UAE
Desert
Challenge
2000
My first World Rally Championship
Why riding through the desert for a week at the physical and mental limit?
Abu Dhabi, February 25, 2000, 40 degrees Celsius in the shade and sand everywhere you look. After my escape from a too restricted life and rain in Germany, this was my new living space. No more rain and biking wherever and whenever you want!
BUT - once completely exhausted sitting in my chair after a MX race in Abu Dhabi, my best friend Bernd gave me the following tip for "real life": You're getting too old for this type of race ... get a real men's motorcycle and we can ride the desert!
That was an attack on my honor and hurt! For him, a real men's bike meant a 4-stroke engine with at least 600 ccm displacement ...
e.g .: a KTM Adventure -! With such a bike you can even race the UAE Desert Challenge for example (a race for the rallye world cup).
You must be crazy, I replied ... twice 15 minutes of an MX track already is killing me and you suggest riding a distance of 450 km and more every day for a full race lasting 5 days ?
For many years I was an active soccer player, played handball, competed in stock car races, auto rallies, BAJA races, 3 years sidecar motocross, etc. ... not really known as a weak looser! On the other hand! Should this be the end of my motorsport career?
Could it be that I'm too old at 49? What else should I do? Breed rabbits or become a member of the dog club? Should I start looking after young girls? A sport some of my friends refer to as the "kick of old age"? My goodness ... is that the so-called "Midlife Crises"?
No, it couldn't be for me! After a conversation with my wife and her friendly opinion ... "You are absolutely crazy & too old" the decision was made! I'll try to prove to everyone out there that I'm not too old and still can achieve something! Even if it's the "most stupid thing in the world" ... as my wife added from the kitchen!
It only took me 3 weeks to find a KTM Adventure 640 Mod.1998 with road book, GPS and some rally accessories that I at that point of time, nothing made sense to me - no idea what to use all that for. Did I have to use all of that while riding the bike in dunes?
No way ... I thought myself ! First I tried to calm down and concentrate on the most important thing - riding! The first trip with the "men's bike" in the dunes of Abu Dhabi was a pure disaster ... as if I had never been on a bike before. Worries, depression and excuses came up and I wondered if I really had the power of getting through the first day of such a rally? The bike acted like a horse with a beginner on its back - it did do what I was assuming or hoping it to do. I had similar experiences on the first trip with my mx sidecar bike :(
Joy - disenchantment - giving up - moving on
My new daily thoughts - don't give up! - was the first when waking up and the last when going to bed! I was obsessed! I did training units of 300 km and more at least once a week. All possible directions through the desert of the UAE and after 3 months I had conquered dunes that I would not even have dared to go before and try. The better riding, the beautiful landscapes and the freedom of the country suddenly gave me unlimited power and hope to achieve something new. Bernd was right! It's no compare to Moto Cross - you get more from riding and usually even be fitter than after a 20-minute MX race. It's a lot about controlling limits, staying carm, experience and and an overall picture - not about all or nothing before the next corner like in Moto Cross!
My confidence increased day by day and after a few weeks I was able to slowly work on the navigation and operate my instruments on the NAVI Tower. What do you have and to use during race there?
* The ROADBOOK .... a roll of paper with the organizers defined racing route that guides the rider through the area. Also used to warn of dangerous obstacles! There is a hand switch on the left side of the handlebar to let the paperroll moving forward and backward!
* The ICO ..... a mini computer that measures the distance from the start to the finish and showing the time traveled, the current speed, etc. This can and must constantly be recalibrated with a different switch - in average every 20 - 30km. A second ICO (... with a separate switch) serves as a backup if the first one fails and too has to be calibrated again and again!
* The GPS ..... Global Positioning System (similar to the well-known navigation system in some high-tech vehicles ultimately shows the direction to be driven to the next waypoint in the form of an arrow. Of course it is not showing landscape obstacles which have to be avoided visiually :)
All these instruments have to be constantly read and coordinated during the race, if you don't want to get lost at some point. Sometimes at a speed of 130Kmh and more! It really scared me if I can handle all that. But for that I had my friend Bernd with the following statement:
Once it is your turn of starting (.. high start number and later start ), there are so many tracks in the desert sand that you just have to follow them without navigation! Rookies - the newbies - usually start from position 50 and up, he added. That was good news and it really helped me right now. To be on the safe side, I've changed my target racing position from 40th to 50th! ... I needed some vision and a goal to fight for!
The race was getting closer and I started thinking about financial funding and logistics. Yes - it was a bit late, but all the bike riding had put some other things out of focus! Next, I need a mechanic for the race. Since my son Nico knows the desert like a fox but did not yet have a driver's license, I had to look for one or even better two more helpers who were willing to hang out in boiling heat all day and late in the evening and on top then fixing the bike till late in the evening. All of my friends who were eligible for this already had appointments, called my former sidecar co-driver and brother-in-law Roland for help and because he is an enthusiastic triathlete, I lured him with the 'International Abu Dhabi Triathlon', which he after the rallye could also compete in. BINGO!! He agreed and also confirmed to bring my friend "KID", for this adventure along! He, too, is an excellent rider himself and perfect mechanic!
