Brabec and Walkner lock out the top three in opening stage.
Image: Supplied.
Reigning champion and two-time winner Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has opened the 2020 Dakar Rally by topping stage one.
Carrying the number one plate, the Australian had the advantageous position of being the 23rd rider to enter the day’s stage. The Queenslander immediately pushed hard from the start, posting the second-fastest time to the first waypoint.
A small issue with his navigation equipment looked set to reduce his pace with a seized road book making navigation difficult.
He was able to tag on to the back of teammate Matthias Walkner and the pair brought their KTM 450 RALLY machines home safely and in good time, with Price fastest overall.
Monster Energy Honda Team’s Ricky Brabec came in a close second ahead of Walkner, as the top five was completed by Kevin Benavides (Monster Energy Honda Team) and Sam Sunderland (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
Australian Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha Motor Australia) wound up 25th on day one day, as compatriots Ben Young (Duust Rally Team), Phillip Wilson (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team), Trevor Wilson (Husqvarna) and Matthew Tisdall (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team) finished in positions 92, 98, 127, and 129.
The 2020 AMA Supercross season has kicked off with Anaheim 1 over the weekend, with Justin Barcia claiming top honours in the 450SX main event, ahead of Cianciarulo, with defending champion Cooper Webb settling for third.
Justin Cooper proved fastest meanwhile, in the 250SX Main Event, from Dyland Ferrandis and Christian Craig, while Aussie young-gun Jett Lawrence put in a credible ninth for his first US main event appearance.
SX450
Heat One
Ryan Breece got a great start but lost the rear heading into turn one which caused Aaron Plessinger also go down, and the Yamaha man looked hurt. Chad Reed also got caught up a melee at turn one but quickly rejoined the action.
No such problems though for Australian Supercross Champion Justin Brayton, who was the early leader from Vince Friese. Eli Tomac got baulked in the whoops and was shuffled back down to sixth place. Ken Roczen quickly worked his way into third place but had Malcolm Stewart right on his tail and a charging Tomac determined to regain the ground he lost in that earlier clash.
Roczen then took second place from Friese and quickly closed in on Brayton. Behind that duo Tomac put a hard pass on Stewart which put the Honda man on the ground, he got going again in seventh place, but Tomac was now a clear fourth and looking to steal the final step on the rostrum from Friese but ran out of time to get the job done.
Brayton was the heat one winner with Ken Roczen making it a Honda 1-2 and Friese in third.
Chad Reed had worked his way up to 12th place by the chequered flag after that lap one tumble and thus was headed for the LCQ.
Heat Two
Adam Cianciarulo had proved the fastest in qualifying while defending champion Cooper Webb was struggling with the flu and had been somewhat off the pace. It was Zach Osborne that scored the holeshot though from Justin Barcia while Cianciarulo, Justin Hill and Webb gave chase.
Adam Cianciarulo – 2020 AMA Supercross Round 1 – Anaheim 1
Barcia got the better of Osborne on lap two while Cianciarulo made a mistake while battling with Hill and lost a place not only to the Honda man but was also usurped by Webb.
Cianciarulo regrouped and made his way past Webb once again. Webb then started to come under attack from behind by Jason Anderson.
The #9 Kawasaki of Cianciarulo stalked Osborne for a couple of laps and eventually the Husqvarna man succumbed to the pressure and went down fairly hard after jumping into the tough blocks and tumbling off the circuit. Osborne rejoined the race slowly in 13th place.
Justin Barcia had clear air out front and went on to take victory ahead of Cianciarulo while Webb managed to steal the third step on the podium from Justin Hill at the final juncture.
LCQ
Chad Reed got away well in the LCQ but it was Zach Osborne that squeezed through for the holeshot. The two finished in that order while Tyler Bowers and Aaron Plessinger also made it through to the main.
Chad Reed – 2020 AMA Supercross Round 1 – Anaheim 1
Final
Vince Friese scored the holeshot from Justin Barcia and Justin Brayton while Adam Cianciarulo was in fourth. Barcia took the lead from Friese halfway through that opening lap. Justin Hill was fifth at the end of lap one, ahead of Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen.
