RallyRAIDio

Garry chats with Italian quad rider Camelia Liparoti, who shares her perspectives on the rally with us in this great(!) call.Here's the Dakar profile for Camelia:She has been thinking about it for 12 years. Her uncle,

a mechanic in her native Tuscany had her cleaning the spark plugs in

her car. “I never got dirty”, she says laughingly. “I was fascinated by

engine noise”.

It runs through Carmélia Liparoti’s veins. This petite

lady’s passion is the quad; she seeks adventure and has dreamed about

the Dakar for quite awhile.” I have covered the rally three times as a

journalist”. These elements came into focus for the photographer.

Camélia has had this challenge in the back of her mind since she

decided to return but on the other side of the lens as a competitor. “I

want to be the first woman to reach Dakar on a quad”.

Since discovering the rally she has prepared to take it

on. In the three years she has amassed experience on raid adventures on

every continent. Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, Russia,

Finland, Canada even Madagascar were all stops along the way. Colleague

and past Dakar competitor, Francis Guérand is lending Carmélia a hand.

He too ran a quad on the Dakar. He acted as a “Sherpa” over the entire

rally distance.

The Italian lady lives in Chamonix, France and at home

skiing is her first love. “Skiing… the lines and slopes are a great to

learn more about riding a quad. It’s all about sliding which is also

how you attack a valley of dunes.” Luc Alphand, her ‘Godfather, on the

Dakar wouldn’t disagree.

Aussie Christophe Barriere Varju fills us in on his race to date, and what the dust is doing to man and machine alike.Thanks Christophe, and hope to hear from you again soon!  Safe racing!Christophe is running race number 205

Garry rings in with an awesome update of the rally from the perspective of a support team member (as well as EveryMan rallye nut).  Ever wonder what goes on when a rider pulls into the pit?  Listen in.  Garry's also got a great description of how the Rally is being received in SA.Thanks, Garry!

Garry has Frans Verhoeven, former KTM factory (now Vectra teammate to Casteu) rider and winner of Stage 2, on the line.  Thanks, Frans, and continued good luck!

Aussie privateer David Schwarz calls from the Day 4 bivouac with a brief update.  A bit of nav trouble today, but still riding high in the overall order.  Keep it steady, David!

Stage 4 interview audio interview with Jonah street.  Check out eurosport.com for more of their comprehensive Dakar coverage.

Robb calls in after Jonah finishes 3rd on the day, now sitting 2nd overall after 4 stages.  Way to go, guys!

Jonah Street interviewed on Eurosport after stage 2.  Check out eurosport.com for their comprehensive coverage of the Dakar.

Team manager for Rally PanAm, Robb McElroy calls in from Puerto Madrid, a "proper Dakar bivouac" lacking the niceties of yesterday's accommodations.  Steady progress for the team today, who benefited from Coma's mechanical issues (which Robb details).Another long, hot day awaits the competitors tomorrow.Thanks, Robb!

Garry Connell rings in from the bivouac with the report of his first day "on the Dakar".  Thanks for being our roving reporter, Garry!