Dakar: Simon Pavey Blog

BMW Off-Road Skills instructor Simon Pavey got his 2009 Dakar off to a solid start on Saturday. The honorary Brit returns to the Dakar Rally after a two-year break. His last outing was back in 2006, when he teamed-up with Charley Boorman to complete the Race to Dakar project.

Pavey finished the opening day in 114th place out of 212 finishers despite suffering a minor technical problem.  

Writing exclusively for MCN after the opening 733KM stage from Buenos Aires to Santa Rosa, Pavey said: “It was horrendously dusty. We were riding wide dirt roads flat out and you just couldn’t see where you were going. You would pass some bikes and hope to get a clear run, but then you would just see more dust. It was endless.

“It was only the first rider out who could get a clear run and they were riding at speeds of over 160 km/h. I had a few teething problems today. As I set off I could smell a burning smell. Luckily I stopped to see what it was, as it was the clutch cable rubbing against the exhaust. I quickly resolved the problem, but then I missed my start time going in to the Special Stage, which put me back in the results for the day. ¨

“Since arriving here I’ve been amazed by the reception we have had from the Argentineans. The Special Stage was approximately 400 km long and it was lined with spectators cheering us along. Then as we were arriving at the bivouac for the end of the day, spectators were lined-up to ‘high five’ us as we came in. It was brilliant!”.

To find out how Pavey faired on day two of the Dakar check back to motorcyclenews.com on Monday morning.