Barcia was getting away while Brayton was hanging on to second place while being chased by Cianciarulo, while Friese, Roczen and Webb tripped each other up in their desperate quests to work their way forward in what was a busy pack. Barcia though had clear air up front and a 2.7-second advantage with 16-minutes remaining. Jason Anderson was eighth and Tomac was in ninth place.
Cianciarulo then got the better of Brayton to move up to second place and immediately pulled away from the Honda man. Cooper Webb was in fourth and despite battling the flu was clear of Ken Roczen and Blake Baggett.
Barcia looked safe up front but then a mistake with 12-minutes remaining saw the Yamaha man throw it all away! A 2.5-second lead turned into a 1.5-second deficit to Cianciarulo after Barcia’s clash with the tough blocks lost him his advantage.
Cooper Webb started to pile the pressure on third placed Brayton and with eight-minutes remaining the defending champ made his move to take that third spot. Brayton then had his hands full fending off the advances of Roczen and Baggett.
Barcia then got the better of Cianciarulo after the Kawasaki man made a big mistake that could have ended very badly but he managed to recover and rejoin the track 1.4-seconds behind Barcia.
Brayton then went from fourth to seventh in one corner after he was gazumped by Roczen and Baggett before then being used as a berm by Jason Anderson which put Brayton momentarily on the floor. Tomac then relegated Brayton further down to eighth place just ahead of Malcolm Stewart and Vince Friese.
Jason Anderson – 2020 AMA Supercross Round 1 – Anaheim 1
Jason Anderson got the better of Roczen with two-minutes left to run to move up to fifth place. Up front Barica had a handy buffer over Cianciarulo who in turn had an even larger buffer over Cooper Webb. And that was how they finished, Barcia the winner of the A1 season opener, 450 debutante Cianciaurlo in second, while defending champ Cooper Webb rounded out the podium.
Justin Barcia claimed the main event win from Adam Cianciarulo and Cooper Webb – 2020 AMA Supercross Round 1 – Anaheim 1
Blake Baggett clinched fourth place with a handy buffer over Jason Anderson while Ken Roczen claimed 17-points for sixth. Eli Tomac took seventh ahead of Justin Brayton and Malcolm Stewart, while Vince Friese rounded out the top ten.
In his record breaking 250th main event start Chad Reed finished in 18th place.
Defending Dakar Champion Toby Price got his defence off to a great start in the deserts of Saudi Arabia today by winning the opening day of Dakar 2020.
Red Bull KTM mounted Price won the day with a 2min-05secs advantage over Monster Energy Honda’s Ricky Brabec. The American had led early on in the stage before being overhauled by Price.
Toby Price Dakar 2020 Stage 1 victor
KTM’s Matthias Walkner was 35-seconds further adrift in third place but the Austrian was almost two-minutes ahead of fourth placed Kevin Benavides (Honda) and fellow KTM pilot Sam Sunderland.
Pablo Quintanilla was sixth ahead of Joan Barreda Bort and Luciano Benavides while Andrew Short and Adrien Van Beveren rounded out the top ten.
After a few years riding with the Factory Yamaha Team in primarily a supporting role to their main starts Queensland Yamaha dealer Rod Faggotter is running his own show this year and finished an encouraging 19th place on the opening day of competition.
First-career victory for Cooper in 250SX West final at opening round.
Image: Octopi Media.
A spectacular 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, opener at Anaheim 1 tonight resulted in Justin Barcia landing back-to-back opening round victories.
The new season saw Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha) and 450SX newcomer Adam Cianciarulo go head-to-head, as Barcia led the opening seven laps with a 2.5s cushion prior to an off-track excursion.
That enabled the Monster Energy Kawasaki rookie to lead his share of the final, however, he too would make an error that cost him the lead – Barcia striking back to seize upon the opportunity. That’s how they would finish, with Barcia clear by 5.646s.
Completing the podium was defending champion Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) despite qualifying down in P15 this afternoon with a minor sickness, fending off challenges from Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM), Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC) through the race.
One of the favourites, Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki), was unable to find the spark needed in the main to wind up seventh, ahead of Justin Brayton (Team Honda HRC), who had been in podium contention earlier and then made a mistake of his own.
SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda rider Malcolm Stewart was ninth at the flag, directly in front of teammates Justin Hill and the fast-starting Vince Friese. Commencing his final season of competition, Chad Reed (Mountain Motorsports CBDMD CR22 Honda) finished 18th.
Image: Octopi Media.
Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha rider Justin Cooper won the opening 250SX West round of the season at Anaheim 1 tonight, topping teammate Dylan Ferrandis.
The opening lap saw Austin Forkner (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) out front early, before Cooper managed to take over at the front momentarily.
On lap 12 a mistake by Forkner while leading saw him go off-track, able to resume in third, but only after allowing defending champion Ferrandis to gain the position behind teammate Cooper.
Cooper took victory by 2.450s over Ferrandis in a strong beginning to his defence, with Forkner a comfortable third to complete the podium. Behind them, Christian Craig (Geico Honda) kept Michael Mosiman (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) at bay for fourth place.
The first showing of Cameron Mcadoo at Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki resulted in sixth ahead of Brandon Hartranft (TLD Red Bull KTM), with his teammate Derek Drake, Australian rookie Jett Lawrence (Geico Honda) and Alex Martin (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki) rounding out the top 10.
Lawrence did go down on lap four after dicing with countryman Luke Clout (Penrite Honda) for position inside the top 10, eventually working his way back to P9 after remounting. Clout, meanwhile, crashed out of ninth at around the halfway mark.
Next-best finishing Australian in the field was Jay Wilson (Altherm JCR Yamaha) as he qualified directly through his heat and went on to claim 17th, while Aaron Tanti (Serco Yamaha) crashed out of the LCQ. In 450SX, Joel Wightman (Honda) was unable to make the night program at A1.
Next weekend will see the series arrive for round two in St. Louis, Missouri, the red plate to be worn by Barcia aboard the factory YZ450F in 450SX and Cooper in 250SX on Saturday, 11 January.
Forkner was later docked two positions from third to fifth for his incident that saw him cut part of the circuit. Geico Honda rider Christian Craig is now third, with Michael Mosiman (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) fourth.
Only a couple of years after shutting up his Team Honda Racing operation in Campbellfied and handing the reigns of team ownership over to Deon Coote, and the Team Manager role to Shaun Clarke, Paul Free will be back in Honda apparel for ASBK season 2020.
In recent seasons Free has been crew chief for DesmoSport Ducati, and has worked with both Troy Bayliss and Mike Jones in that time. That combination worked well, with Mike Jones taking out the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship.
Season 2020 will see the now 48-year-old rekindle a successful partnership after signing a deal to crew chief for Troy Herfoss this season.
Paul Free (Left) with Ben Henry pictured here at Phillip Island in 2019 as part of DesmoSport Ducati’s ultimately successful campaign for the ASBK Title – TBG Image
Paul Free
“When I was packing up Motologic at the end of 2017 I thought it was all done. I thought the racing scene was in my past.
Paul Free at the M.A. awards dinner at the end of season 2017 where his and wife Laura’s contribution to the sport was recognised. That was going to be it for Paul in motorcycling, until Troy Bayliss gave him a call…. – TBG Image
“Then I got that call from Troy Bayliss asking if I would work with he and Ben in 2018. We had a good year, then working with Mike in 2019 was an exceptional year. These last two years focusing on the role of tech, I have realised that it is the challenge of bringing together the rider and the motorcycle on that quest to go faster that really gets me up in the morning.
Paul Free working on the DesmoSport Ducati at The Bend in 2019, Ben Henry in background – TBG Image
“After essentially mentoring Shaun for many years I am exceptionally proud of the job he has done over the last two years working with the team which led them to Troy winning the ASBK Championship in 2018, and coming so very close in 2019.
Troy Herfoss and Troy Bayliss on the grid in 2018 – Image by Rob Mott
“I am really happy to be working with Troy Herfoss again as I feel we have a great connection from our successes in the past. He is a fierce competitor and will stop at nothing to get the job done.
Troy Herfoss took the ASBK Championship lead at Phillip Island’s round six in early October but was pipped to the 2019 Title in a nail-biting SMP decider in November – Image by TBG
“Deon has formed a great team around Troy Herfoss and I think for 2020 the Honda CBR1000RR, combined with the Michelin tyre, will be an exceptionally strong package from the get go. I can’t wait to go testing to learn more about the Michelin tyres and the package that Deon has put together. It will be a really exciting season.”
