This year's motorcycle team's No.8 driver, Portuguese star Paul? Gonsalves (Paul? Gonalves), who suffered a car accident in the seventh stage, died after being rescued. What is the magic of Dakar that attracts so many warriors?
Portuguese star Paul? Gonsalves (Paul? Gonalves)
Is the Dakar Rally held by Zelli? Sabine (Thierry? Sabine) was founded in 1979, and the competition is held in 65438+ 10 every year. Initially, the race started from Paris, crossed the Sahara Desert and the prairie to Dakar, covering a distance of nearly 654.38+00,000 kilometers. Later, due to various factors, the venue of the competition was not limited to Africa. For example, I came to South America two years ago and came to Asia this year, but I still used the original destination "Dakar" as my name.
Although they are both called rally, Dhakal and WRC are very different. First of all, Dakar has no fixed track and clear route. It just crosses from point A to point B, and the navigator uses a compass to tell the direction on the way. Secondly, this is a folk competition, and you don't need to be a professional driver to participate. Sabin, the founder, once said: Paris-Dakar attracts both amateurs and professionals.
For some people, the Dakar rally is hard to understand. In the desert, the logistics support is poor, and it is crazy to risk the lives of yourself and others. However, human curiosity about the unknown world seems to be something in the bones, so we know how high the sky is and how deep the sea is. At least I admire and respect those warriors who walk in the dream of death.
Looking back at the history of Dakar, the dangerous natural environment is only one of the difficulties, and many unexpected accidents will occur. For example, in the ninth stage of Mali 1996, Spanish driver Gogan stepped on a mine and died on the spot. 200 1 The same thing happened again. Portuguese Ribeiro was blown to pieces by a mine, but fortunately he saved his life.
Public security has always been a nightmare in Dakar. 198 1 tommaso, a journalist of the competition, was killed along with three technicians. 1983, French motorcyclists were killed at Pinieu airport; 1990 French truck driver barnett was shot.
The worst example is Dakar in 2008. In order to avoid the threat of terrorist organizations, all the stages in Mali were abandoned before the game, except for three African countries: Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal. However, before Christmas in 2007, four French tourists were shot dead by terrorist organizations in southern Mauritania, and the terrorist organizations also threatened the Dakar rally. Helpless, the organizing Committee can only give up the competition of that year. Since 2009, Dakar has been moved to South America until 20 19.
Remember Sabine, the founder of Dakar? Perhaps by fate, his life ended in Dakar. 1986 65438+1October 14, Sabin took a helicopter to check the competition route as usual and had an accident on the way to Mali. The plane crashed heavily on the ground, killing all five people on board. I think it is Sabin's wish to dedicate my life to this great event.
Sabine's helicopter
The danger of Dakar stems from the unknown, and the exploration of the unknown is the greatest charm of this event, which is why so many people are poisoned by Dakar. Because it is not a professional competition, there are all kinds of racing cars.
The most incredible thing is that someone finished the race on a motorcycle with the brand "Vespa". Vespa is an Italian brand that specializes in scooters, which is what we often call Little Sheep. If you are a movie fan or Hepburn fan, then you should remember this motorcycle.
In the movie Roman Holiday, Hepburn and Parker rode Vespa on the streets of Rome, which became a classic shot on the screen, and freedom and romance became a symbol of Vespa brand. In this way, I can't imagine putting a petty bourgeoisie and romantic scooter on the dangerous Dakar Stadium and riding for tens of thousands of kilometers.
However, Vespa did appear in the Dakar Rally on 1980, and two of the four cars finished the race. Vespa's tires are too small, the shock absorption stroke is too short, the chassis strength is not enough, and the engine power is weak. However, the participants in Dakar are extremely paranoid geniuses. They just want to make the impossible possible, so 1980 Dakar rally saw four Vespa. P200E, two cars finished the race. You know, of the 2 16 drivers in that year, only 8 1 completed the race.
Of course, the course of the game is quite difficult. The opportunity for tires, shock absorbers, engines and other accessories to run out. Every dune can't wait to replace the shock absorber, and some stages are even supported by drivers.
Equally incredible is Rolls-Royce Corniche? Coupe, who can imagine an elegant gentleman turning over in the sand? Thierry? De? Montcorgé said, I want to try. Did the rich man bet his own Corniche with his friend? Coupe can complete Dakar. My friend thought it was a joke, but he made a bet without much thought.
So Montego began to take action for this crazy idea: first, in order to improve the strength of the car body, a set of steel pipe racks was customized for Rolls-Royce; Then put on the four-wheel drive system, four-speed gearbox and suspension on the land cruiser; In addition, in order to strengthen the power, the heart of Chevrolet was transplanted, with 5.7 liters and 350 horsepower; Finally, in order to increase the battery life, a 330-liter fuel tank was stuffed under the seat.
Finally, it's time for the game. Montcorgé drives the vehicle himself as a driver and his friend Pelletier as a navigator. Amateur and magic Rolls-Royce, can you finish the race? The good news is that they did it. This seaside road? Coupe became one of the 40 cars that finally finished the Dakar race that year. But the bad news is that because the steering system is completely destroyed, it takes a lot of time to repair it, which leads to the cancellation of the results. However, I don't think Montego should care about the result. Being able to run a short distance is victory.
With the increasing popularity of Dakar Rally, it has also become the arena of major manufacturers like other car races. Many manufacturers like Porsche, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Toyota participated in it, and many classic racing cars and feud stories were born, which made Dakar Rally more charming and interesting.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.