Sidestands are both useless and unnecessary in the dunes.

The first 30 kms of the stage was very rocky initially with some bad cliffs – on edge of mountain with sheer drops of over 1000 feet and the road wasn’t any more than 8 feet wide- just wide enough to get the trucks up. Then it was some very fast gravel with huge washouts – entire sections of the road gone. 150km an hour sections and entire parts of the road missing. Then we had fech fech for about 6kms interspersed with sections of gravel and huge rocks. The last couple kms were small dunes with treacherous drops (that’s where David got hurt). Total distance for the special was 218 kms. Overall though I had a great day. My mechanic Bernie is starting to get my bike dialed in for me. Tomorrow (Stage 5) is going to be very hard … we have a 20km section of large dunes, in addition to that we have some small sections of dunes. It is going to be hot and tiring tomorrow plus we have 200kms of liason. ..Don

Don described the course as “rocks, rocks, and more rocks and we’re not talking pebbles.” The Bike had a problem with the suspension on the first stage, it didn’t have any. Bernie was able to make it a bit better at the neutralization break which allowed Don to ride the second stage. Apparently after the race Bernie was still working on the suspension at 2AM Monday, local time.

Day one of the Rally has been tough on Don’s body as well. He twisted his knee and re-injured his right hand but he says he is okay to ride tomorrow.

Don will start in 5th place in the Enduro class tomorrow (Monday).

After a grueling day in the hot sun it looks like Don has all the stamps from scrutineering to participate in the Rally tomorrow.

Bernie and the bikes finally arrived late Saturday morning after Don had his administrative scrutineering. This really put him behind with scrutineering. On top of that Don’s bike had some serious wiring problems that took over 5 hours to repair. They are hoping that they don’t have any problems tomorrow… apparently it is all related to power to the navigation equipment.

Don said it really beats up on your confidence when the bike has these kinds of issues. Wiring could cause him to be stranded in the desert.

Bikes start out tomorrow at 7am – Don is now number 242, his start time should be 8:17.

And how about Bernie and Tony the two mechanics who have been up for over 24 hours – no food – no sleep and still not finished.

However, Don’s bike has not arrived yet. Apparently the ferry that the bike and mechanic Bernie were traveling on was delayed by bad weather off the coast of spain. Bernie and the bike arrived in Tangiers around noon on Friday. They have a 14-hour trip to Zagora and then need to do final setup of the bike before Don’s scrutineering time at 07:30 Saturday. Not a lot of time!!!

They are hearing from most of the seasoned drivers and riders that the food, accommodation and wine is much better than last year.

“I’m glad to be racing again” Don says.

He was severely injured on stage 5 of the 2009 Dakar race held in Argentina in January 2009.

“I just recently got my medical clearance from the FIM – the governing body for motorcycle rally racing including the Dakar – and I am ready to get back racing”.

Don competed in the 2008 Morocco Rally successfully completing the seven day endurance event in 127th place.”

Don will be racing for England’s Patsy Quick race team aboard a KTM690. Patsy Quick is famous for being the first English woman rider to complete the grueling 14 day Paris Dakar Rally and by being featured in the TV series Race to Dakar.

Don is planning to compete in this years Dakar race starting on January 1, 2010. He will be riding a specially prepared KTM motorcycle which will be built in the show room of Duncan Motorsports, a local motorcycle dealership which Don and his wife Natalie purchased earlier this year.

“We are inviting the public to come and see Bernie my mechanic build the bike to race specifications right in the show room. For anyone interested in motorsports, not just motorcycle racing, it should be very interesting and informative”.