Troy Herfoss, Paul Free in background – 2016 ASBK Champion
We broke that news here a few days ago about Michelin and also hinted that none other than Jeremy Burgess might be in Michelin’s corner for ASBK 2020, working with Penrite Honda.
Deon Coote – Penrite Honda Team Owner
“2020 is full of exciting things for the Penrite Honda Factory SBK team. First of all we have the all new CBR 1000 RR coming. Secondly we have a new tyre partner in Michelin that have been working hard at coming back to the Australian market with an amazing and competitive product for over the last 12 months. And then we have Paul Free coming back to the Honda Family, to Crew Chief for our rider Troy Herfoss. Paul will bring a wealth of knowledge to the team along with great leadership. Everyone is extremely motivated to get our 2020 campaign under way.”
Penrite Honda – 2018 ASBK Superbike Champions – Left to right – Glenn Granger – Troy Herfoss – Ian Collier – Scott Charlton – Shaun Clarke and Team owner Deon Coote most right in picture – Image TBG
As Deon explained, that is some formidable people to have in your garage and will help Troy Herfoss and Penrite Honda to shake down the all-new 2020 Fireblade SP when it arrives. Although at this stage we believe the team will start the season on the 2019 machine as they have to wait until 20 bikes are in the country for the new generation Fireblade to be homologated and eligible for ASBK competition.
2020 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP – The team will likely start season 2020 on the previous model until enough of the new machines are in the country to make it eligible for ASBK competition
Martin Stolle was a talented young engineer in the development department of BMW and he was having great fun riding his motorcycle from the British marque Douglas. After the First World War, his employer – like all German companies – was prohibited from producing aero-engines.
They kept their heads above water with large-displacement four-cylinder in-line engines for trucks, tractors and boats. A new product needed to be created in order to secure a permanent future.
Inspired by the engine powering his Douglas machine, Stolle designed a 500 cc, air-cooled twin-cylinder engine with horizontally opposed combustion chambers. This type of engine arrangement was already known as a Boxer engine, in which the pistons always operated “one against one” similar to boxing competitors in a fight. The power unit impressed aficionados with its outstanding smooth-running performance right from the start.
Martin Stolle with his Victoria powered by a M 2 B 15 engine – ca. 1921
In 1920, production of the new engine was launched. At that time, Stolle was just 34-years-old and his design of the Boxer engine was based on smooth-running and reliability. In his initial design, he settled for 6.5 hp at 4,500 rpm.
The new power unit was supplied to various motorcycle manufacturers under the sales designation “Bayern-Kleinmotor” (Bavaria Small Engine). And soon Stolle’s development was installed in motorcycles of the brands Helios, Bison, SMW (Stockdorfer Motoren Werke), Corona and Hoco.
The most successful motorcycles were manufactured by Nürnberger Victoria-Werke, whose KR 1 model powered by the “Bayern-Kleinmotor” from BMW attracted a large number of purchasers. More than 1000 examples of the first Boxer engine from BMW were installed in this model alone.
Two years after the launch of sales for the new BMW bestseller, Martin Stolle followed in the footsteps of “his” engine. He switched companies and moved to Victoria-Werke where he was involved in other successful motorcycle developments.
Production BMW R 32, 1923
In Munich, Stolle’s legacy was not only a groundbreaking engine concept but also a pioneering inspiration for the future of BMW. The company was destined to move forward on two wheels. The development of a complete motorcycle had already begun. In September 1923, the BMW R 32 was presented – naturally powered by a Boxer engine.
BMW Engine Type 255 Kompressor was a supercharged version of the Boxer from the 1930s that powered Georg Meier to victory at the Isle of Man TT in 1939
And now in 2020 BMW will release a new generation of the Boxer destined for a new retro range of cruisers and roadsters with a retro styled massive new donk dubbed the ‘Big Boxer’….
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Taddy Blazusiak has claimed victory at round two of the 2020 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Germany.
