Tough going on the Rally this year.: Great that the Truck competitors are acting as recovery for the cars, but it looks like a lot of the bikes are pulling out.
Doughnuts in trucks, brilliant. Listen to the truck right at the end as it accelerates away after going through the flooded Gully. I love a big diesel on full chat.
Possibly too much of a Nutter for the car competitor to trust him Most of the Truck guys are a little 'eccentric'.
The Dakar is awe inspiring, how the hell the competitors get through it is beyond me. It’s twice as long as last year’s event… mental! the scenery is absolutely stunning too. shame about Sam Sunderland crashing out after just 52km of stage 1, winner last year, broken shoulder blade this year
Also takes much longer to run a winch out, wind the casualty to safety, then tidy up afterwards. A strop is easy to run out and bundle up after. I believe the trucks have them, and possibly some of the more production based classes, but having used them on Land Rovers, and putting up with the Faff involved, I understand why they'd only use them if they have to.
Yikes! It looks like there have been a few nasty injuries on the run up to the 2024 Dakar! https://www.dakar.com/en/news/2024/motorbike-race-red-tide-rising/185319
It was interesting to see how the Audi e-Tron did against the traditional Toyota Hilux last year. Obviously Audi have made a HUGE financial investment in the e-Tron project and its just a matter of time before it wins Dakar. That said, I'll be rooting for the Hilux! In comparison, the Toyota is old-school, super tough and it sounds amazing!