“We are aware that DAF have a problem because their trucks have been put aside. I however hope that they will be able to start the event because we have come to compete in a race and without competition, the rally would lose in interest. The rules are however the same for everyone and they have to be respected so that we all compete in the same conditions. It’s the first of rules in sport. I hope that the FIA will send them the necessary document and that we can enjoy a great race”.

The main issue in the truck category today concerned the problems witnessed by the DAF trucks who failed to go through the administrative checks because they didn’t have the necessary FIA licence to compete in the Dakar. The Dutch team led by De Rooy father and son have until tomorrow evening and the end of scrutineering to show up with the requested document. They have indeed asked the FIA to send them the licence as soon as possible. . The clockwork is on for the big blue trucks and only tomorrow will tell if they can hope to head to Portimao on New Year’s Eve for stage 1 of the Dakar.

Surrounded by his wife Reyes and his children Anna, Carlos and Blanca, two-time WRC World champion Carlos Sainz got a first taste of the Dakar as he entered the administrative checks. After showing his new car to his family, Sainz looked extremely interested (as was his son) by Brock and Carlson’s Hummer. Concerning his mission as of the 31st of December, the Spaniard insisted that he had carefully prepared for the event. “I worked on the physical aspect a lot because the race is long. We also tested the car quite a few times. I have a lot of respect for this event. To compete in such a race is very exciting because I don’t yet know what to expect. The main difficulty for me comes from the different types of terrain we’ll have to discover. I’m really here to learn”.

Maybe the biggest transfer before the start of this Dakar was that of Isidre Esteve (KTM – n°3) moving from KTM-Repsol to KTM-Gauloises. The Spaniard will indeed be sharing the French team’s race leadership with title holder Cyril Despres. Esteve showed up for scrutineering delighted by his new bike and team. “The bike is lighter to adapt to the new rules and that helps my riding. The goal is to win. I’m lucky enough to have David Casteu as a support rider and it really is a luxury because he’s a very fast biker. He probably will never be more than 10 minutes behind me”.

Before Stephane Peterhansel tomorrow, the fans massed around the tents set up for scrutinering were able to finally see the first title holder of the dakar: Cyril Despres (KTM – n°1) winner of last year’s bike race. In spectacular fashion, the KTM-Gauloises team showed up together on the parking lot with their leader Despres already keen to show his colours. The Frenchman will be riding alongside his compatriots Michel Gau and David Casteu but also another race favourite: Isidre Esteve. “I’m delighted to be here and impatient to start the race. All the preparation has been done and well done. The bike is lighter, we got rid of a fuel tank and the saddle is closer to the ground to lower our centre of gravity. On a physical point of view, we’ve all worked well and I feel in great shape. We have a brand new team set for victory and nothing else. Concerning myself, I want to do what I do best: riding a bike. I’ll take it day by day but my goal is really to claim victory.”

Probably the biggest smile of these first two days of scrutineering was that of Andy Caldecott. Surprisingly enough, the Aussie who finished 6th of last year’s event failed to find enough sponsors to compete in the 28th edition. Far from imaging that he would be on the start line of the 2006 Euromilhoes Dakar just a month ago, the Australian got an unexpected phone call from Jordi Arcarons, team manager of the KTM Repsol team. “Jordi called me at home to tell me that Jordi Duran had injured himself and asked me if I was interested at joining the team for the Dakar. I couldn’t believe it and it really feels great to be back”. Well satisfied of this late entry, Caldecott doesn’t quite yet want to talk about his ambitions. “I’m just here to be a support rider for Coma, Sala and De Gavardo. I’ll be there to help out if necessary. We’ll just have to wait and see for the overall and possible stage wins!”

Ronn Bailey discovered the rally last year. He however failed to make it out of Morocco but more than ever he remains fascinated by the Dakar. This year again, he prepared a very ambitious program, asking Philippe Gache to design him a perfectly adapted buggy. “I’m so happy to be here. We can finally say that we’re all set. The car is both reliable and powerful, and thanks to Philippe Gache, I managed to improve my driving skills. Last year I said that I dreamt of a place in the leading 20. I was far from reality but this year I really believe we can manage something good. And why not be the first American to one day win the Dakar. Anyhow, I’m eager to take off.”

For his fourth Dakar, Gerard de Rooy, son of Jan (winner in 1987) has a strong intention of adding a triumph to his family’s glorious record. On the podium of the 2004 edition, Gerard seems to be the strongest rival to compete with the Russian Kamaz trucks. Last year, he lost all hopes of victory after crashing in the early stages of the rally. “We’re really eager to start the race because we believe we have good chances of success. Our new trucks are different to those of last year. We have worked in order to make them more reliable, especially concerning the suspensions that have gave us worries in 2005. The test drives we went through in June in Morocco and early December in Château-Lastour were very promising. We are therefore very confident, especially because the new navigation rules could help us out…”

A newcomer last year on the Dakar, young Chris Blais proved to be a very promising rider indeed. The soon to be 25-year-old flew to an excellent 9th position overall. With more experience and with the support of KTM USA, the American will be part of a two-man team alongside Andy Grider who recently captured third spot of the Tunisia rally. The team however was forced to cope with the late withdrawal of Kellon Walch, recently injured, who had clocked the fastest time of last year’s final stage around the Lac Rose. The US bikers will also be helped out by the KTM-Repsol official team and have high expectations for this 28th edition. “I hope to make it on the podium in Dakar. I know a lot more about the race and have gained in experience. I definitely want to win some stages this year. It’s also great to have the support of KTM Repsol but we have no team orders. We just want to learn even more and we’ll be following guys like Despres and Coma. Despres managed to win the event after learning from champions like Sainct and Meoni.”