Riders faced another tight and technical track for round two of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, held at the Sachsen Arena in Germany. Multiple log hazards and rock gardens created a gruelling course that required maximum focus in order to secure a strong result.
Billy Bolt
Runner-up at the opening round, Taddy Blazusiak knew he had to claw back important championship points in order to stay competitive in the short five-round series. Getting his night off to a strong start, Blazusiak posted the second-fastest time in SuperPole qualifying, beaten only by team-mate Jonny Walker.
Taddy Blazusiak
Race one started well for Blazusiak, completing the first lap in third place. With the top two riders both having problems, he took the lead and never looked back, ultimately taking the chequered flag with a huge 34-second advantage. The second race, despite the reversed grid, went very much the same way as the first – Blazusiak, riding consistently, made his way to the front leaving his rivals behind.
Taddy Blazusiak
The third and final race saw Blazusiak take the holeshot and instantly create a comfortable lead. Using his skill and experience to master the demanding track, the Polish ace never faltered and completed his hat-trick of first-place results to claim the overall win. Despite his main championship rival finishing second, Taddy earned enough points to move himself into the lead of the series standings with a useful 11-point advantage going into round three.
Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak
“I don’t know what to say, I’m over the moon, it’s been such an amazing night. All of the races went really well today and fell into place. You still need to earn your results though and I knew that this round would be tough. With a track like this you can’t just sprint the whole thing or you will make mistakes so I knew if I stayed consistent it would pay off. My plan was to stay safe and just ride to the limit of the bike with the minimum of errors. I’m really happy to go into round three with the championship lead. Spain is like a second home race for me, so I hope I can do the same thing there and come away with another win.”
Taddy Blazusiak
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt was runner-up. After arriving as series leader following a highly impressive winning performance at the opening event of the championship, Bolt endured a challenging night inside the Sachsen Arena with a heavy fall in the opening final preventing him from performing at his best.
Despite his troubles, the FE 350 mounted rider secured second overall and with it holds the runner-up position in the SuperEnduro championship standings, just 11 points behind new series leader Taddy Blazusiak.
2020 SuperEnduro World Championship Round Two – Riesa, Germany
Quickly getting to grips with the technical track, Bolt showed his pace by posting the fastest time during the final timed practice. In the first of the three finals it took just two laps before he moved ahead of teammate Gomez and into the race lead, where he stayed until lap five. Initially losing just one place to Blazusiak, Bolt then dropped to his final finishing position of fourth.
The reversed start order second final saw Bolt quickly hustle his way inside the top five before taking the race lead on lap two. Looking comfortable out front, a mistake while leading on lap four unfortunately saw him drop to his final finishing position of second.
The night’s third and closing final proved to be the toughest for Bolt. Feeling the effects of his spills in the first and second race, he spent two laps in third before dropping to fourth. Finally moving forwards one position to secure third at the finish was enough for the Brit to claim second overall in the event classification.
Billy Bolt
“It was certainly a difficult night for me. It looked like things were going to go well – the track really suited me, so I was really looking forward to seeing what I could do. I felt like the track could be ridden aggressively, but maybe that was where things went wrong for me. There was definitely a racing line, but I made too many mistakes. The crash I had in the first race was pretty big, I hit the ground pretty hard and that detuned me for the other races. After that I just wanted to get as many points as possible. For the championship things didn’t go like I wanted, but my speed was good. It’ll be back to work on Monday, with three rounds of the series still to go there everything to fight for.”
Billy Bolt
Fastest in SuperPole, Jonny Walker endured a tough night of racing in Riesa. Falls at the first corner in races one and two put him on the back foot for the remaining laps. A better start in the third race really let him demonstrate his pace, with the British rider fighting for the podium throughout. Despite a challenging night, Jonny was able to claim third in the overall event results. Happy with his fitness and speed, Walker now looks forward to round three.
Jonny Walker
Jonny Walker
“Tonight was really tough. I’d be lying if I said I was happy with how things turned out, especially after showing I had the pace by claiming the SuperPole win. I have to look on the bright side though – I’m feeling really good on the bike and I’m close to being back to 100 percent fit now, too. If things go well at the next round in Spain, I know I can challenge for the win.”
