HOT Pre-race action!!
Well, nothing is ever easy at the Dakar, especially for competitor #73 Javier Pizzolito. A short time before he was to depart the Parc Ferme his bike suddenly caught fire. Of course this added a bit of excitement to Don’s day as he was parked very close to Pizzolito and had to push his bike away before the flames spread. The fire department arrived fairly quickly and doused the flames before any other equipment was damaged. According to on-line sources the damage was fairly significant and Pizzolito will not be able to continue in this years Dakar.
Today’s stage is only a 317 km liaison to Colon, so no real racing, it just gets them out of the city and ready for tomorrow.
Don made it into Colon by about 8PM. It was hot out there and hard to get around because the crowds were plugging up many of the roads. Don’s not to impressed with the food at the Bivouac, nor the swarms of mosquitoes that have shown up thanks to the recent rains.
Don is doing his road book now (around 9PM local time) and will then head to bed as he needs to be up at 4AM for a 5AM start.
