RACE REPORT (Written by Dick Partridge.)

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The 2000 Dakar was to be a special Dakar for the millennium, starting in Paris and finishing in Cairo.

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The Schedule

Liaison 205km Special 276km Liaison 107km Total 588km

As for 97, the capital of Senegal will once again be the start town for the TOTAL-PARIS-DAKAR-CAIRO 2000. A warm-up stage across Senegalese Savannah, the first half of the special will be over twisting tracks, through the bush, with numerous parallel pistes. Care will need to be taken due to possible ruts caused by the heavy rains.

The second part, uses more pistes with laterite. They will become faster and demand considerable driving skill.

Results

Placed 117th

The first liaison stage of 204km started off well mostly on good road but as the stage progressed the local population and a series of road works slowed us down a bit, but as usual on a liaison section we had plenty of time.

This was soon forgotten about when the first special stage of 284km started on a laterite piste at a very quick pace. As the special progressed the terrain grew more difficult reducing our speed down to 20mph at times. However, the stage was completed in daylight and well within the allowed time. Unfortunately the exhaust system broke somewhere near the front of the car which meant that cabin noise was rather loud. The windscreen was also hit by a low hanging branch which resulted in a badly cracked windscreen. We felt that the car was too slow to take full advantage of some of the better tracks, but good navigation helped us to make reasonable time. At the end of the stage we noticed a slight water leak from the lower radiator hose area, and made a note to keep an eye on it.

The final liaison stage of 106km of tarmac was an easy end to the first day.

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The Schedule

Liaison 7km Special 212km Liaison 140km Total 359km

The rally leaves Senegal and arrives in Mali.

This stage was initially planned to finish in Nioro, but was changed to end in Kayes.

The first part of the special used wide and twisty laterite pistes and was very fast. The later tracks were narrower, with a few trials type sections. The trucks struggled on this part of the special.

There was no airborne assistance in Kayes, but this did not affect us as we did not have any support at all!.

Results

Placed 115th +2

Friday 7th January - Tambacounda to Kayes

Today started with a short 7Km liaison stage followed by the second special stage of 140Km. The going was good in the early part of the day with no great problems but, as the stage progressed it became very dusty, particularly when other vehicles passed us, and the track was very narrow tracks in places. We were at the tail end of the pack but we weren't concerned with that, we were still going. The vehicle was holding up well, although we still had a leaking radiator which we hoped we could repair. We also had our first puncture during this stage which held us up for about 10 minutes. The cracked windscreen was holding out OK, and nothing else was damaged. During the day we were passed by several quicker cars that had lost time on the previous day by navigational errors. The day ended with a straightforward 140Km liaison stage. The radiator leak was a lot worse by now, and if we could not fix it we would be out of the race. We considered the possibility of borrowing some soldering equipment, but decided that the chances of doing more harm than good were too great. Instead we decided to try to seal the leak using some sikkaflex sealer. We had used this product for various emergencies with good results, so Keith took out the radiator, cleaned and dried the damaged area, and left the sealer to set overnight. In the morning it was refitted with fingers firmly crossed!

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The Schedule

Liaison 65km Special 287km Liaison 355km Total 707km

At the start from Kayes, the stage was quite similar to that of the previous day and used tracks that had been damaged by the heavy rains.

The special went round to the east of the Boucle du Baoule national park and the Badinko forest.

Then the terrain and scenery changed. We entered the African bush, with paths lost in the middle of dense vegetation. The rapid liaison leg took us all the way to the outskirts of Bamako.

Results

Placed 119th - 4

Saturday 8th January - Kayes to Bamako

The day started with a problem getting the car to start. Fuel was not reaching the engine, but after a few minutes the fuel pump started again and we were away. The first part of the special was very slow for us. It was extremely rough with many trials type sections over steep, rocky and barely visible tracks. The last quarter of the stage was much quicker, and we pushed hard for a while trying to avoid a time penalty. But when it became clear that we were not going to be able to beat the clock we decided to ease off and preserve the car from any needless damage. It was so rough earlier in the stage that we just couldn't get the car over the ground quick enough. There were no real problems with the car although it was beginning to feel a bit tired by now, but that's what we would expect on the rough ground. We were very pleased that the radiator was now showing no signs of leakage at all, but we had further trouble with the fuel pump after we had stopped to refuel. This was the hardest day so far, but everything seemed to be alright.

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The Schedule

Liaison 70km Special 350km Liaison 250km Total 670km

The rally leaves Mali and enters Burkina Faso

A special run through the middle of a tropical forest over traditional laterite pistes, alternating between fast and twisty going through the bush. The vegetation was thick at times, making overtaking difficult.