Just before going through the traditional scrutineering, veteran René Metge (NIS - n°416) seems to enjoy the Portuguese sunshine with his friend and co-driver Bernard Chevalier, journalist for French sports newspaper L’Equipe. The three-time winner of the event (1981, 1984 and 1986) and head of the rally a year later, René is back for another Dakar with the ambition to tell the stories behind the scenes off the struggling privateers thanks the written words of his mate Bernard. “Taking off from Lisbon is perfect because it is a city of great travellers. I’m delighted to compete in the race with Bernard, two years after a first experience that left us great memories although we were forced to quit with only two stages remaining before the finish in Dakar. Added to the fact that he’s a great story-teller, Bernard is a very good navigator. Our goal is to finish within the first 50 competitors every evening in order to take the time to stop on the side of the road and get some information like if we were war reporters on the Dakar.”

Hopping out of his zebra-green buggy, Henri Pescarolo has a huge smile on his face. The Frenchman is back on the rally after a two year absence. “We’re happy to be here”, admitted the 63-year-old driver. After an excellent season in endurance racing, Pescarolo found two weeks in his busy schedule to fulfil the ambitions of his sponsor: Technov that wanted have a car at the start of the Dakar. The four-time Le Mans winner will however take off without really knowing his machine “Just three hours of training in Alès. I will try not to forget that the race won’t be won in Portugal or Spain and try to take advantage of the first stages to check out the car. My goal is to be between the 30th and 20th position in the early stages of the rally, around the 15th spot halfway through and maybe make it to 10th at the finish”.

For the second year running, Robby Gordon will be starting the Dakar. After a first experience behind the steering wheel of a Volkswagen race Touareg that saw him clinch two special wins and make it to the Lac Rose in overall 12th position. But this time, the American has a whole new project: his own program with a Hummer vehicle powered by a GM engine. “I had a good time with Volkswagen last year and I learnt a lot. But I wanted to come back with my own program. Now we’ll see what happens but we don’t quite know what to expect against the other guys that we’ve never competed against. Anyhow, this time or next time: we want to win this race. We’re not here to play.”

Charley Boorman isn’t quite a competitor like the others. Son of the famous film director John Boorman (Excalibur, Delivrance…), Charley was already part of a long bike expedition around the World alongside his mate Ewan McGregor that gave birth to a film documentary and a book called Long Way Round. This time, he has a whole new project for the Dakar. Sky TV has indeed chosen to follow this newcomer during the rally by launching a team with experienced rider Simon Pavey, as well as a cameraman (Matthew Hall) that will also be competing in the race. “I’m delighted to finally be able to start the race. I’ve dreamt of the Dakar for years without taking the time to do it. Now, only a few days way from the start, I’m both excited and slightly anxious because I know really understand what a big event this is. But we prepared well. Simon Pavey who will be riding alongside me has a lot of experience. There is therefore no reason why we shouldn’t make it to Dakar. Anyhow, we’re here to do our best".

For his twentieth Dakar, Toshinori Asaga (TOY – n°338) intends on putting pleasure before performance in the overall standing. But the Japanese veteran who will be 62 next February is often a specialist at misguiding opinions. Last year, he had already announced he wanted to quit racing after the event, but his victory in the production category changed everything. This year again, the goal of the Toyota Auto Body team is to clinch the win in the T2 diesel class. “I believe this will be my last Dakar. I did indeed say the same thing last year but I won my category. I changed my mind because I couldn’t leave the Dakar without defending my title. But I’m part of Shinozuka’s generation and he’s decided to stop racing. So… For my 20th Dakar, I really just want to enjoy myself. I love driving in the desert. I have so many fond memories of this rally-raid".

Year after year the Dakar is getting bigger and more popular around the World… Indeed, more and more countries are represented in the race. The English speaking nations should be in the limelight for this year’s event. Twenty-three competitors from England should be starting the race on Saturday (if all goes well during scrutineering). The US will be counting on 13 starters including big names such as Robby Gordon or Mark Miller in the car race. Also present are 5 Australians (including Andy Caldecott), 3 South Africans (including Alfie Cox in a BMW X 3) and 1 Scot.

Welcome to the Euromilhoes Lisboa-Dakar’s day two of scrutineering. Quite a few big names are due to show up at the Belem Cultural Centre… More paper work and technical checks on over 250 vehicles. In the bike category, almost all the favourites are expected. The KTM-Repsol riders return after going through the administrative part of scrutineering and asking for an extra day to prepare their bikes. They’re will be a lot of orange but blue should really be the colour with the KTM-Gauloises armada and their title-holder Cyril Despres (KTM – n°1) who will this year be riding alongside Spaniard Isidre Esteve.
Concerning the car race, all eyes will be set on the Volkswagen team and their brand new Race Touareg II. All five drivers (Kleinschmidt, Sainz, Saby, De Villiers, Miller) will witness what promises to be a very warm welcome.
Finally in the truck category, Firdaus Kabirov (KAM – n°500), winner of the previous edition will be presenting his Kamaz machine alongside team mate and four-time champion Vladimir Tchaguine (KAM – n°508). The main rival of the Russian based team should be the DAF’s of De Rooy father and son, also expected today.