Jonny Walker
In missing the end-of-night overall podium by just four points, Alfredo Gomez was ultimately a little frustrated at the way his time in Riesa ended. But in showing impressive speed on his TE 300i the experienced Spaniard kept a cool head to start his night with a deserved runner-up result in the opening final.
The reverse-start second final didn’t go Gomez’ way as an incident on lap seven saw him drop from fifth to seventh. Bouncing back in the night’s closing final, Alfredo again made a strong start to complete lap one in second, where he remained until the chequered flag. Heading into round three of the series Gomez sits third in the championship standings.
Alfredo Gomez
“It’s been a fantastic night for me, apart from an unfortunate incident in the second final that stopped me from finishing on the podium. That’s disappointing, but the first and third finals were really good for me. In the first race I made a small mistake when I was leading, but overall I’ve felt really good. I was able to find a much better rhythm compared to the first race in Poland. The final result could have been better, but generally I’m very pleased.”
Alfredo Gomez
The FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with the third stop of the five-round series in Spain on January 18, 2020.
2020 SuperEnduro World Championship Round Two – Riesa, Germany
The King of Every Kingdom Around the world on a very small motorcycle
With J. Peter “The Bear” Thoeming
When we last left The Bear, he was exploring the wilds of Pakistan, and now he heads into Afghanistan with an eye on visiting Bamian, despite some visa limitations…
Afghanistan
There are only two categories of the compulsory Afghani vehicle insurance—vehicles with more than eight seats or fewer. This meant that we had to pay the same rate as a car. But we got our own back on the Customs bloke.
He only knew three words of English, ‘I must look…’, and he kept saying them as he stood in front of our carefully packed and locked machines. We said ‘OK, look,’ and ignored the fact that he wanted us to unlock everything. He was actually rather nice, and finally took readings from our odometers to cover his embarrassment and left, muttering ‘I must look…’ I presume he was headed for his English teacher.
If you don’t understand our glee at beating the Customs for once, you’ve never been through a bad border. Our joy didn’t last long, of course. Karma struck. Within a few minutes, still in the pass, I had a flat tyre, our first on the trip. There was a largish tack in the front tyre, which we fixed as quickly as possible, because it was hot again and there was no shade.
Kipling didn’t know the half of it. He’d never had a flat tyre, for example.
We were well and truly out of the monsoon now, and would see no more rain until the Black Sea in Turkey. Jalalabad, the first stop north of the Khyber, was a friendly if slightly rough town, and we stopped for one of the local hamburgers and 20 or so bottles of Coke. The old bloke deep-frying the meat asked us if we wanted salad. Is the Pope Catholic? Of course we wanted salad. He gave us each a great handful of roughly chopped onion.
Then on to the middle of town where there was an intersection featuring a lot of those fiddly little cement islands, meant to channel traffic in the right directions. We were still getting used to riding on the right—it changes at the Afghani/Pakistani border—and wove our way around in different but about equally wrong paths. The policeman on point duty watched, first with an open mouth and then with a huge grin.
Well, there’s a surprise. Paul was on his way in the opposite direction, also on an XL250.
We swam in the icy Kabul River just below Kabul Gorge, one of the most spectacular bits of road building around. The road just climbs up a vertical rock wall, with switchbacks and tunnels every few yards. At the top of the gorge an XL250 went past us, going the other way. Huh? Paul, the rider, was on his way home to Australia from Britain. He had made the mistake of riding at night in Iran. A broken arm had taught him not to do it again.
At a roadblock near Kabul, the army checked our papers. The officer in charge looked at our passports and said, ‘Aha, Australia. So you do not speak English?’ We solemnly shook our heads and he waved us through.
Fueling up and fooling around near Allahabad, just out of the Khyber Pass.
Next came our introduction to the Great Game, of buying petrol that is. To understand how this works, you must know that the pumps only show quantity, not price. So you fill up and give the attendant some money. He stands there and smiles at you. You hold out your hand and demand change.
He gives a little start – oh, sorry! – and gives you a little money. Then he stands there and smiles at you again. You repeat your act, he repeats his. This goes on until you either have all your change or give up in disgust. It’s best to have the right money in the first place. You can actually work out the cost because petrol costs the same all over the country.
