rallye de tunisie - grand prix final!

final day already, week has flown by!

2 x 63km laps With a 30min forced break to rest and refuel.

as before on the rallye du maroc, it was a mass start. flags came down and we were off, an 800m dash to the first dune, Jago shot to second and I faught my way to third before climbing the sand, over the top I maintained a short lead over 4th place and flew over a sand spit before climbing another steep dune around 15 feet high, seeing jago disappear over the top I hit it blindly, accelerating to the top with only one option to deal with whatever I was faced with when I was airborne - there was no question about it as I was traveling at least 60kmph as I crested the dune.

the setting for this race was next to mos eisley, the original star wars town on tatooine = )) it was created over 30 years ago!

with spectators snapping away at their cameras I knew this would be a great shot, shame I'll never see it!! flying through the air, I saw the ground fall away from me and rather than a gentle slope to land on there was a small rise. as i landed I thought I was a gonna, my chest smashing into the gps mounted on the handlebars and a my chin guard belting the roadbook, my bike bounced forward into the air..... I was still in the race!!

still in 3rd I tore on after jago and the leader. relying on the open classes tracks for nav we v soon realised we were slightly off track and then panic and confusion set in to all the enduro cup riders and rather than rtn to the last waypoint and start over, we became a benny hill sketch all riding around like lost sheep!!

while Jago and I eventually decided to retrace our route, the others found the track and were long gone. it was catch up time!! for the next 15km we absolutely gunned it, shooting past a pair of quads, and a pair of bikes soon after..... on the track there was little room to overtake, so it was a quick move past the first rider on the right and then a swift jump into the left track to take the rider on the right. traveling a over 120kmph offroad and overtaking was intense!

the start of the truck race



very quickly we arrived at cp1 and I took the lead from jago. the next 10km was a very bumpy and windy sand track, but I hit it as hard as I could so bounced and weaves crazily, certainly riding at over 95% of my ability so not always in control!!  arms and legs pumping, I was working hard to navigate the roadbook and route ahead. passig another bike I knew there were only one or two riders ahead of me now. the race was on!!

short road section limited to 90kmph gave a little respite before the next 10km of winding gravel a sand track. drifting around some tight left and right handers I had to sit with one leg out, unable to stand as with the previous corners!

sprinting to the finish the marshals waving frantically towards the gate, I'd completed lap one in 59mins.

fuelled up, I was back on the start line. turns out jago had to stop as his gps mount had sheared again, so he'd lost about 10mins as a result, a real bummer!

lunch in the bedouin tents, next to mos eisley.....bizarre!



nick and patsy

kemal

a clear run now, just going on memory really I took off. slightly calmer over the dunes this time, otherwise I'd be risking a crash to gain only a few seconds. winding the bike up to 132kmph I tore ahead. in my element now, whole mind and body working really hard, controlling my breathing, flowing over the unforgiving desert...... this is racing at its best, this is the best feeling ever!!

jeff, patsy, jago, me, kemal

then it was over, final lap in 44 mins, that was an average of 84kmph. i came third! 2 mins behind the leader, the next rider was 9mins behind me!! pretty chuffed with that.

so, overall I came 5th in my class out of 12, 6 hours behind the winner (inc a 2 hr time penalty from day 1).