2007 Dakar Daily
by Scott Cox dakar@resmarket.com

With the two opening European stages behind him and today's (Monday 1/8/07) Stage 3 still in progress, America's #1 rally hopeful, Chris Blais, has finally arrived on the Dark Continent and the "real Dakar" is finally underway. Here's a quick snapshot of Stage 1 and Stage 2 via satellite-phone from Red Bull KTM US Dakar team physician and trainer, Dr. Johnathan Edwards, M.D.

Stage 1 - Saturday, 1/6/07
Prologue - Lisbon, Portugal to Portimayo, Portugal:
115 km liason 117 km liason - 232 km special - 464 km TOTAL DISTANCE

Stage 1 route according to www.dakar.com == "The first surprise - this is still only Europe, yet we can already see sand, without even going to the beach. The start of the special promises a few not too serious mishaps... just a foretaste of Africa. Then the technicians will be free to snatch back a few seconds in the bends through the forests of pines and corks. Going after the scratch time, trajectories are worked out to the nearest millimetre."

Blais gets the party started with a 7th place day 1 finish
Chris Blais and his "new" KTM (see note NOTE below) survived, somewhat uneventfully, the 100km mostly sand special. As the official start of the rally, the prologue doesn't serve much in the way of determining who's gonna shine in the brutal African stages -- it's much more a showbiz spectacle which serves as a showcase for the event organizers and sponsors to kick off a spectacular event in a spectacular way.

Based on his returning for a 3rd got at the Dakar and having finished just minutes off the podium in 2006, Chris is an early favorite for rally watchers and according to Doc Edwards he's getting lots of attention from print and TV reporters covering the 2007 rally. Doc is seeing a more aggressive rider in Chris and we all hope that this portends an early attack mode for the easy going California desert specialist.

Stage 2 - Sunday, 1/7/07
Portimayo, Portugal to Malaga, Spain
15 km liason - 67 km special - 463 km liason - 545 km TOTAL DISTANCE

Stage 2 route according to www.dakar.com == "507 km, including 67 km against the clock, are on the menu for this second stage. There is a change of scenery for the competitors who will tackle the Portuguese mountains along a route reminiscent of WRC races. On these steep rugged roads, caution will of course be the watchword for all the riders. The region's own Ruben Faria could take advantage to cement his lead at the head of the rally."

Time out for engine trouble - Blais 18th after stage 2
What could have (and probably should have!) been Chris Blais's first visit to the podium was compromised due to a mechanical gremlin that sidelined his #9 Red Bull KTM 660 Rallye. In a nutshell the problem was a pinched oil breather tube created a pressure build up in the engine resulting in the loss of a substantial quantity of engine oil (about 700cc - almost half of the supply!) and sub-par performance for Chris' KTM 660 LC4 engine.

"Thank God it didn't happen tomorrow on the first major stage (Stage 3) in Morocco." Explained Dr. Edwards. "With today's short special, the lack of oil wasn't as traumatic and while it took him out for a short time, his engine sustained no damage."

NOTE ABOUT CHRIS' #9 KTM 660 Rallye: While many on the KTM factory (Galoises and Repsol teams, for instance) are riding the newer, potentially faster 690 KTM's, Chris has opted for what he believes to be the more dependable 660 machine, virtually identical to what Cyril Despres and Marc Coma rode in the 2006 Dakar. Only time will tell but Chris and chief technician Matt Spencer believe that the proven reliability of the 660 model, the same bike that took Chris to 4th place in 2006, will give up little to the newer, larger KTM's.

1/8/06: Stage 3 - Nador to Er Rachidia
It's too early to report (4:30 am San Diego time) but so far, according to tracking radar Chris is hauling ass and taking names. Look for a follow-up report later -- SC

CHASING DAKAR: GET THE BOOK!
What's it take to do the Dakar? Find out on the pages of CHASING DAKAR, the handbook that gives you an inside line on adventure and rally racing written by guys who've been there: Dr. Johnathan Edwards M.D., with multi-time Dakar and Baja veteran Scot Harden
www.ChasingDakar.com

Reports submitted by Resource Marketing, Encinitas, California 92024
Tel 760-436-9937 / Fax 760-436-3711
Contact: Scott Cox dakar@resmarket.com