I love Dakar, the toughest race in the World, whether you are on on a bike, quad, in a car or in a truck. Four British riders started the event, Sam Sunderland, Tobias Younger, Jago Pickering and Stanley Watt. Sam started his debut rally in blistering style finishing 7th overall, but stage 2 saw his rallye come to an end with electrical problems on his bike and Stanley is having a steady start to the race, currently lying 43rd, but it's Tobias and Jago who have captured my imagination. They are a couple of those true amateurs who just want to enjoy the adventure and get to the end in one piece. Jago will be staying in South America after the event and intends to explore the continent with his wife and children in a Tatra truck. Here is a short story about Tobias' experience so far, taken from the official Dakar website .
Englishman Tobias Younger was amongst the last 20 bikers to reach the finishing line of the 4th special, soaked to the skin after having fallen for the umpteenth time, in the last stream of the day, scarcely 50 metres from the last time check-point! He was less concerned about drying himself, but more worried about emptying his boots full of water, sitting down and having something to eat. “I've been riding for 14 hours, including 5 hours to get through the last 30 kilometres in the fesh-fesh. Mind you, it seems that it's par for the course for an amateur rider like myself. It's the first time I've taken part, and I'm starting to understand exactly what the Dakar is about! Apparently, on each special stage, the major difficulties are grouped together at the end, when you're already really tired... You have to admit that, for an amateur, you have to be a bit of a masochist to attempt this rally”.
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