GHR Honda Team Site & Blog
Dakar Rally 2013
Dakar 2013: The bikes
Jan 1st
Much work has gone into the 2013 Dakar bikes. The team did not enter the 2012 Dakar to provide maximum development and testing time before taking on the challenge for the second time.
Team rider Warren Strange raced his Dakar spec bike to second place in this year’s Australasian Safari and has covered many thousands of kilometres in testing this year.
The bikes have completely revised fuel delivery arrangements with new front and rear tanks designed by the team. All bikes will feature a new fairing design which provides the rider with an excellent view of the front wheel without sacrificing protection for themselves or the navigation gear. Airflow around the engines, radiators and tank plumbing remains excellent.
The 4 bikes were shipped to Lima by air freight to provide maximum time for final touches to fairing design and associated brackets for the navigation equipment. They’ll be stickered up by the team in the coming day.
Dakar 2013: Packing
Jan 1st
The mechanics never know what they are going to encounter each day when the competitors roll into bivouac, so it’s critical that no time is wasted looking for gear. This meant that every single tool, part or consumable has to have it’s own special place and be accounted for on running checklists. Building the new system has been a huge undertaking to build, but removes the need to unpack the container and completely repack all the gear as was the case in 2011. All the heavy gear was shipped from GHR in Mittagong at the end of October, and delivered to Lima, Peru.
-
- Rolacase and Armourboy cases installed
-
- Rolacase and Armourboy cases installed
-
- Rolacase and Armourboy cases installed
-
- Dakar engines built and run in
-
- Engines built and run in
-
- Engines built and run in
-
- Bikes packed and ready for shipping
-
- Rob starting to pack his spares
-
- Armourboy cases will carry all bulky tools and spares
-
- Armourboy cases filling up
-
- Modular racking systems
-
- Modular racking systems
-
- Modular racking systems
-
- Armourboy case filled with spares
-
- Small components being packed in Rolacases
-
- Head mecahnic Simon Wade with his creations
-
- Nearly ready to go!
-
- Armourboy cases
-
- Rob packing his Rolacases
-
- Armourboy cases
-
- Rolacases
-
- Honda oils ready to go
-
- Just some of the stockpiled tyres
-
- Racking frames in production
-
- Modular racking frames
-
- Snug fit in the container
-
- Warren Strange looking the part in his very white tshirt
-
- Weighing the Armourboy cases
-
- Bagged wheels and tyres atop the racks
-
- Cases everywhere!
-
- Loading the tyre bags
-
- Second layer of racking in place
-
- Bike stands
-
- Rob’s is this big
-
- Simon’s is this big
-
- Simon is not impressed
-
- Paul Smith’s Dakar quad
-
- Nearly full!
-
- A job well done
-
- Setting off on the first leg of the long trip to Lima
Dakar 2013: New partnerships with GHR Honda
Jan 1st
Once again it is Dakar time, and GHR Honda want to acknowledge some new partnerships for 2012-13.
A small army of mechanics and support crew work relentlessly behind the scenes to keep riders and machines in action at Dakar. None of this is possible without thorough planning and safe carriage of all tools, spares and equipment. The planning stage began many months before the personnel gathered in Peru this week.
After GHR’s 2011 Dakar campaign, it was clear that a larger truck was required and the faithful MAN truck used that year was sold to one of GHR’s new supporters – the Coconut Car Racing Team sponsored by the Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort. Another larger truck was sourced through a contact in Europe and a new strategy devised for transport of the heavy equipment and spares. This time around the team chose to build special modular rack units that could be prepacked at home and installed as complete units in the truck body in Peru.
All the gear based in Australia had to be inventoried, sorted and packed into some form of recepticles and it was earlier this year that Australian businesses Armourboy and Rolacase offered support with their specialised equipment cases. Armourboy’s utility cases have provided the team with a standardised case system for bulky items and tools, while the Rolacase “multiple storage systems” have solved the problem of keeping small parts and spares safely organised in portable units. These two systems were integrated into the rack design. This new delivery system will not only save valuable time in the days immediately before the start of the event but also reduce the set up and pack up times each day the service crews need to move.
Kevin and Elvis from Armourboy, along with Glenn Hoffmann and Jacob Smith's Safari winning bike from 2012
Elvis from Armourboy trying Jacob Smith's Safari bike for size
Dakar 2013: Not long now!
Dec 27th
Once again GHR Honda are mounting a campaign on the toughest race in the world, the 2013 Dakar Rally. This video shows the official reconnaissance team completing the road book checks and gives a snapshot of what’s in store for the five GHR competitors next week. Not long now!
Visitor Comments