Dakar rally: The bravest heroes on two wheels
This year, 27 adventurers have registered for the unassisted race, a challenge in which they must take care of the maintenance and repair of their motorcycles themselves. These tough guys face long days and long nights and keep the fire of mutual support burning in the Dakar. One of those tough guys is a Belgian: Jérôme Martiny.
In the heart of the bivouac there is an area where riders arrive in dribs and drabs and which remains open until late at night for the motorcyclists who are described as the bravest of the Dakar. These motorcyclists sacrifice their sleep and rest to be ready for a new stage every morning.
This means that they have to take care of everything themselves and, above all, have to do a lot of tinkering with the engines. If no major problems occur, it might not be too bad, but major technical defects will affect your night's sleep and you really need that to survive the Dakar.
Among the candidates for the trophy are the Belgian Jérôme Martiny, who has been close to the top 30 twice and is looking for a new challenge without assistance. The Slovenian Simon Marčič, who is starting his tenth Dakar as a seasoned veteran, and the Czech David Pabiška, who is participating in his fifteenth start (thirty-sixth in 2023) are also taking up the challenge.
All eyes are also on two newcomers who have already shown real flashes of talent before their baptism of fire, perhaps because of their family heritage: the Austrian Tobias Ebster, the nephew of former champion Heinz Kinigardner, and the Italian Gioele Meoni, the son of two-time winner Fabrizio Meoni.
The Dakar rally now starts on Friday, January 5, with a short prologue in Alula. Every day you can read a report of each stage with extra attention to our compatriots Jérôme Martiny, Joris Van Dyck, Pierre Saeys and Gwen Backx.
Photos: Dakar.com and Jérôme Martiny
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