STAGE 5, Copiapo - Antofagasta
Liaison sections: 239 km
Special stage: 458 k
Total: 697 km
ASO deemed that the competitors who did not miss a waypoint, did not violate any rules or not show signs of any health or safety problems could continue the rally. I told them organizers I was feeling good and ready to go. Sadly my friend #121 missed waypoint 5 and was not allowed to take the start, after all his efforts he was disqualified. I had no time to eat so I headed directly to the start line. I needed fuel but had no local currency, I had no time to exchange currency and the gas station only accepted Chilean cash, I told my friend #295 Andre Suguita who I met on the start podium back in Buenos Ares of my fuel problem and he paid for my fuel. On the liaison I stopped at a parked medical vehicle and they gave me some Ibuprofen to numb the pain. I found it very strange that they don't accept credit cards in Chile. The sleepless nights, long ride, injuries, and high doses of ibuprofen made my muscles weaker and the Dakar had me by the throat even. I remember the wise words my training partner in Mongolia #149 Anders Berglund told me, he warned me about the snowball effect that can take you out of the rally. The fatigue of losing sleep, physical exhaustion, the lack of food and water all compounds the difficulty to the point where it will overcome you and put you out of the race.
That was exactly what was happening to me. It is dark again this fifth day, five-time Dakar winner #322 Cyril Depres in the Peugeot was with me the entire distance to the CP, I followed his lights. Apparently they had a mechanical problem and were well back in the field.
After that I rode along with the few competitors who were sleeping in medical truck after I stopped and had something to eat.
I found Chile to be a very strange place in that there are no plants, wild animals and even insects living in the dry desert.
It was very hard for me to see the road in the darkness. I was riding alongside the trucks side using their bright LED lights even though it was risky I made forward motion through this unforgiving desert. By the time I reached CP 3 into was well into the night and I was then on the home stretch into the finish line. I came across the Desert Warrior race car of #394 Swedish Dakar Princess Annie Seel and her co-pilot Paul Round. They had a broken gearbox and were in a very difficult situation, another 60kms of Fesh fesh lay ahead and it was getting very late.
I was told by Annie and Paul at that final CP that I was better off to take the paved road into the bivouac and accumulate the two 40 minute penalties for missing the next two waypoints rather than risk getting stuck in the desert for another night. Because I hadn’t missed any waypoints up until that point I wisely chose to heed their advice and took the smooth pavement into the bivouac on Day 5.
I set off but the GPS warning signal was screeching because I was riding too fast, it seems I was in a neutralisation zone for the next 1.6 kms, I decide to head for the next waypoint then take the paved road, it was only a short distance and the speed zone was short.
Plan worked out well, I arrived at the bivouac at 1am, grabbed a quick shower, had a medical inspection, got the next day’s roadbook the the PCS, had a bit to eat and looked at my watch, all the procedures used up two valuable rest hours, I had an hour and 50 minutes until I needed to be at the start line of day 6 of the Dakar Rally, the question was should I go to sleep or not?
Stay tuned for more about how I finished the World’s toughest motorsports event… The Dakar Rally.
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