Results

Placed 116th overall + 3 Placed 92nd on the day

Sunday 9th January - Bamako to Bobo Dioulasso

The fuel pump played up again first thing in the morning, but seemed to be alright once the car was running. The liaison was quite short and sweet. The special stage was a bit twisty, narrow and rough through vegetation for the first few kilometres, but it then opened up to some good flat out tracks where we managed speeds of 140 to 150 kph, which is about as much as the old car will do. We made up some time during the day and were not passed until the 200 km mark, when the quickest of the lorries started to catch up. We were pleased to reach the bivouac in daylight and with no damage to the vehicle. It had been a good day, and the welcome from the people of Burkina Faso was the icing on the cake.

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The Schedule

Liaison 85km Special 450km Liaison 140km Total 675km

This stage was similar to the previous day,. With long, rolling laterite pistes through luxuriant vegetation. A real pleasure to drive with very little navigation. Occasionally we left the main track to go onto one of the numerous parallel tracks so as to avoid villages. Care was needed in places where the ground had been badly damaged by the rains.

Up until now the specials on the TOTAL PARIS DAKAR CAIRO had been relatively short (345 km on average) but from now on, things begin to get serious with the start of the long specials.

Results

Placed 115th + 1

Monday 10th January - Bobo Dioulasso to Ouagadougou

Up to the first check point we had been making very good progress but between the first and second we started to encounter problems. It turned out to be a combination of fuel pump and ignition problems, which was difficult to diagnose. It took about an hour to get the car going again and when it became clear that we were going to go over the permitted time we decided to stop in the stage and use the benefit of daylight to modify the fuel system. One fuel pump was lost but we worked out that we could get to Agadez using just the main fuel tank. The plan was to then modify the fuel system further on the rest day. Overall this was an enjoyable days racing despite a few obstacles to overcome.

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The Schedule

Liaison 98km Special 515km Liaison 70km Total 683km

The first long special of the rally!

The terrain changed with the forest giving way, little by little, to the Sahel. The tracks became softer and more and more sandy. We were at this point approaching the desert and the first dunes appeared as we approached Niamey. The first half of the special crossed the Pays des Peuls and is on sandy pistes with little vegetation. Then, as soon as we crossed the border, we changed compass heading and descended to Niamey off piste over the fantastic pink dunes that run alongside the River Niger.

Results

Placed 105th +10 102nd on the day

Tuesday 11th January - Ouagadougou to Niamey

We started this stage last due to yesterday's problems. The early part of the stage went well, with no real problems until about 100 Km from the finish. Navigation then became very difficult with the onset of darkness and a lot of parallel tracks. We wasted about one hour looking for the correct route but we were not alone! There were cars all over the place in a similar predicament! Towards the end of the stage we were driving very close to a river, which we could not see in the darkness, and we just managed to pass a couple of lorries that were well and truly stuck in the very damp ground. We found an alternative track which took us a little bit further from the riverside thus reducing the risk of getting stuck ourselves.

During this stage we passed several cars that had got stuck in soft sand and a few more that had crashed heavily, but overall for us it was not a bad day, and the car was still going well.

We finished the special stage at around 10.00 PM and were told to travel the liaison stage in convoy due to some political problems between the Algerian terrorist GIA group and the government of Niger. This problem led to the cancellation of the next four special stages, and left the Rally organisers with a major problem.

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This became an early rest day. The rest day had been scheduled for Agadez on January 14th, but the organisers had no choice but to cancel the stages through Niger due to the serious terrorist threat against the Rally. The only way to avoid abandoning the entire event was for the organisers to bring in a fleet of Antonov heavy lift aircraft and fly all the vehicles and personnel from Niamey to Sabah in southern Libya. This task took three days, and we just had to make the best of the long wait! The cars were placed in parc ferme after the early rest day, so we had very little to do! We eventually flew to Libya on January 16^th, and immediately noticed a dramatic drop in temperature as we got off the aircraft! After customs formalities we retrieved the car and prepared for the next days stage.

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The scheduled stage had to be re-routed due to the air lift and therefore started from Sabha, finishing in Waw El Kebir as planned. The stage now started with a 300km Liaison before entering a 146km Special finishing with a 23km Liaison, totalling 469km.

The Schedule

Special 490km Liaison 25km Total 515km

Return to Libya

The rally had not been to Libya since 1992!

This was a desert stage with lots of sand and mainly off-piste. The first half was very fast and crossed the 100 km long Erg de Timsah. With its 40-metre dunes, it was a spectacular part of the rally.

The last part of the stage, until the finish at Waw El Kebir, was more twisty and very bumpy, passing from valley to valley, following a dry river bed.

