2008 Dakar Calling…

[WayneF]

Hi Guys,

Not sure if this is the place for this but here goes…

On Wednesday evening I got a call from a mate of mine, Christophe Barriere-Varju, asking if I would like to attend his 2008 Dakar press conference which was due to take place the following evening in Sydney, so naturally I jumped at the opportunity to see how his preparations for the 2008 event were going and to catch up with him again.

Christophe has competed as a privateer in two Dakar’s now, the first one being in 2006 where he had a couple of bad crashes and had to retire on day three with a dislocated shoulder (which he put back in himself half way through one of the days), some broken ribs and a few other injuries. In 2007 he completed the event with the help of his mechanic Max Sullivan. On both occasions he paid the $120 000 to compete out of his own pocket. He is again attempting the Dakar in 2008 but he requires further sponsorship to be able to do so, the press conference was basically his last attempt at trying to raise the required funds. So this next week will be do or die for him.

Christophe’s website is http://www.cbvracing.com if anybody would like to have a look and if any of you are feeling generous you can make a donation to help him along his way. If he doesn’t manage to compete in 2008, he will definitely be doing the 2009 Dakar so the money won’t go to waste. If anyone does contribute, make sure to email him and let him know so that he can include your name as a supporter of the “Australian Rally Team”. If he gets enough support from us guys here, he said he would put some DBW stickers on his race bike and if we have some sew-on type badges, he would get them put on his shirts. If he doesn’t do the race this year he will be on the panel for the SBS and Fox Sports TV converge of the event.

What do you guys think…?

[PaulyT]

Good stuff, keep us informed!

[dags]

read the articles on him in the magazines - bloody good stories & seems like a great fella, hope he does well, I`ve thrown a bit in

[WayneF]

Nice one Overload, thanks.

Will let you guys know what the outcome is. Does anyone know if these sew-on dbw badge things exist?

[CBVRacing]

Originally Posted by overload

read the articles on him in the magazines - bloody good stories & seems like a great fella, hope he does well, I`ve thrown a bit in

Thanks very much, every bit counts. I have added your name on the website (www.cbvracing.com or www.australianrallyteam.com)

Cheers - CBV

[WayneF]

Just to let you guys know that I spoke with Christophe and unfortunately he will not be doing the Dakar this time arround, but he has a few other events lined up in his sights for 2008. Im sure Dakar 2009 will be a good one too.

[Quad-s]

Thats a pitty. I know when my Uncle went over and did it in 1998 as a priviteer he found it very dificult. Lucky paty was when other Ktm riders crashed out and he was winning stages the gave him a hand instead.

[KASUYAHO]

Brad Zerbel wrote:

One of my riding buddies will be hosting podcasts with interviews and
call-ins from some of the US competitors. This is the 1st year doing
it but he did it for the Baja 1000 and it was great. There were
reports during the race often right after the rider got off the bike
for his leg, constant update throughout the race. For Dakar he is
hoping to get call-ins after each stage. This will be the best way to
follow the progress of the US privateers. Here's the link.

http://rallyraidio.net

Cheers,
Beez

[Dave@Yugar]

Originally Posted by WayneF

Just to let you guys know that I spoke with Christophe and unfortunately he will not be doing the Dakar this time arround, but he has a few other events lined up in his sights for 2008. Im sure Dakar 2009 will be a good one too.

Thats a real shame Wayne, I have read his articles too and thought he can be the next Aussie Dakar idle. What went wrong?

[CBVRacing]

Originally Posted by Dave@Yugar

Thats a real shame Wayne, I have read his articles too and thought he can be the next Aussie Dakar idle. What went wrong?

Hi everyone, thank you for the comments, I appreciate this a lot. Unfortunately this year is no-go just a couple of weeks before the race - I have done all I could, but perhaps it is 1 step backward for 3 steps forward.

I will be commentating on FoxSports and answer viewers questions on the SBS website. Hopefully this will entice sponsors for 2009 and help other Australians participate in the 'Great Race.'

I am also getting a lot of questions on how to prepare for the Dakar, about the 10-months sponsor chase (a bit too short this year for me), and some questions about the Dakar. I have put a new link to a blog on my website where you will be able to follow my 12-month preparation as a privateer for 2009 (Dec 07 to Dec 08). It's a long effort but quite exciting.

One thing I learned with racing is that there is always next year, and it will be even better, trust me!!!

Thanks again,

Christophe

_____________________________
CBV Racing - Australian Rally Team
www.thebusinessracer.com