National rally of ecuador
 

Folks, I am racing the Vuelta a la Republica again. It was so much fun last year, i came back for more. the Vuelta is a 7 day rally race of Ecuador, on mostly dirt but some paved roads. thought you might be interested in the results after 5 days so far. i will try to update.

I am racing a 2004 Yamaha WRF450 amid a sea of other
WRF450s in the 0-450cc class. The other North
American, Ed Tarleton is racing Matt Stackpoles 2000
Honda XR600 which Matt had ridden to Ecuador from
Buenos Aires (last year I raced the XR650L I rode with
both Matt and Ed from BA, and they are also HU people). Ed is in the 450+cc class.

Day 0- superprime in Machala. This was 2.8km race
through city streets with a turn every block or 2
blocks. The street surface was typical Ecuadorian
pavement- concrete covered with a fine layer of dust
and powdered dogshit. A little slippery especially on
knobbies. But holy mackeral was it fun!! Backing it
in to the corners and coming out in a full throttle
powerslide. GPS said max speed- 80mph. Ed took 3rd
in class, 3rd overall (behind a Husaberg 501 and
husaberg 650). I took 1st in class, 4th overall.

Day 1- Machala. Mostly dirt, some pavement.
Incredibly fun, great corners for powerslides. I ride
conservatively, since that is what got me to 2nd last
year. Ed does the same. Max speed (according to
GPS)- 98mph. I am 7th in class, Ed is 4th.

Day 2- Loja. Same type terrain as before. We both
ride conseravtively until the last prime. We had some
trouble getting to the last prime as we followed an
idiot Ecuadorian who was lost. Fortunately, time did
not count on that particular transit section, so we
are both still in the race. But we are pissed off and
ride like men possesed. I have the best section of my
life, abandoning caution and sliding through very
corner, one side to the other, really in rythm. Im
also going through back tires like a bum through wine.
Unfortunately, though, Ed ran out of gas due to going
so far when we were lost. He did not finish the stage
and suffered a 2 hour penalty. Really a shame,
because he is one of the best riders here, beating
guys with superior bikes. I am in 6th, Ed is last.
Max speed according to GPS- 200mph (I dont think thats
right)

Day 3- Cuenca. Having seen how fast I can really go
on this bike, I kick it up a few notches and start
passing people. I even taped a camera to my boot
during one stage- I havent seen it yet, but it should
be REALLY cool. During all phases, there are supposed
to be cops directing you where to go. During a
transit stage, 3 cops on a corner sent me the wrong
way. Fortunately, I figuered it out and made it to
the start on time. But I went back to that same
corner and spotted the same 3 cops. Then I spotted a
big patch of golf ball sized gravel in the road. I
lined the back wheel up and let er rip in 2nd gear. I
roosted the hell out of those bastards!! I finish the
day 4th overall, 3rd in class. Im still in 6th for
the total time, but closing the gap quickly.

Day 4- Riobamba Mostly cobblestone roads with some
slippery sand sections thrown in to keep you honest.
I continue to ride superfast. At this pace, I will be
in 3rd in class, 4th overall by the end of the day.
But in the 4th prime, a ****ing cop sent me the wrong
way on the race course. i kept riding down the
cobblestone roads, but wondering where the spectators
had gone. By the time I figured it out and got back
on course, I lost 9-10 minutes. I finish 7th overall
for the day. Ed finishes 3rd for the day, even with a
flat tire in the same prime. 2 of my competitors drop
out with mechanical problems so I actually move up to
3rd in class, 4th overall. But if it werent for that
bastard cop, I would be 2nd in class, 3rd overall.

There are 2 more race days left. I have 9 minutes to
make up against a good rider. I will be riding on the
edge, trying to pull it off. I am faster than him,
but I dont know if there is enough race left to do it.
Ed can get 3rd in class if he stays consistant. We
shall see...


I will try to post pics and the video of bootcam ASAP.
stay tuned


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Back on the road again.

sopgear.com

The race ended yesterday (sunday).

I had been in 3rd place in class, 4th overall with the ability to take 2nd in class, 3rd overall. Then that bastard cop sent me the wrong way on the race course. That cost me about 9-10 minutes, I think. After that, I was 7 minutes out of 2nd (if it werent for the cop, I would have taken over 2nd place by 2-3 minutes.)

So, with 2 days left, I decided to run hard and go for 2nd place. In the 1st prime of the second to last day, I was going FAST on cobblestone roads. I passed the guy in front of me who had a 1 minute head start (any time you pass somebody, it means you are moving). Then, I was going into a sharp righthand corner, hard on the brakes, coming down from about 60-70 mph, I would guess. The front wheel hit a rock or something, it went into an ugly side to side tankslapper, and I went down hard, probably at about 50mph. I remember sliding feet first on my stomach, scratching at the cobblestones with my hands trying to stop. My right knee hurt bad, but I got the bike pointed in the right direction and underway again. Further damage assessment revealed the left handgrip was bent up at about a 45 degree angle. The shifter was also bent into the case so i couldnt shift. And the 2 packets of chocalate GU in the thigh pocket of pants exploded in a huge sticky mess. I told my competitors the mess oozing out of the pocket was blood. I finshed the prime like that and only lost 40 seconds to the guy in 2nd I was trying to beat. I got the shifter straightened out but had to race the next prime with the handlebars still bent- not the key to precise control in slippery corners. In the pits we tried to straighten them but broke them in the process. The only replacement bars around were a hideous Harley Davidson style set which not only were terrible for control, but also put my wrists at a painful angle. I ended up losing about 4 more minutes on second place by the end of the day.

The other American, Ed Tarleton, continued to ride the wheels off his XR600 (litterally). He had an interesting crash late in the day when the spring broke on his kickstand in the middle of a lefthand turn. The stand swung down, caught a cobblestone and pole-vaulted both him and his bike. He also slid down the cobblestones on his chest but was also spinning the whole time as was his bike. He got it re-lit ad back on course with no damage and very little time left. The last day, Ed suffered not 1, not 2, but 3 flat tires. He also had a flat on the 2nd day.

On the last day, I was too far out of 2nd place to make it so I just rode slowly and carefully to maintain 3rd place. The last two primes were the best though. It was a tight narrow road down through a beautiful valley with waterfalls and dropoffs everywhere. i wish I had time to look around. Then we turned around and raced back up the same road. Ed posted the fastest time of anyone on the downhill prime.

After the last prime, we all road together into downtown Quito with a police escort. There, a huge crowd greeted us and we celebrated with much beer and food. For me, I was a bit disappointed i couldnt pull off 2nd, but it was still a lot of fun. Ed had a great time too, in spite of 4 flat tires.

I will try to post pics soon.

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Back on the road again.

sopgear.com