Pharaons Rally: Navigation day in the first stage of the Pharaons Rally Egypt

Overall results after SS01 Tuesday BIKES top 10 

PL	DRIVER	BIKE	TIME	DIFF
01	Salvatierra, Juan Carlos (BOL)	Speedbrain 450 Rally	03:04:07	00:00:00
02	Chiussi, Stefano (I)	KTM 500 EXC	03:12:55	00:08:48
03	Cardona, Nicolas (VEN)	Yamaha WR 450F	03:20:59	00:16:52
04	Turchi, Stefano (I)	KTM 690 Rally	03:26:12	00:22:05
05	Eraso, Rafael (VEN)	Yamaha WR 450F	03:27:44	00:23:37
06	Sabbatucci, Paolo (I)	Yamaha WR 450F	03:34:11	00:30:04
07	Sonik, Rafal (PL)	Yamaha Raptor	03:39:19	00:35:12
08	Dalla Valle, Stefano (I)	Freeracing SMC	03:49:38	00:45:31
09	Biondi, Tommaso (I)	KTM 690 Rally	03:50:17	00:46:10
10	Napoli, Giulio (I)	Beta Atacama	03:50:17	00:46:10

Overall results after SS01 Tuesday CARS top 10 

PL	DRIVER / NAVIGATOR	RALLYCAR	TIME	DIFF
01	Al-Rajhi / Gottschalk (KSA/D)	Overdrive Toyota Hilux	01:59:41	00:00:00
02	Vasilyev / Zhiltsov (RUS/RUS)	X-raid Mini All4 Racing	02:03:31	00:03:50
03	Van Loon / Rosegaar (NL/NL)	X-raid Mini All4 Racing	02:09:02	00:09:21
04	Al Attiyah / Baumel (QT/F)	X-raid Mini All4 Racing	02:12:30	00:12:49
05	Sazonov / Moroz (KZH/KZH)	Hummer H3 Evo	02:18:09	00:18:28
06	Zapletal / Marton (CZ/PL)	Hummer H3 Proto	02:19:15	00:19:34
07	Dabrowski / Czachor (PL/PL)	Overdrive Toyota Hilux	02:20:08	00:20:27
08	El Erian / Etman (EGY/EGY)	Rahhala Buggy	02:33:34	00:33:53
09	Saidan / Lichtleuchter (KSA/F)	Toyota Land Cruiser	02:57:21	00:57:40
10	Benoit / Ganache (F/F)	Isuzu D-Max	03:30:18	01:30:37

View all results: Please [ CLICK HERE ] 

View all results: Please [ CLICK HERE ] 
Only after the first 100 kilometers through canyons and mountains the first stage of the "Pharaons Rally" in Egypt stage opened up. With a great view the route decended to the riverdelta of the Nile.

"The beginning of the stage is tough because one mistake means you end up in the wrong canyon," organizer Abdelhamid Abouyoussef says. "The only solution is to go back all the way to a point that you know, and find the way from there. You cannot cut, the canyons are too steep."

"We took the wrong track," says Matthieu Baumel, Al Attiyah´s co-driver, "We noticed the canyon was different from the roadbook and we decided to turn around. I don't like to lose time like this!" Nasser Al-Attiyah tried to find a route off piste but in the end the only option was to turn around and go back, with a fourth place as result. Nasser: "We lost some time but it is good to have some competition."

Wouter Rosegaar loved the stage today, navigating Erik van Loon in the Mini to a third place. It was a good challenge for this young and experienced navigator. "We had to find the route ourselves, I could not see anything in this terrain." Erik and Wouter choose the wrong canyon once, but found a way out. "I kept an eye on the bearing, as we were still going in the right direction I decided to keep going," Wouter explains. "Luckily we found the waypoint, I was very happy when the GPS showed it!"

"We went off-piste to find the right track today, but I overlooked a hill," Tarek El Erian and Mohammed Etman flew with their buggy long enough to count the seconds. "After we landed everything seemed ok but we stopped for 5 minutes to check the car. I only lost some of the polyester, everything else was fine!" Tarek has built his two-wheel drive buggy in Egypt, and is proud of it. "It's the first time someone builts a car like this in Egypt. We finished it 3 months ago and had a good test in the El Gouna Rally. Now we are happy to be here amoung the top drivers."

Yasier Saidan is here to win the T2 class with his Toyota Prado. "Last year we won the Worldchampionship in the T3 class, this year I want to be the fastest T2 driver. It is a big step from the Polaris to this car, I feel very comfortable in it. Still the stage today was hard for us, with all the rocks in the first bit. The temperaturre was so high I had to slow down the car, it was a tough day."

Polish quaddriver Rafal Sonik leads the quads and raced together with a group of bikers, chasing each other between the rocks and on the sandy tracks in the second part of the stage. "The first time they overtook me, but then the first rider made a mistake in the roadbook. Then I was in the wrong valley, I went back to look for the track and they had me again. It was a very emotional stage and a great race."

"Finding the first waypoint was not easy, but I managed," Alfredo Procacci is with a group of Italian riders. "The view on the descent was just perfect, I love the landscape in this rally.' In the second part of the stage Alfredo spend some time searching the right path through a big Oued. "I ride carefully so I have time to look and find the way. Maybe I will push more in the last days when everybody is tired."

Wessel Bosman is happy with the attention he gets for his project. "Today I rode as carefull as possible. I am not a rider but an amateur and I try not to damage myself or the bike." Riding with time on your side means you can help others as well. "I met an Italian rider who had problems with the GPS and we rode to the finish together. The Pharaons Rally has a great atmosphere, it is good to be here."

