RUST magazine: Rust#3

efore the impact
ing a lot more
n we got out to
damage...
except threaten to send me
t urinary infection did inspire
er and for them to snap on
nly did the trick as far as
ey didn’t see me again for
ly won’t miss is entrusting
river for the 8000km or so
ing conditions. For some
involved in motorsport
o drive at the same speed
y don’t have the talent and
motorhome the previous
ver was particularly awful
ys together, so much did
in constant danger that I
alking to him. If anything
en worse.
sses the Andes, the
ac to stop assistance
oad they share with the
means we all arrive very
the mountains. My 2014
roblem was simply not to
’
bother with the gate at all, but instead to drive full pelt
at the perimeter fence in the hope of knocking it over -
Dukes of Hazzard style. I was screaming before the
impact and screaming a lot more afterwards when we
got out to inspect the damage. I won’t bore you with
the list of body panels that were ripped off in our Great
Escape attempt. Suffice to say the camping car rental
company wasn’t best pleased and neither was the
team boss when presented with the repair bill.
After this long list of things I won’t miss about this
year’s Dakar you’re probably wondering why I ever
signed up for one, let alone 19 consecutive editions.
The explanation is shorter but much more difficult to
articulate. In part I suppose it is simply because it is
the biggest event in the off-road calendar. Also, there’s
the inescapable fact that in between the moments of
fear and loathing, you get to see some incredible
scenery and work with some amazing people.
But most of all what kept me going back was my
utter admiration for privateer competitors. They suffer
exactly the same level of discomfort as I, and they had
to get up every day and race their motorcycles across
some of the most inhospitable terrain known to man.
The highlight of my Dakar day when all my work
was finished, was to slope off for a few minutes and
visit the privateers and see how they were getting on.
They always put a brave face on it, talking down their
achievements, but both they and I knew they were
tackling the motorcycling equivalent of ascending
Everest, with not a lot of oxygen. Which is why I would
like to sign off by wishing my compatriots Chris Cork,
Jamie Smith and, if he makes it, Sam Sunderland,
the very best of luck for the 2016 edition.