UAE
Desert
Challenge
2004
My last rally? Racing with Pal Anders Ullevalsetter
If anything, it had to be a top bike - a Rallye Replica660!
For months I had been looking for a Rally Replica660 and unfortunately only hade been offered "scrap". A KTM Rallye Replica660 since long was my dream bike. When I was doing service at the 2003 rally for friends, I had a few conversations with Pal Anders Ullevalsetter and we quickly agreed that I would buy his bike after crossing the finish line in Abu Dhabi. He had won the World Cup that year and was in a good mood, so I got it for a good price too :)
Bad luck was that the motor gave up after crossing the finish line at the last Special Stage - bearing damage to the gear shaft! No problem - Pal gave me his spare engine for really little money and I could start overhauling the bike for the 2004 rally immediate!
As usual - I was the biggest showstopper and it took me to long to finish the bike only 3 weeks before the rally was to start - I wanted everything to be perfect! - will this work out as expected? The first training laps were very sobering and the engine always kept cutting out. It took me three days to find the reason - a bad contact behind the fuse box.
The second session was much better and everything seemed perfect! I had trained in a gym for some weeks and followed a strict nutrition plan from a friend (ex Marshal Arts Fighter) and that paid off - I really was fit!
Another improvement was supposed to use mousse in the tires instead of tubes - like the top riders do. During the training sessions this also proofed right!
Now it was time to setup a team again - my brother-in-law Roland and two buddies from UAE were supposed to take over this job - the crew was defined!
Preparation for scrutineering
Bike & rider equipment checkup
Prologue Dubai (2 km):
As usual, a prologue was scheduled in Abu Dhabi which actually only serves as a spectacle for the spectators and also a little to setup the starting order. Although this is not really important, most drivers are already freaking out when getting on the line - too long waiting for that is hard and ends up in a sort of " adrenalin explosion " once released at the start! ... for some that already was too much and the race over after a few meters - broken arm, collarbone, etc ...
This time I didn't repeat my mistakes from previous years and ended up around 25th place. But there was something very special! I recognized a KTM Rallye Replica660 ( ex PG Lundmark ) that was brought to the start by a tiny, cute and sexy looking lady! ... she looked like Miss Sweden! And everyone called her the "rally princess"? Your name: Anni Seel! Already driven several Dakars and other extreme races, she had simply taken over the bike from a Swede who had to cancel shortly before the race and now started in Abu Dhabi using his bike. For me it looked like madness! How would she pick up the bike? The answer: SHE COULD! Not only could she do that, but she was extremely good and fast! The bike weights some 240 kg - Anni Seel maybe 45 kg? She finished the prologue exactly one place in front of me - she was faster and that will become interesting for me at the start of the first special stage - I had to start the race right behind Anni and thought that I would just pass her immediate at the end of the big Sabqa - at least I thought so!
Sexy Anni & sexy license plate :)
Anni Seel at the start - # 52 - I was on # 53
Day 1 Abu Dhabi - Moreeb (406 km):
As usual, the official start was in Abu Dhabi in front of a large shopping mall to attract more spectators and the press. I was used to the heat but the competition from Europe slowly understood what was coming up for them.
In the morning we saw 32 degrees Celsius. Then one by one rider was sent out onto the road - from Abu Dhabi city to the start of the first special stage in the desert - about 80 km of tarmac riding.
As I said - Anni Seel started just ahead of me and drove off 1 minute later - full throttle for a distance of about 3 km - I saw her dust but didn't come any closer! I was pretty much at full throttle - could that really be? The lady rides like hell I thought. It took me another 30 minutes to finally pass her - what a shame - even so knowing the area pretty well ?
30 km before the service point, my backside suddenly started jumping around like crazy - felt like riding without suspension. Had the mousse got too hot and melted? Was like a flat tire. All sorts of things went through my head. I had to slow down because otherwise it would be too dangerous. I just decided to continue to the service point at a maximum speed of 100. Now, of course, I was overtaken by a few rides again!
At the service point I asked the team to change the front and rear wheels to avoid a disaster! But Mousse was also installed in the spare wheels and so I had to continue with Mousse wheels again. Was fine when I went off but after another 80 km the jumping tail was back again ..... 'Shi ..... t mouse', I thought to myself! In the dunes it got worse and I could barely hold the handlebars. I got weaker and weaker and only hoped that I would make it to the finish and into the bivouac - no matter what position - luckily I made it!
Back at the bivouac, I first asked Roland and Rob to remove the mousse from all of the wheels and install normal air tubes - real havy work at the end of a long day! My overall placement was not as expected either and I had only achieved 24th place overall, which really didn't meet my expectations!
The suspension had killed me - I'm broken! *
And Roland worked all night long!
Day 2 Liwa Roundtrip Moreeb - Moreeb (449 km):
I was ready to attack today and show that the KTM Rally Replica660 is a fantastic bike and deserved a better place with me. As on the first day, I was able to constantly overtake a number of riders until the old problem revolved! What was that? Certainly not the mousse or the wheels - that was sure by now! Stopped, checked the tires (... all ok) etc ... couldn't find anything and had to carry on just like the day before. My friends Shone, Scott, Dick and Ian passed me again and I had to take it easy ... for another 350 km !! The dunes in Liwa rise to 250 up to 300 meters and with an outside temperature of 45 to 50 degrees Celsius you can imagine what this meant for me. It felt like driving with a flat tire. Already totally exhausted, I found a rider which seconds before had a very nusty fall.
