Hero's Legend

Our Friends Jeff and Gordon are racing to Dakar at the moment on the Hero's Ledgend Rally. The only Photo I can find so far is Gordon on Day 1 in Morocco.

Good Luck Guys

Here is the press release at the end of day 4. My text tells me they are still both going well at the moment.

Heroes Legend Dag 4: Fort Bou Jerif – Fort Bou Jerif

The 4th day in the Heroes Legend Rally was a tough one. Just 4 cars finished both specials. A number of bikers had to quit after the first special and head back to the bivouac. Navigation was difficult, which caused competitors taking too much time. The lead of the race in the bike category, Ben Norman, had a half an hour lead when he finished the first special. But in the shorter second special he made a mistake and got lost completely. He had to unlock his gps with a special code to find his way back, for which he got the maximum penalty from the organisation.

In the car category it was the buggy of Mark Klinkhamer and Peter van der Vliet to make it to the finish in first place. Although the buggy is a bit too wide for the tracks sometimes, the crew can keep up a good pace. Both men are happy about how the buggy is performing sofar.

Right from the first part in the first special, competitors were strugling to get the right heading. Early in the morning the temperature was rising quickly. It will be even warmer in the desert of Mauritania….

Two spectaculair sand valleys had to be passed, and although at the briefing the night before was mentioned to stay in the valleys, people were trying to go after their waypoints instead, which caused competitors to loose precious time.

Team Velag with Bas Lagerweijer and Wout Verzijl aboard a Nissan Patrol, had to put out a small fire in the car, without further consequences. The duo which was also in the 2010 edition, has made a lot of improvements to the car, which is now running over the tracks a lot easier. Eddy Verzijl had repaired his bike again after his crash yesterday. He finished in 5th position in the 1st special, and in 2nd position in the 2nd special.

Biker Rob Kiewiet has taken the place of his father in the Toyota Landcruiser with race number 224. To ride a bike with his arm injury is impossible, but navigating is no problem. Together with driver Marco Pronk he’s now in the lead in the regularity competition.

After the 1st special of 188 km,  which finished at the Fort Tafnidit, followed by a connection of 36 km following the main road between Guelmim and Tan-Tan, the second special started. Many grave ltracks with stones and difficult navigation were scheduled.

The organisation decided to close the starting checkpoint at 16.30 hours, to avoid further problems. At that moment only 4 cars were in the 2nd stage. Especially the last kilometers were hard to find. Leader in the car category, Frechman Jackiy Brun, managed to finish the special, just like Erik De Ridder who had to find his way in the dark. According to De Ridder an impossible task with a roadbook which wasn’t very clear. The last bikes arrived around 20.00 hours in the bivoauc, the last cars around 22.00 hours.

The rally continues with day 5 heading further south again. A long day with a long connection. Necessary to make it to Mauritania on Sunday. In total 768 km with two specials. De first one has a length of 79 km, following the beach between Arfaya and Laayoune. The second has a length of 207 km and runs through some dunes south of Laayoune. The bivouac is situated on the beach south of Boujdour.