Aiming for a 6th outright victory in the bike class, the GHR Honda team is comprised of 7 Honda CRF450X motorcycles, one TRX700XX quad and one buggy. Team entrants include three South Africans, one American and a total of five competitors in training for the 2013 Dakar Rally. Brothers and key team riders Todd and Jacob Smith are both in fine form and each will be vying for a second personal victory in this ‘Dakar Down Under’. West Australian local and Safari veteran Warren Strange will also be racing hard on his CRF450X based GHR 2013 Dakar bike. Victorian quad rider and previous class winner Paul Smith will ride the team’s first quad entry.

Todd and Jacob Smith - pre-event testing

Jacob Smith – comments:

“Last Safari I came home injured. In hindsight I was probably doing too much too soon but 3 weeks after the race I had an operation on my foot to sort things out. It went very well and I was back training as usual soon after. The only hitch was I’d pull up sore very quickly. A day of waterskiing or pre-running at Finke would leave me struggling to walk on it. But in the last 3 or 4 months my training has been structured to minimise impact and I’m back feeling great. Heaps of cycling, lots of gym work focussed on strength and plenty of cardio work.”

“Safari is all about putting yourself in a position to win it, but picking the right moment to do it. This year Todd and I are both approaching the race with the same mentality as we had last year. If we can get up the front in the prologue and then stay out of trouble for a few days then we’re on track for good things. Todd put himself in the right position on Day 3 last year and then kept it clean. That’s how this race works. Compared to Todd I’ve struggled a bit with form, but the results for the team have been brilliant, with one-three at Condo and one-two at Yellow Mountain – can’t ask for more than that!”

Jacob Smith - pre-event testing

“It’s exciting to be going to some different places in 2012. Over the last couple of events we’ve seen the same bivouacs and some of the tracks have become familiar. Safari was always about an adventure so I’m looking forward mine even if we don’t stop to look at the scenery too often.”

Todd Smith – comments:

“So far this year has unfolded much the same way as last year. I haven’t had as much training time as Jake but that’s the reality of my job. I do as much as I can when I’m not working. Normally that means I’m on the bike once a week and same with the cycling. Some weekends I get to ride too. I haven’t been to the gym for a while but plenty of hours at work keep me fit even though it’s not motorcycle specific training.”

“My form coming off last year’s Safari win has been excellent. Condo and Yellow Mountain were excellent results and I came away with third at Finke. The background development for the team has been ongoing and the testing a couple of weeks back left us both with a sense of confidence. They always feel good and Simon (Wade) does an amazing job building them. We know we can come over here, just get on the bikes and do well.”

Todd Smith - pre-event testing

“The change in route this year will be interesting because we’re going somewhere new. We’re expecting new terrain with plenty of sand and rock until we get to Carnarvon, then we hit typical WA outback country which is always fast. I’m not sure how the navigation will unfold up near Carnarvon since it’s pretty open and flat from what I can see. The first two days will be full of sand and rock.”

Glenn Hoffmann – general comments:

“We’ve been busy as always on development even though the results last Safari meant we couldn’t fault the product. However, when we stand back and look at what we’ve built this year they look so compact and slim. It’s a really good thing. Our most recent testing showed both Todd and Jacob were very comfortable with the package straight away. The bikes turn beautifully and the corner speed they can carry is impressive. We’re all hoping for good things.”

The event’s ceremonial start will be held on Friday 21 September in Hillarys Boat Harbour and the field embark on the trip to Geraldton the following morning. On Saturday afternoon the prologue will determine Sunday’s Leg 1 start order departing from Carnarvon.

This is what a few dozen sentinel devices sound like in symphony.

The GHR team 15 minutes before leaving Australia.

No denying it’s happening now. The first of the riders and crew have just boarded their plane at Sydney.

In approximately 12 hours they touch down in Buenos Aires, ready to get started on setting up.

It’s beginning!

Transmoto Magazine did an extensive interview with the owner of GHR Honda, Glenn Hoffmann, covering the history of the company and the work required to enter the Dakar Rally. If you’re interested in the Dakar we recommend sitting back, relaxing and watch the whole thing. Thanks to Transmoto for the link.

Show the nice Doctor our site and where we are off to for Christmas and New Year...

Travel to South American countries does mean there are some infectious disease precautions to consider.