Before starting with the local press
With my training buddy Frank at the start in Abu Dhabi
Cost of the rally. What is there to be paid for?
The enthusiasm and expectations on my new project had also made me forget an important point - the costs! It was time to ask my friend Bernd :) - When he slowly told me what costs will have to be managed by me, I slowly fell into a sort of "snap breathing" .
First of all you have to pay an entry fee of US $ 2,300 - you also pay around US $ 500 for each additional person in the team (for dinner, breakfast, etc.) ... 4 people = again 2000, - US $ and then another 1500, - US $ for the support vehicle. Then there are will be 500, -US $ and 1000, -US $ (deposit) for the 'Belize' (an emergency system that works with satellites). But if you don't have an emergency you will be refunded some of that - "Bernd" noted with a nasty smile! Gasoline and a few other little things are minor costs ... blablabla ... it just didn't stop and I said to myself "Fuck it" - I said YES to the Rallye and I will do and tackle it somehow!
Nevertheless, I was a little worried what my dear wife would say about these vital "investments"? To "protect" my wife I just decided not to talk at all about - as if everything was in vain :) I only did this for our marriage - to keep our love alife!
Anything else would have ended in disaster. Then Bernd added again - there are also some 50 US $ per person to pay for the gala dinner at the end of the rally - otherwise you have to go to the award ceremony on your own - he notices from behind!
I just decided not to listen to him any longer but still wondered if anyone could offer a sponsorship package to a 49 year old senior talent?
YES - they were good friends who helped me out to avoid a mini bankruptcy.
'MECAS International' . The "Team MECAS" was born. CEO - Mohammed Cassim (MECAS International).
Otto Weller apparatus and container construction from Buehlertann - Germany
Asia Brown Boveri (ABB) in Abu Dhabi
Three night shifts and endless stress were the first experiences of my mechanics Roland and Kid after their arrival in Abu Dhabi. No signs of vacation and we finally also managed to pass the motorcycle scrutineering in Abi Dhabi.
In addition, my friend Frank forgot his helmet at home because of the excitement, which he was able to bring to the prologue thanks to the prudent inspectors who must have realized how confused and excited we were :)
Rallye Roadbook Tower 2000 !
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ICO #1 ( Red )
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ICO #2 ( Red - Backup )
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GPS #1 - My own device
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GPS #2 - also my own device - backup
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Roadbook Role from Organizer
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The roadbook paper role will be handed out by the organizer at the evening the day before the start. The GPS data also are provided by the organizer the day ahaed so riders can load them manually one by one onto their GPS.
If wrong entered - you will be lost next day!
In Abu Dhabi in 2000 I provided service ( GPS data entry ) for 20 other riders and loaded data to their GPSs every night! Nut I decided to never do this again!
Day 1 - Prologue Abu Dhabi - 3 km
Heartbeat, nervous and cool discussions with other competitors before the start and then I was released from start by Mohammed Ben Sulayman - my former opponent from the KUWAIT Int. Auto rally . First corner left, then right, full throttle until you drop and then ... right away - which i missed! Damn right turn, ...... shi .... NM # @ T !!
Back on track, what a shame, time lost, the team, my grandma, ... all my relatives came to my mind! AND, ... no one said a single word, the team was still happy and some professionals had made mistakes too. Not a bad result in the end, ... 20th place out of 104 bikers! I felt myself like 'Heinz Kinigadner' :)
Prologue in Dubai
Day 1 - Direction Liwa (Rub Al Khali - Empty Quarter)
Day 2 - Stage1 - Abu Dhabi - Liwa - 380 km
For some reason the time taken during the prologue did not count towards the starting order and instead I had to start from position 46 with a delay of 1 minute to the previous starter (46 minutes after the fastest prolog rider). Very fast gravel roads, right at the beginning caused a lot of dust and driving was like driving in heavy fog. Two options ..
Drive slow and save OR just take the risk and possibly be rewarded! I went for the risk - its a race and not a touring trip! After a few minutes I was able to overtake the driver who had started in front of me, then another one and so on. At the beginning I started counting them, later I only concentrated on my pace, which should ultimately pay off for me. It was really fun and all I remember was a little black dot in the distance that kept growing and growing until it looked like a rider that I was supposed to overtake! When I passed start numbers like 32, 28, 22 etc., it suddenly became clear that nobody yet has overtaken me! Could it be, that I made it to the top 20 ranking by now? Did I do something wrong and missed a few waypoints? These thoughts were suddenly interrupted when I was in the air feeling like on a plane and possibly never touch the ground again! X! X! What's happened? ... I, a safety apostle and probably the greatest "Not Jumper" on earth, had overlooked a small sand wave and even survived my first reay big jump with a 220 kg motorcycle at a speed of possibly 120 km! 1000 angels had a lot to do to get me back to ground savely I assume! The first checkpoint after 170 km, slow down, brake, fill up with fuel, eat a banana and drink !!! A few words with Roland and Kid about the race which was great as they ment - You arrived at the checkpoint currently in position 12 !!