"The most tricky part is to survive in the desert," says Stefano Chuissi, who started his career as a wild rider and is first in his class on the Pharaons. "First all I wanted was good results, the podium. Now I work to improve myself. Rallyraid for me is a fight with myself, raising the bar on each event. I accept my own pace and focus on myself instead of on the ranking. Look at today, at the start I was looking at other bikes, thinking I might fancy having a new one. But during the day I realized how lucky I already am to be here, as a competitor."

Wednesday is the longest day of the Pharaons Rally, with 362 kilometers of special stage and 273 kilometers of liaison to the first desert bivouac in Dakhla. "We go into an area called 'No Mans Land', which is a name I really like." Mahmud Nour el Din made the stages and is happy yto go into the desert again. "At the end of the stage we will have the first dunes, so be prepared."

Riding on the Dark Side of the Moon

Waking up in the inn, down by the lake, up top of a volcano, isn’t only a mouthful, it’s a rad place to set out from if you intend to ride the sides of a lava field.

We have to zig through a conifer plantation, which is mentally out of place in Bali, then zag past rich market gardens of plump ripe Roma tomatoes until we finally emerge at a place as desolate as the dark side of the moon. Sharp craggy rocks with a bump infested driveway lead us on a crooked path that finally ends at this field of fine dark grey pumice.

It’s still early and yesterdays rain still inhabits the porous post eruption cover making it this perfect carpet for fanging about on. People just head off in different directions. Something for everyone.

Riding on the Dark Side of the Moon from Deus ex Machina on Vimeo.

THE SMIRK

Spending a good part of its life in a Queensland shed collecting dust and rust, this little SR was given a new start at the hands of Camperdown head mechanic Jeremy.

Starting with a top to bottom engine rebuild. Cleaned and trimmed up the frame finished in classic black powder coat, Blasting every nut and bolt, fitting a KLX Swing-Arm and new Gazi Shocks.

Then moving on to giving it a tracker look with an over sized Kedo oil pump, custom head light mounted with custom headlight number plate, duck tail tracker seat cowl, custom made pipes with a Super Trap muffler, Fork brace mounting the front fender, Mini speedo and K180 Dunlop tyres. The tank and seat cowl were treated to a fresh lick of paint from our good friend Dutchy. With custom surf racks fitted, this smirky SR is laughing all the way to the beach.

Latvala reste dans la course au titre

En remportant le Rallye d’Argentine, Jari-Matti Latvala revient à 24 points de Sébastien Ogier au Championnat Pilotes. Côté Constructeurs, Volkswagen Motorsport compte 97 points d’avance sur Citroën-Total Abu Dhabi et pourrait décrocher son second titre mondial en Australie.

« Oui, c’est peut-être la 1^ère fois que Jari-Matti est plus performant que moi sur l’ensemble d’un rallye », reconnaissait Sébastien Ogier à l’arrivée du Rallye d’Argentine. Le Français précisait aussi qu’il avait ouvert la route toute la 1^ère étape et pointait du doigt ce problème de pneumatique à 1,5 km de l’arrivée de l’ES8 (2.5 secondes perdues).

C’est vrai que Jari-Matti Latvala a maîtrisé ses adversaires en Argentine. Le Finlandais, qui avait un peu fait la fête la semaine précédente, semblait plus détendu qu’à l’accoutumée. Jari-Matti, lui, expliquait surtout cette sérénité retrouvée grâce au travail de son coach mental, Christoph Treier, qui le suit depuis fin 2013 après avoir accompagné Marcus Grönholm.

Reste que la fin de rallye du Finlandais fut quelque peu gâchée par cette Power Stage remportée facilement dans des conditions épouvantables par son rival Sébastien Ogier. « J’aurais peut-être dû aller plus vite », avouait Jari-Matti en conférence de presse. En prenant le bonus maxi, le Français a limité son déficit à cinq points sur ce rallye et a surtout marqué l’esprit de son équipier, du style « je peux accélérer quand je veux ».

Sébastien Ogier compte désormais 24 points d’avance au championnat Pilotes. Jari-Matti Latvala reste à moins d’une victoire du leader et garde toutes ses chances avant le Rallye d’Italie-Sardaigne où il avait brillé l’an passé (meilleur performer). Les Norvégiens Andreas Mikkelsen et Mads Ostberg sont 3^e ex aequo avec 48 points.

Au championnat Constructeurs, ce 2^e doublé 2014 permet à Volkswagen Motorsport de compter 97 points d’avance sur Citroën-Total Abu Dhabi WRT. L’équipe allemande a marqué une moyenne de 37 points par épreuve contre 18 pour Citroën depuis le début de saison. A ce rythme, Volkswagen pourrait envisager un second titre mondial Constructeurs en Australie.

Le championnat Pilotes WRC-2 est toujours mené par Yurii Protasov malgré sa sortie de route en Argentine. L’Italien Lorenzo Bertelli en a profité pour revenir à quatre points de l’Ukrainien et grâce à ses deux victoires consécutives, Nasser Al-Attiyah est 3^e du classement à dix points du leader. Karl Kruuda (4^e) disposera d’une Peugeot 208 T16 en Sardaigne, où le champion WRC-3 en titre, Sébastien Chardonnet, fera débuter la Citroën DS3 R5 en Mondial. Jari Ketomaa (5^e) ne sera pas en Italie.

Les Français Stéphane Lefebvre et Quentin Gilbert sont co-leaders du championnat WRC-3 2014 après leur victoire respective au Portugal et au Monte-Carlo. Ce même Lefebvre est aussi leader du Championnat du monde Junior avant le Rallye de Pologne, prochaine manche de la série.