More to the point under “37P3 ADMINISTRATIVE OBLIGATIONS” all competitors and crews must present current and valid vaccination certificates during administrative checks. Numerous visits and best part of a thousand dollars later we are covered for:

Typhoid – Vaccination sometimes recommended 10 days before travel
Hepatitis A – Vaccination recommended 2 weeks before travel
Diphtheria – Vaccination sometimes recommended 3 months before travel
Tuberculosis – Vaccination sometimes recommended 3 months before travel
Hepatitis B – Vaccination sometimes recommended 2 months before travel
Rabies – Vaccination sometimes recommended 1 month before travel
Meningitis (A & C) – Vaccination recommended
Yellow fever – Vaccination sometimes recommended 10 days before travel
Tetanus – Vaccination recommended
Polio – Vaccination recommended

Today... typhoid. Some people enjoy their jobs a little too much.

The Dakar is not for sissies.

Transmoto magazine caught up with Jake for a quick chat just as the team were packing up the container in November.

GHR Honda mechanic Simon Wade gives Transmoto magazine some insight into bike preparation for Dakar.

The GHR bikes differ from a number of Dakar bike design “conventions” – decisions based on years of campaigning in the Australasian Safari with the CRF450 as Simon explains. Go have a watch!

Even though the event doesn’t start until January 2011, everything needs to be shipped in time to clear all the import procedures and land well before the start of the event for shakedowns and checks.

All bikes, spares, tyres and tools need to be planned for in advance and packed away in a logical system to make set up in bivouac as quick and orderly affair.

The container carrying the bikes and nearly all the equipment and spares was shipped from Australia on 1 November and is due to arrive in Buenos Aires on 21 December 2010. The first crew fly in to BA the following day.

Then the real work begins…

Everything has a place in its crate.

Sometimes you just have to wait.

Final touches before they go in the container.

Just about to go down to the Melbourne Bike Expo.

Left hand view of finished CRF450X Rallye

Front view...

The interviews begin.

Rear view showing rear tanks and cockpit.

Detail of driveline.

Detail of fairing and navigation gear mounts.

Detail of main tank and bashplate - left side.

Detail of main tank, engine and exhaust - right side.

Closeup of navigation equipment and cockpit.

Front end from the left.

Everything organised into numbered Pallecons, ready to load into container.

Bikes loaded on to custom built collapsible pallets (thanks Rob!) ready for transport. These can be knocked down and flat packed during the event and then for storage back at home ready for next year.

Tyre bags will end up on the roof of the truck - it's going to be dusty!

The container arrives...

First pallets go in... Now we find out if we measured up correctly!

Planning for lack of sleep, even the obvious is labelled.

No space wasted.

Bikes go in with utmost care. (The Boss does this bit!)

More bikes go in...

Doesn't look like so much work now, but this is the end of months of planning.

The service crew are absolutely pivotal in a successful campaign in any rally event. Ensuring they have transport that can safely and reliably cart them and all service equipment from bivouac to bivouac is essential.

Over the duration of the event, the GHR support truck will travel something in the order of 7,000km at a maximum of 90 km/h. Delays setting up at service points because of mechanical problems could spell disaster because the team needs enough time to service 4 race bikes at each stop. Loss or breakage of parts and equipment have the same potential for stopping the show. At the end of a transport, the last thing the crew needs is to be left wondering where a spanner or spare part is! Time will be best spent driving, working, eating and sleeping (not necessarily in that order).

Because of the costs and time involved with transporting a vehicle which doesn’t fit in a container are so high if leaving from Australia, the decision was made to source a service truck in Europe and to do all the necessary work on it there prior to the event.

The support truck needs to be a complete rolling workshop. Steve (The Ginger Ninja) was sent over from Australia to the UK to perform the modifications. These included building and fitting the roof rack, fitting a crane, fabrication of the work bench area in the back of the truck body, changing all power points to suit Australian power tools (240v generators were shipped in the container) and fabrication of a ladder to access the roof.

The not so blank canvas, before it was given the GHR treatment.

This is going to be home for 7,000 gruelling kilometers. At least it has slots in dashboard for Vegemite sandwiches.

Race seats, race harnesses and full roll cage. Serious stuff!

The truck was acquired with rollover protection and race seats already fitted, saving a huge amount of time. Steve also fitted an number of tyres and tubes to rims to carry as spares.

Time turned out to be of the essence. It was only the week after Steve finished his work and flew home that England was subjected to -25°C conditions, plunging the whole country into white-out.

The truck was driven on to the ferry from the UK to Le Havre, France on 24 November, and then shipped sea freight to Buenos Aires. It is due to arrive around Christmas and the crew will have access to it on 28 December.