I couldn't believe that, but when the BMW factory mechanics confirmed this and asked me about Andrea Mayer's whereabouts, I had to accept that - I was going pretty fast it looked. Now I started to count ..... if there were 20 other faster drivers who started behind me, I would probably still be in the top 35 !! This gave me wings and immediately led to the first big mistake! .... because of all this excitement I forgot to change my GPS routes for the next section and the arrow kept pointing back to the last control point I had just left minutes ago! The following change of the GPS point speeding with 100 kms, would have stopped the breath and the heart of my wife. Fortunately, the 1000 angels from the jump before were still taking care of me :)
The rest of the route was more dunes and sand deserts that I realy liked. Apart from the fact that I had lost my way a few times, I reached the bivouac around 1 p.m. Good start, a great route, no accident and the bike was running perfect.
Except for a broken clutch! After arriving at the Biouvac, my team immediately started with the service and after a short break and a lot of smalltalk with some friends and I started updating the coordinates in my GPS for the next day.
Nobody had the time or would check a rooky's driven time. When another rider came along and asked how & where I found the shortcuts - What the guy was talking about? You came in position 10 today, he continued. Best private rider on a standard bike too!
We fropped our tools and went to the official timing board to check this.
It was written black ond white. The factory riders from BMW & KTM ... and then myself on the Adventure 620.
Thank you Bernd for doing this to me ... a fairy tale came true for me.
Overall classification day 2- 10th place out of 104 starters
Overall classification day 2 - Production Class - 3rd place
Jetzt gilt nur noch Vollgas !
Day 3 - LIWA - Roundtrip - 385 km
After the regrouping ( starting position based on results from the day before ) I had to start the race from position 10. This meant getting up at 4:00 a.m., breakfast at 5:00 a.m. and lining up at the pre start at 7:00 a.m. When I stood there next to riders like Nani Roma, Jimmy Lewis and Alfi Cox, my legs started shaking - don't know because of being scared or just overjoyed? I could have gone for a pee every 2 minutes - it was hell and at the same time my very old fears returned - Navigation - "I would probably have to navigate myself very quickly, since nine riders in front of me wouldn't leave so many traces in the sand to follow?
And I would certainly not catch up with them to ride with them was the next concern! What happened to Bernd's promises and calling it just follow the lanes? I made the following probably 'stupid' decision: I wanted to take a controlled risk a and hoped to catch the rider in front of me. It was Matheo Graziani on a rallye replica 660, only to stay with him ( without navigation)! Everything started well and after 30 minutes I saw Matheo in front of me and, in my opinion, even not riding too fast for me so I just passed him ... not for a long time! The next time I checked my roadbook I was lost and after i had found my way back to the right track, I saw Matheo probably 1km in front of me :( Yeah - learned another lession!
Together with Mattheo we were able to catch the Frenchman Christoph Kneur and at the checkpoint I was listed in 7th position! Hopefully this dream will never end - I thought! In addition, my service team did not expect me so early in and I had left the checkpoint even before hey got there - without food or drinks!
But desaster striked soon ... going down a dune and accelerating to climb the next one I found my clutch dead! I surely was focusing to much for a top result rather than using some brain and control my riding a little - I just pushed and pushed! In the middle of the highest dunes of the Rub Al Khali. Had no other option as to give up and wait for the sweep team, which showed up pretty late and took my bike back to the e very late, charging my bike back to the paddock. I was lucky that my team could pick me up and take me with them. The bike was only delivered to the Biouvac at midnight and for that reason I was not allowed to start the next day!
The KTM team and Mr. ZUPIN himself helped me analyze the problem (oil, etc.) and the clutch was repaired so I could at least start the day after and continue the rallye. Apart from that, there also was a strange noise coming from the engine, which was supposed to announce bad fortune. And there was a time penalty of 46 hours and the end of myvision for a top 50 position overall :)
Day 4 - LIWA - last day - 410 km:
The only thing I had left was to prove that the outcome of the first few days was not a coincidence or luck. Right from the start there was only full throttle - I overtook one after the other and felt really good on the bike without feeling tired! I really could show that I'm fast! My mission - driving a top time on the stage evaporated when this strange noise in the engine suddenly stopped my forward boost. One big bang and the engine was " gone" - pistons & cylinders turned into metal scrap!
This led another Austrian driver to the following statement: “He is pretty fast, ... but not long enough!
He was absolutely right, there was still a lot to learn and you don't win a rally with a few fast stage results!
It all has to fit together and also be smart in order to achieve a good overall result!
But the problem also had a good side. My retirement gave me the unique opportunity to ride in a Dakar race truck of the 'Sweep Team', which was driven by a multiple Dajkar participant in the truck class. My bike was loaded to the truck and off we went. Me in the middle of the cabin next to the driver! That was really hell! ... we didn't drive - we 'flew'. At 120 km it was like riding a wave, unbelievable and the stories of that competition trucks will speed up to 170 km on the Dakar really scared me!
An amazing race with an unexpected outcome for me some time between the factory riders of KTM and BMW! It was also very nice that I was able to ride a while along side of Andrea Mayer one day - the woman really knows her job!