There was no trouble finding a hotel in Kabul; we ended up in what looked as if it might once have been a substantial bank. Then it was out for dinner on Chicken Street, a thoroughfare full of shops selling genuine antiques. Once again, not that kind of genuine – although I once bought a sword here which was genuine if dilapidated and which got me into no end of trouble in Singapore.
The way to Bamian (also spelt Bamiyan or Bamyan) was rugged – and I presume it’s much the same now.
We ate delicious minced-goat kebabs and drank delicious tea in one of the many filthy, comfortable chai khanas or tea houses, and took stock. Our visas weren’t long enough for us to take a trip up to Bamian, but we both wanted to see it – in my case again. One-week visa extensions took four days to get, which wasn’t really worth it, so we decided to simply overstay and pay the fine when we left.
A day was spent in the dusty and totally enchanting Kabul bazaar, watching absolutely medieval things like the water delivery—it comes in goatskins. Then it was off along the Mazar road, a well-surfaced and Russian-built tar highway to the USSR border. After about 100km, we turned off onto the 160km gravel track to Bamian.
The track winds through the Koh-e-Baba mountains, with some breathtaking gorges and blasted, lonely plateaux on the way. I was a bit too keen and encountered a minibus as I was taking a corner on the wrong side of the road. Result, one dropped bike with twisted forks. We straightened them by the roadside, watched by a trio of goatherds, and not long afterwards I had another flat tyre. But, let me add, none of this spoilt the ride for us.
Wherever there’s water, people grow things in Afghanistan as elsewhere.
A young teacher invited us in for a cup of tea and we discussed politics without more than three words in common, except for proper names. He was in favour of the Communist revolution (“kommunis [thumbs up]”) which had just taken place—the first of three which culminated in the Russian takeover two years later—but he was violently anti-Russian.
I wonder what he’s doing now…. Our landlord in Kabul had warned us to make sure that everyone knew we weren’t Russians. Otherwise – he mimicked cutting his throat – we would wake up dead. The teacher more or less confirmed this for us.
Bamian, which is nearly three thousand metres high, was cool and quiet. We moved in at the Marco Polo Motel—the owner insisted that the man himself had stayed there but admitted he didn’t know in which room—and went off to inspect the magnificent 50 metre high statue of Buddha. This was carved out of the rock in the fourth century, when the monastery here had thousands of monks.
Genghis Khan chopped its face off some 800 years later. Genghis also destroyed the old city of Bamian, now an eerie collection of ruins on a hilltop called the City of Noise. They remember the Great Khan well up here in Afghanistan, if none too kindly. His worst act, one of the guides told us, was not to kill practically everybody but to destroy the qanats, the underground irrigation water supply.
The Ayar Valley, around the new Bamian, is an oasis of fertility in the grim mountains, kept green by irrigation water brought many kilometres from the melting snows by more modern techniques. Tourism has done its work, unfortunately; the children greet strangers with ‘Hello, paise’. Paise is the local word for—money.
We looked at the Red City on the way back. This is another ruined hilltop town, built of red mud and now melting down the cliffs in the infrequent rains. Then, on the road again, I did something very foolish.
Thinking I had been seen by the driver, I made to overtake a truck on the right. Just as I was level with it, the driver pulled over and inadvertently (I presume) ran me off the road. I went down a ten-metre forty-five degree embankment, weaving my way through huge boulder, into a field, where I stopped the bike and shook for a while.
These blokes were not sure about us at first, but ended up offering us tea.
Back in Kabul, we couldn’t believe ourselves in the mirror. We were covered in a fine, grey dust and looked about 90 years old. A shower soon fixed that, but at a price. The Kabul water supply also comes straight off the melting snows, and you step out of the shower blue with cold. Still, as everyone says, it’s very refreshing.
The next day, we had cholera booster injections before departing. The clinic was in an unmarked flat in a concrete block on the fringe of town, which was a bit of a worry, but we had been warned and had brought our own, new needles. We donated them after the injections, which went over very well.
The Kandahar road is dull, but the surface is good. We had intended to stop in Ghazni, but the government hotel had no water and the alternatives were dirty and expensive, so we pushed on to Kelat. Along the way we saw an Afghan hound herding some sheep, the only time I’ve ever seen one of these beasts at work.
