For three days now, the administrative checks and scrutineering for all competitors have been under way on Lima’s Magdalena beach. There is already a desert vibe going on with a service park in the sand and the fesh-fesh and a shake-down for the main teams in the dunes 45 km south of Lima.
The motorcyclists are all eagerly awaiting the start on Saturday morning, but a few serious contenders are sitting out this 35th edition, including 2012 FIM Cross Country Rallies World Champion Marc Coma. Marc, who is nursing a shoulder injury sustained in Morocco, really thought that he would be better in time: “My shoulder still hurts and the injured nerve is taking longer to heal than I thought. It’s a pity. I’ll have to take a break this year, but I couldn’t take part in this condition”. His place has been taken by seasoned American endurance rider Kurt Caselli. “I know it won’t be easy”, he admits. “I am here to learn”.
The Honda team, back in the Dakar after 23 years, is also two riders down, after late tests in California, just ahead of the start of the Dakar, took a terrible toll. Great Britain’s Sam Sunderland crashed and broke his navicular bone, while his Brazilian team mate Felipe Zanol has been in a coma for several days following a head injury. Cody Quinn is also out and his place has gone to Botturi of Husqvarna Speedbrain.
Cyril Després is therefore missing his lodestar and arch-rival, Marc Coma, his great motivator for so many years. This year, all eyes will be on him, and he will have to watch his every move as the pack of young (and not so young) wolves - among them Chaleco Lopez (KTM), Barreda and Gonçalves (Husqvana Speedbrain), Rodrigues (Honda), Verhoeven, Casteu, Pain and Frétigné (Yamaha) - sets out to run him down.
In the Quad category, Marcos Patronelli is riding alone this time, without brother Alessandro. He will be up against fellow Argentine Tomas Maffei, Poland’s Rafal Sonik and Lukasz Laskawiec, and Chile’s Ignacio Casale.
On Saturday, the Dakar takes to the road for a first stage at Pisco and an “easy” 13 km jaunt.