Passion - Dakar XtreM Adventure powered by Michelin

The word ‘passion’ comes from the Latin passio which means ‘suffer’, ‘endure’. It is an ingredient you need in abundance if you want to reach the finish of the Dakar, probably the world’s most punishing rally. Passion is what is fuelling the surviving competitors, service crews and volunteer staff alike as we approach the end of the event’s second week.

That said, you occasionally feel that some people have more passion than others. Take Robert Van Pelt, for example. Aged just 19, the Dutch biker is contesting the Dakar for the very first time on a Honda which is entered in the so-called ‘Malle-Motos’ class, where no outside servicing is permitted. “My father has done the rally several times in the same class, but this year he is competing in a truck. I caught the virus for motorbikes and for this incredible event from him. Needless to say, I’m exhausted, but I’m also determined to make it to the finish,” promises Robert who is currently 43^rd overall.
The 10 Michelin tyre fitters who are following the Dakar are just as passionate about their mission. Nicolas, Ceric, Laurent, Philippe, Alexis and their colleagues have worked late into the night every day since the start. “Between us, we fit or remove more than 250 tyres each day. The figure even reached 600 during the ‘rest day’ at San Miguel de Tucuman,” remarked one of them between two gulps of water, while his colleagues were busy manhandling big truck tyres. “We tend to finish at around one or two o’clock in the morning. We’re very tired, but we will keep going all the way to the end…”
The 200 or so officials who make sure that the rally runs smoothly have passion to spare, too. Pascal used to take part on the event on two wheels but now he runs the bivouac ‘In’ and ‘Out’ time controls. Meanwhile, his colleagues who look after safety on the stages, or who man the passage controls and road section time controls spend hours every day waiting for the competitors in conditions ranging from dust and sandstorms to heavy rain and scorching sunshine.
“It can be a round-the-clock job some days,” notes Pascal. “This year, the last competitor to show up at San Miguel de Tucuman was the rider of the N°286 quad bike who arrived at 6am. We’re up and running in time for the departure of the first biker and, at the next overnight camp, we wait until the last competitor arrives. There are 10 of us in our team and we work as two or three groups. Once the last biker has left, one of the groups takes the plane to be ready for when the first competitors arrive at the next bivouac, and so on… We don’t get much sleep, but we should make it all the way to Santiago…”
One person who won’t take part in the finish festivities is Etienne Smulevici who was excluded from his 31^st Dakar in Arica after missing too many ‘Way Points’. Even so, he has promised to come back in 2014. That, too, is what we call passion!