2008 Dakar

[Esteven]

Hi all, apologies if I've made a cock up of this, first time on a forum!

The missus and I are going down to Lisbon for the start of the Dakar on the bike then following it into Morocco, hotels are booked in Lisbon and Portimao but the ferry and Morocco accommodation have yet to be arranged, as we've not decided how far down we're going yet.
If anyone would like to join us at any point we'd more than happy to make up a group.

All the best

Steve

 

[Tim Cullis]

Welcome Steve. I will likely be following some stages in Morocco.

There will be a Euromaster (tyre people) trade stand in Lisbon and they will have fairly detailed maps of the route, see if you can get some!

For the benefit of those who might not be aware, the overnight stops for the rally are constrained to airports that can take the number of planes involved. Nevertheless the 2008 route is quite different from previous years.

Euromilhões Lisboa Dakar: 2008 Route

The early part of the route follows the last couple of years' routes - Lisbon > Málaga > Nador > Er Rachidia > Ouarzazate. Then it changes quite a lot by going to Guelmim rather than Tan Tan. Then Smara and into Mauritania where voyeurs can't follow through the sand berm. After a stop in Atar it goes south west to Nouakchott, then north to Nouadhibou which conveniently allows slow moving spectators to catch up. Then east back to Atar again following the railway before heading south to Kiffa then Dakar.

Potential viewing points
Each day starts with a non-racing liaison to the start of the special stage. Then the special stage which is the actual racing bit. At the end of the special stage there will then be another liaison to the overnight bivouac. Unless you have advance knowledge of the exact route, it's difficult to intercept the end of the day's special, so the points listed below are where the next day's special starts relatively close to the previous night's bivouac.

5 Jan: special stage starts 104km south of Lisbon
8 Jan: special stage starts 29km south of Er Rachidia
10 Jan: special stage along the beach 66km south west of Guelmim
15 Jan: special stage starts 111km east of Nouhadibou

When we visited Lisbon for the 2006 rally we didn't bother to watch the start which would have been very crowded, but intercepted the bikes on the motorway south of Lisbon and watched the special stage. You then need to get your skates on if you are going to intercept the rally in Morocco, so get down to Algeciras/Tarifa, cross to Tanger then south down the coastal motorway to Rabat, motorway east to Meknes, then main road via Midelt to Er Rachidia.

Hotels in cities close to the overnight stops are normally fully booked, so rather than stay in Er Rachidia, the last two years I overnighted near Erfoud (to the south) which is also more convenient for the morning start. Although Ouarzazate is listed as a stop, Zagora looks a better bet for being able to see the rally--check out the route detail for Morocco.

 

[Esteven]

Hi Tim

Thanks for the info, we'll be two up on a 1200 GSA with road tyres, do you forsee any problems with the roads linking the stages in Morocco and will we be able keep pace with the rally.
Regarding ferry crossings, the rally will be using the Malaga to Melilla overnight route on the 6th, but trying to book a ferry with a cabin seems to a problem with Acciona as they only offer a seat on their website, any ideas?

Steve

 

[Crapaud]

Steve

Don't bother going to Malaga. Ride down to Tarifa and catch ferry from there to Tangier. No need to book ferry, just turn up and buy ticket. Crossing is only hour and a half. This is what we did with Tim in 2006. Lovely ride down through Fez to El Rachidia.

Would love to go again this year but already planned big trip in March April so funds won't stretch.

Sid

 

[Tim Cullis]

>>ferry with a cabin seems to a problem
That's because there will be several hundred Dakar competitors on board the ship.

Nador isn't a good choice as it's 182km from there to the start of the special and you will have little chance of catching up with the rally later. I was in the Nador area a couple of months ago and it's not the best part of Morocco to visit--the Rekkam Plateau isn't somewhere that you want to ride across. You're much better getting further south into the winter sun.

You'll be fine on road tyres, the roads are surprisingly good (compared to third world areas such as East Sussex). Keeping up with the rally is another matter, they cover lots of ground and you need to be determined. For example, the liaison from Er Rachidia will undoubtedly start before dawn, with the special starting as the sun comes up, which is why I suggest stopping overnight south of Er Rachidia.

Tim

 

[Henry Mawson]

Hi Tim
Me and kirst intend to get the boat on 2nd Jan to Bilbao arr 5th 08.00 hrs. Do you think it is feasable to expect to get to Er Rachida and intercept the rally there? Both of us are keen as mustard to get to see the rally. We are on two XT 600 Teneres.
Henry

 

[Crapaud]

I would suggest you ride straight down to southern Spain and get ferry across to Morocco. Good roads across to El Rachidia so you have no problem meeting up with Rally. Check out Tims database for more details of interesting rides in Morocco.

Sid

 

[Henry Mawson]

Cheers Sid,
That is what i was looking at. Just needed a bit of encouragement. Er Rachidia it is then. Bring it on.
Henry

 

[Tim Cullis]

I don't know Henry. You'd really need to really get a move on, you've only got three days and it's 700 miles through Spain, then another 400 miles in Morocco. Numb bumb syndrome in spades.

Your first day you'd want to finish south of Jaen, preferably at Granada (500 miles). Making Granada would be the first inkling that you might make it. Day 2 would be crossing into Morocco, overnight stop at Meknes or preferably Azrou.

Lots of 'ifs'.

Tim

 

[Number 6]

Hi Tim
Me and kirst intend to get the boat on 2nd Jan to Bilbao arr 5th 08.00 hrs. Do you think it is feasable to expect to get to Er Rachida and intercept the rally there? Both of us are keen as mustard to get to see the rally. We are on two XT 600 Teneres.
Henry

The boat gets into Bilbao on the 4th not the 5th. So that's 4 days to get to Er rachidia. I'm seriously thinking about the same boat

Also, because of the loop in Mauritania, it's quite easy to catch them up at Nouadhibou and again in St Loius.

 

[Bert]

Intercepting

Looks like we'll probably be in the ' area' on our way back from Mali around that time-ish so might get to see a few of those chaps a a bonus!

If you see this 'white man van' on UK plates give us a wave!

 

[Henry Mawson]

We can only give it our best. Any accomodation recommendations? Henry

 

[Tim Cullis]

With four days to make the journey it won't be so much of a rush, but it's still good to get as far as you can to build a bit of a buffer in case of problems further on.

Within Spain the direct motorway route via Madrid has services roads every so often with hostels as well as petrol stations and restaurants. I always stay at one of these as it means you can carry on until you are ready to drop. Clean, well appointed and something like €20-25 for ensuite single. I fondly remember one where the menu of the day for €10 had as much of a bottle of wine as you wanted.

For Morocco check out the hotels in the knowledgebase. In Azrou I normally stay at Hotel Panorama.

Tim