Euromilhões Lisboa - Dakar 2007 : Dakar

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Team Campa Motors: "Even tougher the third time!"

For Dakar rookies the learning curve is so steep that whether they succeed or fail many return a second time just to put into practice the ‘what they learnt’ on their first attempt. Friends Franck Libbrecht, Pascal Vincent and Patrick Arnoult are a case in point. “The first time we came on Honda XR400s and only Pat made it to the finish. That was in 2000 and we vowed to come back for another go.”

And come back they did in 2005 and made it to the finish without incident. “Admittedly we took it very steady but all three of us made it with virtually no problems whatsoever.” You would have thought that a third attempt would be even easier – apparently not.

“Yesterday Pascal was repatriated with a broken collarbone and today I have had nothing but trouble. At CP1 I noticed that I had lost my air filter cover but managed to make a new one with cardboard from a water bottle box and duct tape. Then at CP2 I was horrified to see that my front rim had split in two over a quarter of its circumference. I tried strapping it up with a tie-down but it kept getting stuck in the front mudguard and rapidly began to breaking up. I was on the point of giving up but Pat urged me to carry on. Incredibly we made it all the way back to the bivouac – if it had been rocks today instead of sand we would never have made it. My assistance couldn’t believe their eyes. I asked them not to throw the wheel away as I want to take it home to France and hang it on the wall of my living room.”

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Jean-Marc Monbeig: “60 kilometres in 2nd gear!”

Jean Marc and Michel, from the south-west of France, had been racing together for 15 years and done pretty much everything there was to do in terms of events in France. So last year they decided to have a go at the ultimate – the Dakar Rallye.

Everything was going well until the 2006 Tan Tan – Nador stage when they managed to drive their buggy down a well! “It was about 5 metres deep and we went right in, the car completely disappeared – I can tell you it was a strange sensation.”

This year they haven’t had much luck either, and haven’t had a trouble-free day since the start. “In the mountain stage in Morocco, for example, we lost our power steering, which didn’t make the car easy to drive!” So you can imagine that they were particularly nervous about tackling this year’s Tan Tan – Nador special. “Due to all our problems we started back in 139th position yesterday morning, but were going really well and had overtaken about 25 cars. Then we started to lose gears. First we couldn’t go from 6th to 5th, then from 3rd to 4th. About 200 kilometres from the end we got stuck in 2nd and decided not to chance touching the gear lever anymore. I can tell you it took very long time to get to the bivouac last night – but who knows, now we have got this far we might have a clear run to Lac Rose.”

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Nick Tollefsen: “I’m not afraid anymore!”

Nick Tollefsen is the youngest competitor in Dakar 2007. This is making him really proud, although when he asked whether he was the youngest one in the whole history of the Dakar, he seemed almost disappointed to hear that Alan Morel had – before his time – finished the Dakar at 19 on a quad. But the Norwegian keeps smiling as he tells the stories of his whereabouts behind the wheel of his Bowler.

The first half of the Dakar seems to have already made an old wolf out of him. “I am not afraid of sand dunes anymore, nor am I afraid of the desert or of getting injured.” With his English copilot Alex Cole, Nick has indeed tasted the joy of a night out in the desert. “We lost 21 hours between Er Rachidia and Ouarzazate stuck in the sand. I was almost crying. We barely got in within the time limit. Since then, all stages have gone fine.” This student in economics even managed to finish at a very nice 34th place on the stage to Atar, which allowed him to climb to the 83rd position in the overall rankings. “The aim has not changed; we want to get to Dakar but we also want to do the race. Staying behind is not our cup of tea.”

The ambitious young rookie of the rally still admits that he is surprised by how difficult the Dakar is: “I did not expect it to be so tough. It’s not the length of the stages, but the psychological part that is hard. You never know what to expect.”

Before getting back on the road to Lac Rose, Nick Tollefsen listens to the wise advise of his father Ivar Erik, who is also in the race and has done Dakar 3 times, ending 16th in 2006. “We are really the same, says the son. We help each other but there is no competition between us. It could be dangerous!”

With seven stages behind him, Nick has reached its first objective: get to the rest day. But he remains prudent… “I have to calm down or I’m up for a big disappointment…”

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Annie Seel: “From little rally princess to little rally rat…”

Annie Seel is a fighter. She did not just come to the Dakar to get to Lac Rose; she already did that to great pain for her first and only participation in 2002 after breaking her hand on stage 4. No, Annie is here to score and hopefully be best female of the rally. This is precisely why the Swedish lady is not happy. Ok, she may be smiling that evening in Zouerat after her nice 37th position in the special stage, but Portugal and Morocco have been pretty tough. “The rally has been catastrophic so far. After my experience 5 years ago, where I had everything possible, I really wanted to come back and do it perfectly. But 20km after Lisbon, I had problems with the fuel pump. It cost me a lot of time up to Tan Tan. It was really frustrating.”

After the first stage in Mauritania, Seel was ranking 108th in the overall rankings more than 3 hours behind Ludivine Puy, the first woman in the rankings. “Today, I gained back 40’ over her. I know I can catch up. But I am totally alone, while she’s almost a pro. My tactics now will be to have good stages everyday.”

As for the hardship, apart from the fuel pump problems, the tiny 52kg Swedish girl is not as pretty and smiling as she was in the final checks in Lisbon. “In the beginning, I was the little princess of the Dakar; now I’m a little rat.” Dusty like the rest of the bikers, Annie also has a bruised upper lip after hitting her navigation instruments in the middle of the race. Since then, the panel has been lowered by 10cm.

And now come the dunes for the 38-year old woman: “I’m not worried. Anyway, there’s no point trying to race in the dunes; the dunes will always win.” Annie Seel keeps smiling and knows that despite her painful back, her swollen lip and her scratched hands, she will be “the little princess of the Dakar” again!

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