I love watching Marc Coma ride, too. It's amazing how those guys throw those big bikes through the sand.

I'm watching stage 6 right now.

[Hank Moody]

Did you notice that Jonas is wearing Klim gear???? Only one Husky entered this year, seem like KTM will dominate this years event again.

[troy]

Privateer Jonah Street is out of the Dakar with broken cartilage in his hand that requires immediate surgery. He said he simply can no longer hold onto the bike. This is very disappointing as I was really pulling for Jonah. Here is a little history on Jonah.
http://www.rallypanam.com/ridersjs.html

French moto rider Pascal Terry died after he did not show up for the Sun night finish of stage 2. His body was not found until Wed morning, which is incredible considering all the electronic gear the competitors are required to carry. I'd think transponders would be required.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... saved.html

Spanish moto rider, Cristobal Guerrero, is out after yesterday's stage. He is in a coma.
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/200 ... R-RACE.php

[safiri]

French moto rider Pascal Terry died after he did not show up for the Sun night finish of stage 2. His body was not found until Wed morning, which is incredible considering all the electronic gear the competitors are required to carry. I'd think transponders would be required.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... saved.html

From that source:
“The death of the pilot occurred between Monday and Tuesday morning,” Acosta said. “He could have been saved, if he had been rescued in time,” Acosta said.

“The motorcyclist was found in an area that is very inaccessible with very dense vegetation 15 metres from his bike,” organisers said in a statement. “He had taken off his helmet and had taken shelter with food and water next to him.”

“There was a breakdown in the organisation’s chain of communication between January 4 and 5,” said race director Etienne Lavigne. “Information that he had deployed a distress signal reached Paris on January 4 and we here were not informed before the fifth.”

From a report I read on AdvRider from the Dakar a few years ago, when a bike doesn't move for a set amount of time, the GPS/Sat Phone sends a signal to Paris and they call you to make sure you are ok. The dense foliage may have blocked GPS/Sat signal, but it seems that the loss of communication for more than a day should have been a clue that something was amiss. Further, I wonder if his team and his brother, who is also racing, reported him missing. So he doesn't finish Sunday night, they don't look until Monday or Tuesday (that is unclear), and find him Wednesday. And he died of altitude sickness.