Don’s position throughout the stages of this years rally was very consistent. 

In Stage 1, Don placed 2nd among the motorcycles in the Enduro Cup. In stage two, Don slipped back to 4th, after suffering from heat stroke and having to stop and cool down midway through the stage. In stage three, Don again placed 4th, but was just eight minutes behind 2nd place finisher Lambert Wery. In stage four, Don managed a third place finish and moved him up to 3rd place overall. Don finished stage five in 5th place after being assessed a two-hour penalty, moving him down to 4th overall. In the sixth and final stage, Don once again placed 4th, just seven minutes behind Wery’s 3rd place finish. Overall at the end of the Rally, Don finished 4th overall.

Don provided the following overall summary of the rally.

The KTM 690 Enduro was definitely the wrong choice in bikes for this rally and I had to ride the wheels off it to place as high as I did. I can tell you I was longing for my dakar bike, as it would have been in its element on this course. The 690 Enduro is a good bike, but the thing that most people don’t know about it is that in order to get a lower seat height on it, they simply cut back on the suspension travel 25% to only 8 – 9 inches of stroke.

My navigation went very well. I was a little caught off guard by the heat in stage 2 however after a short rest in the desert I recovered enough to finish well that day. After that I wore a few less items of clothing.

I did not have any trouble in the large Dunes on stage 3 and was pleased that I was able to navigate my way through over 20 kms of Dunes successfully. I did make a couple of minor navigation errors but nothing serious.

Well next stop Dakar!

Don felt really good on stage 4, yesterdays set back was definitely heat stroke but he had fully recovered before the start of today’s stage.

The KTM 690 Enduro performed well on today’s stage, while riding a totally stock bike is not ideal for the kind of terrain in Morocco, Don is coming to terms with it and feeling more comfortable as the rally progresses.

The terrain today was a fast track but with lots of rocks and treacherous sections. The organizers were warning riders at the start that the route was very dangerous with lots of holes that were not marked on the road book.

Unfortunately it looks like another of Don’s teammates, David Dickinson of Great Britain, may be out of the rally. It appears that David completed stage 4 but later in the day was undergoing medical treatment and awaiting X-rays for a possible broken sternum. Another of Don’s teammates, the only other Canadian in the rally, Rick Hatswell of Vancouver, dropped out in stage 2 with a broken leg.

Hopefully Don can avoid a major injury in the next 2 stages and complete his second Rally of Morocco. Good luck in stage 5 Don!

You have to make your own shade in the middle of a desert

Don finished 5th in Stage 3 today and is sitting 5th overall in the Enduro class.

He reports Stage 3 had heavy dunes and was very hot. Don had a little problem with overheating (himself, not the bike) and had to pull over at one stage to hide in the shade of the bike while he stripped down, had a drink, and ate something.

Several other riders were forced to drop out of the rally today due to the heat and several had trouble with navigation and got lost for a while.

Natalie says she was watching and they were coming in to the finish from all over the place. She also saw a helicopter bringing in a broken bike around mid day but doesn’t have any additional information.

Don has been updating his road book for stage 4 and says it looks like it is back to rocks tomorrow. Even the top riders are saying tomorrow is going to be a hard day.

Good luck on stage 4 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.