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The Story So Far |
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mickextance.com |
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Organisers of the 2009 Dakar Rally have confirmed plans for the new Dakar event. It will take place in South America for the first time next January. Click here to go to the bbc new site and click here to go to the official Dakar site.
Wow that’s a result. This is a new era in the Dakar.
After the disappointment of the 2008 cancellation we all had the same un-answered questions. Will the Dakar recover from this? Is it going to be safe? Where will it be held next year? Will it retain it’s spirit of adventure? Will the coverage attract the audience and sponsorship?
Well the A.S.O. have answered all these questions in one bold statement. We are all going to South America. This sends out a very strong message. We will not give up! This is indeed the ‘Spirit of the Dakar’.
For our part, it is easy, we will carry on and we will be in Argentina on the 3rd of January 2009.
My thanks to all who have supported me so far and I hope you will all be on board for this new challenge in 2009.
By the way, if you want to get a flavour of the Dakar then why not join me in Morocco in July. I will be taking a limited number of guests from July 4th to the 10th. For more information contact Readtread
I will update this site the moment I have any further new.
Many thanks
Mick Extance.
Thursday 17th January 2008
To all my Sponsors/Supporters for 2208 Dakar Rally
As you are aware the 2008 Dakar rally has been cancelled on 4th January 2008 due to a direct threat to those taking part from the North African branch of Al Queda.
I returned to the UK last Monday and I cannot describe to you the mixture of emotions that I have gone through but the one of crushing disappointment has at times been quite overwhelming.
I would like to take this opportunity to say firstly, I am so sorry that I was unable to give your companies the media exposure that I hope you would have received as a result of sponsoring me and secondly, thank you all for having the faith in me to support me, whether financially or in product sponsorship, all of your contributions as always is deeply appreciated.
With that in mind I am asking for you to continue to support me for the 2009 Rally. Although we will not officially hear from the ASO until mid to end February I truly believe the Dakar has a place in the motorsport world and it will continue.
As I have everything ready from 2008 I can now use this year to continue my fitness training and bike riding. I will also be able to carry on with my presentations to keep the spirit of the Dakar going. If any of you would like me to attend your group or company and give a talk on my experiences please do not hesitate to contact me.
To finish I truly believe that although the World is sadly becoming a more unstable place to live, we have to continue with the spirit of what our sport is all about, by doing so we have already succeeded in victory over the minority terrorist groups that choose to use their beliefs to target decent human beings.
Once again many thanks for you continued support
Mick Extance
Friday 4th Jan 2008
Hi all from a sad and lifeless Lisbon. I think this picture of Mick outside the organisers’ office this morning tells the story. The Dakar is over before it started this year and we are all totally gutted (to say the least). I am sure Mick will not mind me saying that there were a few tears shed from all of us. To read the official reasons see www.dakar.com. Mick is as mad as hell that such a small group of people have stopped the largest motor sport event in the world. We can only pack up and go home. Mick and I would like to thank all involved with the efforts to get us this far and he is committed to return if the Dakar is there in 2009. Steve and Mick
Fri 4th Jan 2008 I’m Peter Bowyer and I’ve been asked by Mick and Steve to put this short statement on the site.
The 2008 Dakar is cancelled. It’s not been publicly announced yet but the organisers say they cannot guarantee the competitors safety. This is probably due to the military situation on the route.
The boys will update the site later (when they have pulled themselves together). We can all imagine how disappointed they are and I’m sure we all send them our best wishes.
Thursday 3rd Jan 2008
Scrutineering. Well we are through that for another year. I cannot say it has been an uneventful day but about average for the Dakar. Up at 6:00am and on the road for 7:30am. We worked on the tins and spares for some of the day until my allotted time of 14:30. Then Steve and I went and joined the queue with the rest of the team. We went through about 20 checks, which is usual and finished getting a taxi back to the work area at about 21:00pm. We lost one or two team members on the way. Dave Welch planned to fly over to assist today, but his plans were not so good, as he ended up in Faro and had to catch a bus the 300km arriving about 14:30pm at a cost of €17.50. Well done Dave and many thanks. Graeme and Tony also flew in to drive the support van back to the UK after the Europe stage. They spent the day trying to catch up as we moved around the town. Thanks again all that helped today. Steve had a call to Dennis Osborn of D.O.M.E Motor Sports about the changes to the SPEDOX08 wiring that was required. I had to buy a new, longer cable to wire the controls close to the Sentinel device. We noticed when we got here that everyone except us had positioned the Sentinel at the front of the bike and not the rear as we have. All is well now and after a good meal in the hotel we are now off to bed. A quiet day tomorrow as we will finalise the packing of the trucks and cars for the long journey ahead. Mick.
Have a go at downloading the vid of me at the end of the checks today. Right click here and click ‘Save Target As.’. Good luck. Wednesday 2nd Jan 2008 I spent today relaxing and going over the bike making a few last minute enhancements. I spend a lot of time looking where to place tools and spares as I am carrying more this year than before. The organisers have put in more none assistance days where I don’t get the chance to get any spares from the truck or my plain tin. The bike is looking good now and Steve and I went over and over checking all the bolts one more time. I gave the bike a run around the streets of Lisbon to have a last ride before scrutineering tomorrow when the bike will be checked by the organisers and then put into technical control until the start on Saturday. We later met up with the rest of the team from Holland and ended up in Pizza Hut for a meal. Tomorrow all I have left to do is fill the bike up and where ready for the off. Mick. Have a go at downloading the vid of my test run in Lisbon. Right click here and click ‘Save Target As.’. Good luck.
Tuesday 1st January 2008 Hi from Portugal.
We set sail from Portsmouth on Sunday the 30th at 20:00 to a smooth crossing to Bilbao in the north of Spain. We saw the in the New Year in the truckers lounge with a cup of coffee and the guys from the Bowler Team. That’s got to be a first!! The rest of the journey to Lisbon was uneventful apart from the torrential rain as soon as we got into Portugal. It stopped about 22:00pm but if it comes again like that it will make the first two stages in Europe very interesting. We will be up early tomorrow to give the bike a final check over and to ensure that the rear lights meet the new regulations that were issued at the end of last week. We managed to take a few photos of the journey that are on the Photo page. Mick.
Friday 12/12/2007…
A few more photo’s on the Photo page taken by Graeme Willett today. We are all now pushing hard to complete the preparations before we break for Christmas. I have been listing the spares with Graeme’s help and I know Mick has spent most of this week putting the final touches to the bike and strapping spares and tools to the frame—just in case.
Previously Posted We are off again. This year Mick and I are off on the 30th of December 2007 to Lisbon Portugal. I have been watching on this last few years but I have the chance to go along as his mechanic. I will post an update in the next few days and I am arranging for regular updated over the Dakar. Mail to Steve@mickextance.com.
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