Bike Feature: the Lisbon-Dakar RallyThe Lisbon-Dakar rally has been cancelled, after threats from al-Qaeda, leaving two Irish riders twiddling their thumbs in Lisbon. Geoff Hilltakes up the story
On Sunday morning, Philip Noone and Gary Ennis should have been hurtling south through the hills outside Lisbon, leaving a flurry of baffled bluebirds bobbing in their wake.
Instead, they sat in a rented flat in the Portuguese capital, twiddling their thumbs and watching a boat make its way very slowly across the bay.
For the Dakar Rally, in which the two were due to compete as Team Ireland, was cancelled on Friday night just hours before the start, after al-Qaeda threatened to kill any competitors passing through fundamentalist Mauritania.
The announcement was made in Lisbon, which was to have been this year's starting point for a rally whose route changes annually.
For Noone and Ennis it was the bitterest of blows after years of competition riding and months of preparation costing €130,000.
Still, the good news is that although this year's Paris-Dakar may be dead and buried at the tender age of 30, the organisers hope - within eight weeks - to announce a new route, possibly Paris-Beijing, for the 2008 event.
"It's all been a bit of a shock, as you can imagine. Today should have been the second day, and here we are doing nothing," said Noone, a 39-year-old motorcycle importer from Dún Laoghaire who, along with 42-year-old engineering company owner Ennis from Blessington, have established themselves among the top six UK and Irish motocross and grass track riders over the past 15 years.
"I've always been a bit of a petrolhead, to be honest. If it had wheels and an engine, I just wanted to get on and see how fast it would go. And after years of two-day endurance events, the Paris-Dakar was the next obvious step," he continued.
Not that getting in is that simple: with competitors getting lost or killed nearly every year, this time around the organisers set up a tough selection process which meant that of the 24 who entered from Ireland and the UK, only eight were chosen.
"We picked KTM 660 and 525 rally replicas for the event, and sent them off to Desert Rose Racing in England for preparation, which took seven months and cost €25,000 each," explained Noone.
"To be honest, the bikes look more like light aircraft than motorbikes, with GPS, backup sat-nav, loads of extra instruments, and four fuel tanks which mean you can ride at full speed for 400 kilometres."
And when Noone says full speed, he means it: in the interests of safety, Dakar bikers are warned not to exceed 95mph. And that's across sand and scrub.
"In all, the total cost has been €65,000 each, including two support trucks and two mechanics, but we've been lucky enough to round up 10 sponsors to help with that.
"So, obviously the last-minute cancellation was very disappointing.
"There were a few tears shed, I can tell you, but in the next couple of months, we should know if it's back on, and we'll just store the bikes until then," he said.
"Are we mad? Well, for any off-road enduro rider, this is our Everest, so we'll be back to do it, wherever it's going to be."
For details of Team Dakar Ireland, visit www.teamdakarireland.comThe 2008 Dakar Rally was planned for January 5th-20th, with over 570 teams from 50 countries racing 9,273km through five countries using trucks, cars or motorbikes. Fewer than half the participants usually make it to the finish line.
The Dakar first took place in 1979, organised by Frenchman Thierry Sabine. It traditionally ran from Paris to Dakar in Senegal, but due to various political disturbances and all-out war in some of the countries, the route changes annually. Traditionally, most of the participants are amateur adventure seekers with a bit of cash to spare, but the race also attracts some major motor racing stars looking to test their mettle against the elements. Car manufacturers like to use the rally to test the endurance of their new vehicles.
Factfile: the Dakar Rally
It isn't called an extreme race for nothing. Every year people get lost or killed during the race. Some major incidents that made headline news include:
1982- Mark Thatcher got lost for six days in the desert;
1988- DAF, the leading truck, (which was also beating every car at the time) crashed and killed a driver;
2005- two of the top motorcyclists to compete in the rally died within two days of one another;
2006- Australian KTM motorcyclist Andy Caldecott, in his third time in the Dakar, died as a result of injuries after a crash. Two young spectators were also killed in the latter stages of the rally;
2007- two motorcyclists died, a South African crashed in the fourth stage, and a Frenchman died of heart failure during the 14th stage.
A total of 48 deaths among competitors have been recorded since the rally began. Spectators have also been injured and killed either by competitors or their support vehicles.
Haven't got the cash to complete it? Try the Plymouth-Banjul: 3,000 miles to the west coast of Africa in a car worth less than $175 (€102). The car of choice for the event is the Lada.