Results

Placed 105th + 0 106th on the day

Monday 17th January - Sabha to Waw El Kebir (Re-scheduled)

The rally was back on track now, which was something to be thankful for. By 8pm we were at the second bivouac in Libya. There was a long liaison followed by a short special, which was fairly fast and a bit dusty. We took a bit of battle damage whilst closely following a land rover. We had a bit of trouble getting past him and he was throwing up masses of rocks and stones. The windscreen looks like its been shot at and the spot lights and headlights have also got holes in them. Luckily the radiator and oil coolers did not get damaged.

We finished the day in 106th place. It was now getting near to make or break time! There were only 5 days left by now but there were still a lot of miles ahead. The car was still hanging together and with fingers crossed we were looking forward to reaching Cairo.

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The Schedule

Special 592km Total 592km

A long sand and stone stage!

The special was run over existing, very fast pistes, with long straights. After 180 km we saw the most amazing sight – a buried volcano. In the middle of the crater was an oasis and a lake. It was quite simply magnificent. A check point was installed there in such a way as to force the competitors to go round the crater rim and admire the view. The last 100 kilometres of special were off piste and generally fast, with a few dune crossings following the ‘Black Mountains’ until the petrol base at Waha. A spectacular contrast between the bright colours of the sand and the black of the mountains.

Results

Placed 103rd +2 102nd on the day

Tuesday 18th January - Waw El Kebir to Waha

This 657km special was fairly arduous. At about 80 - 100kms we picked up a puncture which slowed us down for about 10 minutes and then a bit further on we became stuck in some deep ruts which were filled with dust. We were up to our axles in these and it took us a little while to get ourselves dug out.

One very interesting sight on the special was a volcano, the Namus volcano, the crater is sunk deep into the ground and there was a passage control right next to it forcing us to go right round the crater. There was also an oasis at the bottom of the crater, and it was a sight well worth seeing.

We had no other real problems except that our fuel consumption was very high in the soft sand, and because of our earlier fuel problems we wanted to just use the 170 litres in the main tank. Transferring fuel from the other tank would have wasted a lot of time, and thanks to getting 20 litres at the last passage control we just got away with it.

We could tell a number of the other crews were not used to the sand as several were stuck up to their axles and having all sorts of hassles but we generally managed to cope quite well.

The car was still going OK although we were now detecting a bit of transmission noise, but we were still confident that we would make it to Cairo.

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The Schedule

Special 598km Liaison 33km Total 631km

No liaison from Waha

The first third of the special was very fast until Tazurbu, with relatively spaced out dune crossings. Then there were 200 km of fast going, followed by 120 kilometres of dune crossings in the Erg to the North of Khofra. The entry into the erg was marked by an oasis, and the problem was to find the right pass. In the dunes the sand was relatively firm and didn’t cause us too many problems.

Results

Placed 94th +9 90th on the day

Wednesday 19th January - Waha to Khofra

This leg started from Waha with a short liaison and a special of 610 Km followed by another short liaison. The first part of the special, about 300 kilometres, was over soft sand which was fairly straightforward but a bit slow going. We passed an abandoned village beside an oasis, where the track really was very soft, and several people were busy digging their cars out of the sand. Next came a more demanding dune crossing, but it was not as difficult as the Tenere desert could have been if the stages in Niger had not been cancelled. The end of the stage was more rocky but did not have any more punctures, but the gearbox noise was becoming more worrying. We had one scary moment during this stage when we came off a dune which was a little higher than anticipated. It seemed like a long time before we landed off that one! Luckily there seemed to be no damage done.

At about 65 kilometres into this stage we came across the scene of a very nasty accident. It looked like four or five of the very fast front running cars had all not spotted a massive drop off a dune as they approached it, and a number of severely crashed cars were lying at the bottom of a massive dune. The situation was under control by the time we arrived so we pressed on, but it was a sobering reminder of the potential dangers of this sport.

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The Schedule

Liaison 25km Special 793km Liaison 61km Total 879km

This very varied stage offered all the kinds of terrain you can find in Africa – navigation, off piste, canyons, dunes, crossing ergs, and a sand stage never before seen on the Dakar. The first 160 kilometres between Khofra and the Egyptian border were very fast. Once in Egypt, the route crossed the ‘Great Sand Sea’ where the very soft dunes were around 100 metres high! Between these dune mountains there were small valleys, which were themselves dune fields. We had to follow the road-book to the letter to cross the main cordons and to find the passes leading from one valley to the next. The end of the special to Dhakla was very fast, over a big sandy plateaux.