Further on a small boy thought he’d impress his friends by throwing a rock at me. Now I don’t think this sort of thing is a good idea at all, so I turned around to go back and point out the error of his ways. He took off across the fields, running for all he was worth, and lost his cap, his satchel and the respect of his friends all at the same time.
Next week it’s, ‘go to gaol, go directly to gaol’ but we don’t mind one bit.
Lamborghini commitments could result in a 15-round send-off for icon.
Image: Octopi Media.
Conflicting dates between Monster Energy Supercross and his looming sportscar schedule could see Chad Reed miss up to two rounds of the 2020 season.
Reed, 37, will open his final season of Supercross today at Anaheim 1, the prestigious opening round in which he has previously won on three occasions.
With his Mountain Motorsports commitments including a continuation of Lamborghini competition, Reed has stated that he will line-up in ‘at least’ 15 rounds of 450SX through 2020.
“Last year I had the opportunity to do some car racing and, just like motorcycles did at three years old, it stole my heart,” Reed explained. “That was the moment that I was not falling asleep on night and motorcycles weren’t on my mind – it was all about how can I go faster in a Lamborghini?
“With that, here we are. I’m excited that I get to do… I’m not quite sure how many rounds, but I’ll do 15 at a minimum because there are a couple of conflicts with some car stuff. If the motorcycle thing’s going as well as I plan it to go, then my priority will be motorcycles and we’ll see what we can do.”
Reed was impressively crowned Lamborghini World Final champion at Jerez, Spain, last October, following a partial campaign in the 2019 IMSA-sanctioned Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series.
For the Dakar’s introduction to Saudi Arabia, Laia Sanz will head up the factory GasGas entry with the new RC450F.
Begin press release:
Laia Sanz and the GasGas Factory Racing team are tonight looking forward to the start of the 2020 Dakar Rally after successfully completing a pre-event shakedown and event administrative controls. Riding the all-new GasGas RC 450F, Laia will start her 10th Dakar Rally when she begins the opening 752-kilometre stage on Sunday, January 5.
Laia Sanz will debut the new GasGas RC 450F at the 2020 Dakar Rally
The 12-stage event covers more than 7,800km including 5,118km of timed specials
This 42nd edition will be held in the Middle East for the first time in its history
Laia Sanz: “It is always an exciting time, just before the start of Dakar. We had already completed a lot of testing on the bike in Morocco in December, but it’s been good to see and ride the terrain here in Saudi Arabia. So far, my feeling on the bike has been very good. I think once the race has started, we will see lots of different styles of terrain, and for sure a really challenging Dakar. My first impressions here have been good, the country is very beautiful. To join GasGas for their new rally project is motivating, I’m so happy to be representing the brand here and throughout the season. As everyone knows, it’s really tough to finish the Dakar and my goal is to be inside the top 15. The level of riders is really high right now and I will need to be smart to have a good race. Last year I finished 12th and had great results during the 2019 racing season, so I hope to keep this momentum going into the 2020 Dakar. I feel ready, I’ve been training hard, I feel healthy and my goal is to earn a good result for GasGas on this new bike.”
The most successful female competitor at the Dakar Rally, Sanz comes into the 2020 event not only hoping to extend her 100 percent finishers record but to also claim another top-15 result. The Spaniard enjoyed a strong 2019 season including an excellent seventh place at the gruelling Silk Way Rally. Now, with the full support of GasGas Factory Racing, Laia hopes to continue her impressive run of form and successfully complete her 10th Dakar with a strong result.
Following an 11-year period of being held in South America, the 42nd Dakar Rally will see competitors face a new challenge with the event moving to Saudi Arabia for the first time in its history. The Middle Eastern country will present riders with a wide variety of terrain as they cover a total distance of more than 7,800 kilometres.
Starting in the coastal city of Jeddah, the 12-stage event will first lead riders north along the coast of the Red Sea, before returning south through the Empty Quarter and finishing in Qiddiya on January 17. With 75 percent of the race ridden in sand and with expected difficult navigation promising to truly test the riders, the 2020 race looks set to be one of the toughest yet.
