So is Dakar still a race?

[crazyeye]

So I saw that they put a 112mph speed limit on the t1 cars. WTF is up with that?
Toyota couldn't get more top end speed so they lobby for a speed limit?

 

[Klaus]

Equal opportunity outcome

 

[SanoDano]

Slowed the bikes down also by limiting the amount of tires they can use for safety reasons.

 

[JDDurfey]

Is NASCAR still a "race" The vehicles are exactly alike except for small body differences. I won't even call them "cars" because they are not based on a production vehicle anymore.

 

[Short Bus]

If they limit top speed, then maybe they should eliminate the intake restrictors. I thought the rationale for intake restrictors was to keep speeds in check. It feels like doing both is overkill.

 

[SN8KE]

There is so much more to this race than just top speed. The change to issue the maps just before the race is one example. I'm not a fan of restricting any kind of speed but there are a lot more factors that come in play with the Dakar. I would watch a Dakar race anyday over a NASCAR race.

 

[MX304]

Slowed the bikes down also by limiting the amount of tires they can use for safety reasons.

Which made it less safe.

 

[Desert Dog]

Competitors are still going to push for a win but will have to be a lot more clever about it. There are many sections where a top speed cannot be attained due to the terrain - although I do agree, the speed limits put a dampener on the overall excitement for all. Pushing your car / bike to the limits over gnarly terrain takes a lot more skill than driving in a straight line at top speed.

 

[Klaus]

Competitors are still going to push for a win but will have to be a lot more clever about it. There are many sections where a top speed cannot be attained due to the terrain - although I do agree, the speed limits put a dampener on the overall excitement for all. Pushing your car / bike to the limits over gnarly terrain takes a lot more skill than driving in a straight line at top speed.

Isn't the point of a motorsport event who gets from points a to point b the fastest and don't we measure that in speed? Yes navigation and dehydration and fuel range etc also factor in.

In my opinion speed limits don't belong into racing and need to be avoided at all cost by the organizers. Perhaps for a small section to safeguard things outside the race car its ok.

Assuming your own death or hurt is the attraction in motorsports and separates those that are willing to engage in it separates those that don't. One races while the other spectate. Making yet another thing safe is not the world I want to live in.

Montana is 80mph/129km/h and Autobahn don't have general speed limit last time I drove there and thats for people in OEM cars without roll gages neither should Dakar. Hey I am just a fan behind a computer so perhaps there is more to it.

 

[Desert Dog]

Isn't the point of a motorsport event who gets from points a to point b the fastest and don't we measure that in speed?

It's measured in time, but I hear ya!

 

[Josh 8]

“What a joke” to steal an old hook line from fish.
That’s not even fast enough to give “tunnel vision”or aka the “warp drive blur”. Heck. You don’t even need to hold the nose of your helmet down at that speed to keep it from rising up and blocking your vision.

Lame on Dakar!

 

[TrophyBurro]

I do not understand the tire rule. IMO it seem like more danger with a bald tire..
NO way people wont push ..

 

[GBRACER]

Soon all will be issued participation trophys.

 

[Desert Dog]

And as if by magic, "Mr. Dakar" talks about speed.

 

[Desert Dog]

Also don't forget that competitors don't get a chance to pre-run, so they are driving the route blind, so to speak.

 

[crazyeye]

Just seems to kill the spirit of it to me.

 

[Bricoop]

Asside from being stupid as shiit, the speedlimit rule provides another leg up to 4wd vs "long travel" 2wd. Not to mention they're already running restrictors.

All this talk made me think of this video:
It's ok though...not like fans enjoy that kind of stuff:

 

[nimrod]

A racer dies in this race pretty much every year. Racing is dangerous and for us Adrenalin junkies that’s part of the deal. It’s a toughie But It’s horrendous when a racer dies. If something can help with that I’m all for it, up to a point.

 

[mrlentle]

I do not understand the tire rule. IMO it seem like more danger with a bald tire..
NO way people wont push ..

Tyre quantity limits have been in place in Supercars in Aussie for a number of years now and it builds more strategy into the events. On road (and tin top) I know but still comparable.

I do agree the risk increasing especially for someone on a bike compared to a car. Remember they also reduced engine size limit on the bikes for Dakar some time ago now to reduce speeds. Ditto with the likes of the old DAF twin engine truck of '88 (in my opinion the best Dakar video ever - Jan De Rooy passing Ari Vatanen at 200kmh in a truck).


You have to appreciate that Rally Raid isn't Desert Racing and each have their merits.

 

[Desert Dog]

Sebastien Loeb believes the navigational challenges posed to the crews in the 2021 Dakar Rally has taken the emphasis away from the drivers and made it a "race of co-drivers".

🎙I don't want to criticise the roadbook. This is more a question for the co-driver, but honestly it may be the different terrain, but compared to the race in South America, the navigation is much more aggressive this year. The truth is that as a driver I cannot make the difference. I do what I'm told to do. It's the race of co-drivers, not the race of drivers.