Results

Placed 93rd +1 90th on the day   

Thursday 20th January - Khofra to Dakhla

This was a very long stage, nearly 800km and with the liaison it was nearer 900km. It was quite an interesting stage with a vast variation of vegetation. The highlight of the day was on the Egyptian side of the border, where we crossed the Great Sea of Sand. There were some massive dunes and the whole section required some fairly precise navigation. We came across one or two vehicles stuck up to their axles in sand, which isn't unexpected in such difficult terrain. We got stuck once when I accidentally selected high ratio 2 wheel drive instead of low ratio 4 wheel drive, but we got out quite easily.

The last 250 - 300km were completed in the dark, which meant we had to back off a bit but the tracks weren't too bad and we finally got in at about 22:30. We then drove in to Dakhla town to get some petrol which had a very strange aroma, but the car still ran on it!

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The Schedule

Liaison 214km Special 352km Liaison 40km Total 606km

The Dakar caravan pitched camp for two days in the Dakhla oasis

This region has kept its original charm, with traditional villages and beautiful scenery around about. ‘Stuck’ between a long mountainous plateau, which borders the oasis on one side, and high sand dunes, which move a little each year, on the other, Dakhla is like a step back in time. This stage allowed the competitors to regroup after the previous difficult stage. This was a magnificent special, running through the giant dunes of Western Egypt, erg crossings alternating with big dunes and rocky massifs. The second part of the special, going back to Dakhla, ran through valleys of white marble. But the highpoint of the day was a steep descent, 20 km from the finish, of a sand covered cliff, which is impossible to go back up again! An exceptional descent, surfing over the dunes.

Results

Placed 89th +4 86th on the day

Friday 21st January - Dakhla to Dakhla

This was a very interesting special with some fairly difficult dunes, one or two slow rocky trial type tracks and also some very, very steep descents from plateaux down in to the valleys. We pushed along this stage a bit harder in a lot of places, as fuel capacity was not a problem with the distance being relatively short. The last part of the stage was quite difficult, following an old and very rough army track. We had to take care not to damage our tyres, which we were running at low pressure due to the softness of the ground. We finished the stage in darkness, and saw a few cars completely stuck in soft sand towards the final decent back into Dhakla.

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The Schedule

Liaison 306km Special 416km Total 722km

The last stage before the finish in Cairo

The first kilometres of the special were fast, on a twisting piste with a few dune crossings, and a few off-piste sections to go round oases before a spectacular finish at lake Wadi Rayan. This was the most beautiful bivouac of the whole rally.

Results

Placed 92nd

Saturday 22nd January - Dakhla to Wadi Rayan

This stage started well for us, but we stopped to assist fellow Brits Paul and Mark Round who had rolled their machine on a very nasty little jump. Then at around 100 kilometres into the stage we heard one of the rear wheels rubbing on the bodywork. Investigation of the problem revealed a broken rear leaf spring, and we knew that we could be in trouble. We had never before broken a spring on the Troopers used for the rally, and had never before carried a spare leaf either! But as luck would have it this time we were carrying one spare top leaf. We set about removing and stripping the broken part, and fitting the spare top leaf. There was another broken leaf in this spring, and the other side spring had one broken leaf too. All we could do was to refit the repaired part and drive as gently as possible towards Cairo. The repair took about an hour to complete, but by now our only concern was to just keep the car together long enough to reach the finish. We began to feel as if we were up against it, which in a strange way was pleasantly challenging. Up to this point the race had been almost too straightforward, certainly in comparison with previous entries!

There was some very rough ground in the second half of this stage so we just took our time, knowing that Cairo was just one more stage away. There was one large dune to cross before the end of the stage, and we finally arrived at the bivouac very late indeed!

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The Schedule

Liaison 135km Special 10km Total 145km

The last stage of the 22nd Total-Paris-Dakar-Cairo!

After 135 kilometres of liaison, we regrouped to start the last special –just 10 km to put on a good show, with a spectacular finish at the foot of the Pyramids.

Results

Placed 92nd

Sunday 23rd January - Wadi Rayan to Cairo

Before the start of the liaison section we were concerned by the state of Paul and Mark Rounds vehicle, particularly the engine and transmission. They had limped in even later than us from the previous stage, and were stressed out to say the least! Because of our rear spring problem we would have preferred not to have to tow them, and eventually another crew offered to assist. We followed them through the liaison as support, and we all got to the start of the last special stage without any problems. But it was obvious that they would need help for the last 10 kilometres. Together with the Argentinean crew that had been helping we tried to tow them over the first and largest dune of the stage, but even with both cars towing we could not get the Bowler over. We took a look at an easier route and the Argentines towed them this way and to the end of the stage. The rules state that all vehicles must start and finish the stages under their own power, and happily the damaged Bowler just about limped across the line.

We were welcomed by a group of family and friends that had flown to Cairo to meet us, and that was a great moment. We then had to face the Cairo traffic and place the car in parc ferme, before a good wash and a beer!