For those of you who have been trying to track Don on-line it has been a frustrating day, from all reports it has been far worse for Don.

Don had another bad night and day with his stomach problems but made it to the start of the special stage this morning.

However shortly into the stage Don fell victim to bad gasoline in his tank. This same problem afflicted many riders including favorite Marc Coma. Don persevered for a long time, but this stage has been described by many as one of the toughest they have ever encountered in any rally! The sand was really tough and it was incredibly hot. Don and many other riders were forced to ride in first or second gear as that was the best their engines could do on the foul gasoline.

Eventually we had word from Natalie that Don had arrived back at the Bivouac. However it seems that he and most of the other riders listed as withdrawn, had to cut the stage short, in effect disqualifying themselves from competing in the rally.

At one point Don and British rider Duncan Tweedy were visited by a Doctor on the course. Apparently Duncan had briefly passed out due to the heat, the temperature was about 45C. The Doctor told them that there were no helicopters available to evacuate them since there were so many people stuck in the Dunes. The Doctor also said “you should not go on – you will die in the dunes, but if you leave the course now, there is always next year”.

This evening in the bivouac Don is still really sick with stomach cramping and diarrhea. The only reason he is not throwing up is because he is on anti-nausea medicine.

We hope to update this report later on and say that Don gets to ride another day, but that is probably just wishful thinking.

Don, while your dream may have been cut short this year, your team and supporters are very proud of you for what you have accomplished. If you don’t get to race again in Dakar 2010, at least this year you will be healthy enough to enjoy Argentina. Thanks for the experience.

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.

The next challenge was to source engine oil and tires and mousse. Elf came through with enough oil for the race, a big thumbs up to Elf. Don managed to find some tires and mousse. However he will need to find more in order to finish the race.

Natalie reports that yesterday was a long day through scrutineering … but exhilarating at the end! The best feeling really for all of us. All the organizers we dealt with yesterday were very pleasant. The Argentines are warm people, the food has been great and the weather is picking up (raining and thunder storms for the first few days), but hot yesterday and today (Dec 31). When Don rode his bike from the Docks to downtown (about 1 1/2 hours) it was pouring.

The locals came out in full force Wednesday afternoon. Max and Natalie were left at the Dakar site and it took them ages to thread their way back to the Hotel on the street.

Natalie also reports that they have run into many familiar faces as well. Javier and Sandra who own DakarMotos in Buenos Aires and have been very helpful to Don and the team over the last two years and lots of other people from different teams that they recognize from last year or other rallies – “it’s truly wonderful”.

Don had a chat with Marc Coma as well yesterday and told him (joking of course) that now that Don had a factory bike, and Marc does not, he plans on passing Marc this year. Of course Marc found that quite funny for some reason.

Don will be in good hands again this year, as his favorite Rally doctor, Alain, is once again in attendance. Alain has attended 15 Dakars as a medic and he loves it. He told Don that he thinks the Argentina/Chile course is far more dangerous than any of the African courses have been.

Hopefully Don will not need to talk to Alain or any other medical staff before the end of the Rally. However he still has a nagging cough left over from his bout of the flu earlier this year and that will not help as the rally wears on.

The weather around Buenos Aires has been unseasonably wet so far this year, with wide ranging floods causing heavy damage. The organizers are reporting that some sections of the course will be quite muddy. At least that will give the riders a break from all the dust they encountered last year. Not that they won’t get their fair share of dust in the dessert and dunes.

Don and the team will be hosting a small New Years Party for some of the other teams and then the real fun begins.

Don is going to focus on his navigation and road book work, just like in Morocco. He says that previous rally’s have really driven home the point that you have to finish to do well, and the best way to finish is to stay on course, not get lost, and be very aware of the hazards on the course. Hopefully the results for Dakar 2010 will be just as good as in Morocco 2009.

The next challenge will be finding enough tires and mousse. Don’s supply for both fell through in December and he has been searching frantically ever since to try and buy, beg, borrow, or, well not steal, them from were ever he can. If you have some sitting in you basement give him a call.