Dreams of Paris to Dakar
 

This may sound out of this world but I am sure a few of you out there have a similar desire within, that is competing in the Paris to Dakar. And of course the biggest obstacle in fulfulling ones dream is the fact that it costs a fortune.

SO what I thought with all your creative minds out there I am open to any idea on how you could raise the funds to make it happen, how ever crazy or serious the idea may be you never know it may work.

Cheers

Robbo

Take Charley Boorman to the pub ,get him very drunk and get his signature on a contract .

Charley who????

Never mind !

Charlie Charlie
 

I think Rob's playing silly Buggers! BUt I think that's a brilliant idea!!

Robbo, try looking at HEROES LEGEND :: A CLASSIC RIDE TO DAKAR

It follows the PD route and is only 5k euros per person rather than 20k+.

Recommended as you're less likely to die, and all competitors finish!
(and if you need a rider for 2009/2010 let me know. I'll be riding my factory KTM then...)

Everyone gets to finish the race??
 

Hi Nomadic1,

An interesting website and an interesting concept; I've read it briefly and I don't understand what you mean by "everyone gets to finish"; the whole idea of a race is to include a number of DNFs.
Just interested in what you have in mind & understand the situation to be when you say this.

Cheers,

Heroes/Legends
 

This is a sporting Paris Dakar run by Hubert Auriol a Dakar Legend, the idea is that he hopes EVERYONE gets to Dakar.
The Mega buck Dakar has not been the same since Hubert left his position there, try and find the Team Knight/Newman writeups in the Riders digest mag, ...give it a 'google' to find out more. The Riders Digest

And of course the biggest obstacle in fulfulling ones dream is the fact that it costs a fortune.>>

And there's the enormous gap in talent...

Money? Irrelevant. You can't buy your way into Dakar success. Well you can, but you won't last a week...

Dakar riders differ from us off-roading overlanders like a kick-about on the beach differs from the European Cup. Three weeks, flat out, stood on your pegs, 300 miles a day. Off the pace? No problem - who needs sleep anyway?

Serious? Build up to it. Try some smaller desert races. Optics. Masters. Baja 1000. That kind of thing. But don't make the mistake of thinking that the Dakar is just about the entry fees...

Basically, what I tried to say, rather badly, was that in the normal PD, if you have to drop out or are excluded, there is no requirement from the race organisers to get you to the finish - its up to you to either get to the end, or get yourself home.

Basically, when you're out your out.

With HL, they insist that regardless of whether you finish it under your own steam or not, you'll get to the end to celebrate in the party and all the rest of the goings on - and the race will do this, not necessarily your team (say if there isnt space in your support vehicle to get you there).

I like this.

Quite right. Fact is though, it is quite feasible to enter with the sole intention to finish but not be anywhere near the leaderboard.

HL adds a bit of a twist in this respect in that you can specify what your 'average' speed is going to be, so the race doesnt have to be first over the finish line, but could be rather those who stick to their pace the best etc.

HL has lots of options, including that for those who wish to experience PD but may not have the experience of riding through dunes etc - and its called bivouac to bivouac. It mainly follows roads, and where offroad is needed, you dont have to be a factory pro rider to do it.

Hubert et al have got this event well thought out.

DAN 23

For starters I am not dreaming about buying my way into success. It is a dream to simply race in the event as thats who I am, there are plenty of privateers that race every year only to just try and finish the PD and that is where I think I come into it. Secondly I may well be aboard an Africa Twin riding around the world and I know its a far cry from a KTM 660 or CRF450 rally bikes but you should consider judging somebodies skill before assuming a 'talent gap' have you seen me ride?? Do you know my history??

And also if you think HU is the first place I have done my research I would think again....the Dakar is NOT just about the entry fee, it was just a question I thought I would ask on here as I see that SOME people do use their imaginations......wont last a week hey maybe you might want to be the first to put your money where your mouth is, now theres something positive!!!

Chill dude, we're all happy families!

:thumbup1:

I agree, hope you make this dream a reality. Anyone can point out your limitations, but you ultimately can do the work to overcome them.


I think innovation comes from within, just look for an opportunity in your field of expertise, any way you can capitalise on it;

Relax, Robbo - I wasn't being pissy. You're taking this personally - I thought we were talking generally - and I'd still maintain that generally, the biggest obstacle, or most important pre-requisite for running the Dakar, is talent, not deep pockets.

And despite the silly name, that Heroes' Rally looks amazing...

Suerte, Dan Walsh