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 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!

Today didn’t start out too well for everyone here in Morocco as two of the ERT technicians were killed and three of the organization officials were seriously injured in a car accident en route to the start of the special. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families and co-workers who must now carry on without them.

Now to today’s stage —>

As a result of the accident we had a two hour delay which was really tough as we were sitting in the hot sun with no shade at all. The course today was very very rocky, in fact, every single member of our team did not like it. The 690 KTM enduro that I am riding is definitely not suited for this kind of terrain – the suspension is absolutely stock so it cannot absorb the kind of impact the bike is receiving…so it is very difficult to ride. My body is taking a huge pounding, particularly my injured hand. On the positive side I went from last place to 5th place on Stage 1 and today I only dropped 1 place. Given how hard I was fighting the bike, I am pretty happy with that, in fact just happy to have finished today. The rest of the team had their own issues. David Dickinson (from UK) had an encounter with a rock that resulted in a big crash – he damaged his bike pretty good and will have some nice bruises tomorrow, but other than that he is ok. The same cannot be said for Rick Hatswell of Vancouver. I visited him in the medical center tonight and he showed me his xrays. It looks like a very bad break in his leg. He seems to be in good spirits…last I saw him he was trying to convince the medical staff to allow him a beer which they declined. Justin Carter (UK) is fighting the flu and feels pretty rough tonight. Tomorrow we encounter sand and sand dunes. I am hoping that the KTM will perform better in that terrain.

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.

This years Shamrock Rally of Morocco has a record number of participants, 190, including 49 motorcycles. Don is lucky #14. For a complete list of entrants click here.

One of the biggest challenges in any rally is navigation including reading and updating the road book. Just ask Don about his 2009 Dakar experience. For a glimpse of what a road book looks like, and the multitude of symbols they can contain, click here.

Here’s a promotional video of the rally from NPO.

If you want more information on the Morocco Rally go to the NPO Website.

“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”.