Dakar

Dakar: Bombardier stage 14 report

Success calling Bombardier. With only three more days to go, the Canadian quad manufacturer, Bombardier, is starting to hold its breath to see its four quads finish amongst the top five in the grueling 2003 Telefonica Dakar race over 8550km. The ...

Published: Jan 18, 2003, 2:23 PM

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Success calling Bombardier.

With only three more days to go, the Canadian quad manufacturer, Bombardier, is starting to hold its breath to see its four quads finish amongst the top five in the grueling 2003 Telefonica Dakar race over 8550km.

The positions of the top five riders remained unchanged and the Bombardier riders were consistent during the very rough and dusty 274km special stage between Dakhla and Louxor in Egypt. At present the Spaniard Jose Luis Alvarez leads the onslaught ahead of Frenchman Antoine Morel. These riders are all on DS650 machines.

Today's special stage went along a series of forgotten tracks, used in the days of the Pharaohs by caravans of camels, on their way to Sudan.

The start of the special stage was a hillclimb-style ascent, over 5km long, which took the competitors to the start of a camel track. Then the track disappeared, with only a very sinuous trace remaining, winding through a rocky massif. This was followed by pure off-track navigation, with the competitors having to find the right valley in order to gain access to the pass leading down the cliff. One kilometre long, this descent was the biggest adrenaline rush of the day.

Later in the stage the rocky terrain shook the teeth in their sockets of every thoroughbred four-wheeler. The terrain has changed completely and the competitors are now racing between the Nile River and the western shores of the Red Sea.

After complete dominance by Yamaha over the history of the Dakar, Bombardier is definitely putting its stamp on the Dakar in proving its endurance ability in marathon racing and ensuring that the off the showroom floor racer remains the machine of the future in all terrain racing.

With only 876km of special stages remaining tomorrow is the last real opportunity to attack and the strong position of the Bombardier need to defend their excellent positions for two more real special stages.

-bombardier/cvz-

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