It turned out that he had badly injured his shoulder, was extremely exhausted and was already showing significant "dehydration". Using his ERTF system, I called the organizers and asked for a helicopter with a doctor. Basically the race in the UAE is very well organized, but this time it took almost 1 1/2 hours for the helicopter to show up due to so many calls he had to reply to. When the outside temperature had risen to 48 degrees Celsius, it slowly became critical for me too. If you don't drive, there is simply no wind and that makes a big difference.
I lost another 2 hours! Later that evening I had to find that the organization had put a 4-hour penalty on me for arriving late - I stamped only 2 minutes late at the bivouac. Unfortunately, complaints didn't help! Those days the system was not yet what it is today, where I would simply had been removed the lost time again and my race still would have been on!
To be honest ... I was very depressed because of this as it was to 90% based on my support for the crashed rider! The organizers promised me an investigation, which turned out in been awarded a 'Fairness Trophy' some 3 weeks after the race ??**
At least they realized their mistake, which didn't help me at all! With that penalty I fell back to 46th overall!
After long discussions with the KTM support team in the bivouac, they advised me to check my rear shock, which basically didn't look bad and also felt flawless when they check it in their support truck. Nevertheless, the KTM people (... also Austrians and maybe a small advantage for me) sold me a new damper and I was hoping for the best for the next day! Again Roland & Rob were pretty busy late into the night!
Start in Abu Dhabi
The Rub Al Khali and its dunes
Day 3 Liwa Roundtrip Moreeb - Moreeb (392 km):
The day started with beautiful dunes. And my problem for the first 2 days was just solved and disappeared - it was the shock !!
Everything was now perfect and I went on to omprove my position as good as possible in the overall ranking! But my body was still very exhausted from the days before and I was very soon at my physical limits - but it was thanks to two of my friends who let me drive behind them and I was able to save energy. They also helped me very much as I didn't have to navigate at all and taking easy tracks through the dunes!
At the first service point, I was about to finish the race. But when I saw my team, which was also suffering from the heat, I only took a , power bar and drove off again. Now the bike became very uncomfortable to ride due to my weakness and my exhaustion which got got worse with every mile I carried on! When I drove out of the big dunes on a big road to an oil field, I met Marc Coma who had damaged his rear wheel. I was proud to offer him mine, but he refuswed and said: My team is already on the way and the rallye over for me anyhow :( Since the dunes were really to become very difficult for the last 20km, I decided to ride the dirct way to the paddock using the gravelroad only! But once I had finished thinking my plan, a Swede passed me and shortly after turned into the dunes again.
Damn I thought - pulled the throttle and followed him to straight ride into another misery! What the fuck am I'm doing here? It wasn't a good idea, driving in agony and the worst was to come on the final miles. Two times I had to dig out the bike of the Swede and when I got stuck he just drove away - I'm an idiot I thought! It was one of my worst days I've ever spent in the desert, and I only made it because I was able to mobilize so much strong will to overcome this situation.
The good thing about it: I survived, the bike was perfect and now I had a good chance of finishing the rally!
Bedouin tracks at it's best
Dunes at its best ...
Day 4 Liwa round trip Moreeb - Moreeb (255 km):
A fantastic day! Overwhelming landscape! It wasn't possible to just concentrate on the race - especially after my lost time in the first two days! The views from the dunes and the land were the reward for all the efforts and disappointments of the last few days! It was every 'offroaders' dream! I rode all day with my friends Ian & Dick. They were pretty fast in the dunes and I tried to stick to them as good as possible which worked out fine. In the second part of the stage and because of my better bike, I could have gone much faster than both of them, but decided to stay with them and just enjoy the scenery and a cool ride with my friends. Anyhow the gained time would not have really helped me for a change in my overall position at all! In addition, it was a very emotional moment when we all crossed the finish line as a team ... similar to our great training drives before the rallye. Nevertheless, I was able to improve my overall ranking to 41st. Thanks Ian & Dick!
After 3 hours - more dunes climbing ...
Rally analysis with my "Buddy Dick" :)
Day 5 Moreeb - Dubai Liaison (449 km):
Due to the unexpected early start of Ramadan, the organizers had to cancel the last leg from Liwa to Dubai. The special test was simply declared as a connecting stage and so all bikes could be brought back to Abu Dhabi on trailers or otherwise. I had the privilege to take Pal Anders Ullevalsetter with me, who had just won the World Cup. In front of the University of Dubai, we all lined up one more time for a group photo before we went to the podium finish, which was very emotional for me and instantly transformed all the pain and problems of the past few days into beautiful memories!
Gesamt Ergebnis - P 30 & P18 in der M1 Klasse
Another amazing rally - not with the outcome and result I expected, but with unforgettable impressions. Ultimately, the result became unimportant (... even so I had beaten Marc Coma :) :) :) :) :)).
Nevertheless - if all the issues discovered wouldn't have hold me back, an overall 10-13 place could have been achieved.
This is good enough for my memories of the DC2013 in Abu Dhabi.