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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128139
Total Arras-Madrid-Dakar Rally the rally, with an impressive arrival the motorcyclists, however, they were allowed to load their bikes onto podium surrounded by a large turnout trucks for this endless transfer. of local fans. Spain has become an important Following a rainy overnight stay, country in the rally, with several large riders made their way out of town to a sponsors and a handful of top riders - new athletic stadium, outside of hence the inclusion of the Spanish which was set up a four-mile special capital in the rally's official title. The test (muddy, yet again). Spaniard City, which is hoping to land the 2012 Joan Roma posted a popular win in Olympic Games, made a big deal for the test on his Repsol/Telefonica Following the largely ceremonial procession down through Europe, the Dakar Rally only really gets started when it crosses into Africa. This year, two-lime winner Richard Sainct suffered through lhe cold, rain and long freeway miles of France and Spain, only to have his chances for an overall win ruined by a penalty in the first African stage - a 50mile special lest in Morocco. in the interest of minimizing the chances of injuring or killing local civilians, race organizers have long had a policy of imposing speed limits through small villages, but a lack of enforcement has meant many riders still go fast through the sections. This year, TSO decided to use a radar gun in the first African special, and no fewer than 7J riders were caught going over the limit. A penalty of one minute is imposed for Hubert Auriol Petti discusses the every kilometer per hour over the limit, speeding-infraction issue with race and since Sainct had gone 89 kph (55 officials as they make their decision on mph) in a 40 kph (25 mph) zone, it the proper penalty. appeared (when word of the radar results leaked out the following morning) that the Frenchman would be assessed a penalty of nearly a half hour - huge in this year's relatively short version of the rally. "In the morning, my mechanic told me, 'You have a 29-minute penalty,''' Sainct said. "I said, '20 minutes? The race is finished!' Just before the start, I saw Hubert Auriol. I asked him if the penalty was official, and he said, 'Ride.' It was impossible to keep my concentration, and I lost five minutes more in that section. The final decision was not made until that night (the day after the radar section), and it was half of what it could have been. That meant Sainct "only· lost less than 15 minutes, but it was enough to dash his hopes. "In the rally-raids now, all the time we have a small difference at the fmish: Sainct said. "For example, in Morocco 1 won by two minutes, in Tunisia Fabrizio (Meoni] won by one minute. Last year in Egypt he won by one minute, and in Tunisia I won by one or two minutes. It's a small difference between Fabrizio and me all the time. The problem is we are just one team with 12 riders. I was sure that even if some riders crashed or had a problem with the bike, a few riders would go to Dakar without a problem. How can I make up 15 minutes? I was sure·it wasn't possible. If Fabrizio were to get 15 minutes and not me, I'm sure he couldn't make it up." Needless to say, Sainct was unhappy with the decision, feeling that it was unfair. "Normally, in Dakar, the winner is the fastest rider - nothing to do with these stupid penalties. The organization wasn't right on this issue. Another of our top riders went too fast in that section and got no penalty. They gave a penalty to me, I'm sure, as an example. They wanted to show everybody, 'Okay, we have a rule, and we gave a penalty to two top riders.' But I'm the one [affected]. It was a problem, because after that, we didn't see the radar, and in some villages it was very dangerous." Oddly enough, Meoni agreed with Sainct, though the decision made things easier for him. "It's like a lottery: the Italian said. "The beginning of the speed-limit zone is written in the road book, but not the finish. Therefore you're never sure: Are you out of the village? Is the section finished? How can you ever be sure if the village is finished, or if maybe it's beyond the next curve? Anyway, in my opinion, you need a speed liniit in the villages and areas where there are people. Those areas [where the limits were on the day of the radar section] were a little isolated - first. And second, they need to have a graduated system, so that the first time a rule is broken, a monetary fine is imposed. That way someone gets a fine, and afterward is extremely careful." TSO boss Hubert Auriol defended the decision, saying, "Times are changing, and the rally must change with them. We have had these limits for some time, but we should have been enforCing them a long time ago. We told the riders again and again, before the rally started, that we would be strict on this. We need to protect the local people." It's worth mentioning that there were also monetary fines involved (Sainct had to pay 500 euros). Basically, private riders, who are primarily interested in finishing, don't care about time penalties, and factory riders, who are primarily interested in doing well, don't care about monetary fines, so both are required. Though a win was out of the question following the penalty, Sainct recovered qUite well, still managing to make the. podium. "I just decided to ride and not make mistakes,· he said. "I'm very lucky because some rlders made some big mistakes in navigation. I'll take the gift because for me. that is Dakar. The other riders made the mistakes - not me." One final note: One of the other riders to get busted in the radar section was Giovani Sala, who had been certain of not surpassing the limit. On the other hand, his Italian teammate - none other than eventual winner Meoni - had wondered if he might have broken the limit. As the two Italians ride nearly identical Le8 twins, which sported similarlooking numbers (Meoni had a 1, Sala a short 7, which he subsequently modified to better differentiate it), some wonder if officials got the two confused. Needless to say, a different decision could have given the race an altogether different complexion... 20 JANUARY 30, 2002' cue I e n e _ lIS KTM LC4, and then riders continued south on yet another long transfer, skirting the Mediterranean Sea on their way to Algecieras. After a delay there, they boarded a ferry and crossed the Strait of Gibralter into Africa. MOROCCO So long was the December 31 transfer stage into Morocco (17 hours plus) that it wasn't until early on New Year's Day that racers began trickling into the country's capital of Rabat, where the first African bivouac was set up. At this point, the rally was only about four days old and had included only a few miles of off-road going, but the endless pavement slogging, cold water and limited sleep had worn the racers down. They grabbed a few hours' rest in Rabat (the top riders squeezing in one more night in a hotel room, while most others rested in tents set up in the bivouac) before awaking and celebrating 2002 with a 331-mile stage east to Er-Rachidia. It included the first African special test, an early, fast 50-miler that was made dangerous by the many wandering animals. It was topped by Repsol/Entel KTM's Carlo de Gavardo, a likeable, diminutive rider out of Chile. The overall leaderboard was now headed by Finn Karl Tiainen, on a Deutch Post KTM. The Finally, a rest: The motorcycles that made It to the finish relax In the final pare fenne, beside Dakar's k Lake. Just one of the items on the endless list of organiational hassles for the rally is fuel logistics. Here, Frenchman Jean-Marie Strup has his XR400R topped off before embarking on a long stage. test provided the opportunity for a controversial occasion when promoters decided to fine and penalize no fewer than 71 rlders - among them aces Sainct and Giovani Sala - for speeding through a village (see sidebar). The decision had a substantial affect on the complexion of the rally. The next stage was from ErRachidia to Ouarzazate, with a genuine, 210-mile special test thrown in for good measure. In this test, which carried riders between the villages of Erffoud and Tazzrine, riders were carried into the sandy areas of southern Morocco, and it included the rally's first dunes. Continuing the streak of neW winners was Spaniard Jordi Arcarons, whose RepsoljTelefonica KTM cohort Roma moved into the overall lead with the second-fastest time. The final Moroccan portion comprised the first part of a two-day Marathon stage, which meant there was minimum time on the overnight for resting or performing maintenanCe. At 793 miles, this day's course into Tan-Tan, on the country's southwest coast, was a long one, and it included a fast, 218-mile special