Team Rally Raid Canada > Rally Racer Don Hatton

Don called in to Natalie from the Bivouac hospital hooked up to an IV for dehydration and anti nausea medication. He got food poisoning last night from the bivouac food – Don says a whole bunch of guys got sick. The food is absolutely disgusting! Don has had nothing to eat all day, he has been trying to get water down, but faster than he was drinking it, he was losing it one way or another!.

Doctors who remembered Don from last years Dakar were coming up to him and asking him how he was doing, and how was his wife. Natalie told Don he should have said “EL LOCO (crazy!!!) to let me do the Dakar again”.

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As we reported yesterday, Don and the bike both made it through scrutineering. There were a couple minor issues, such as whether his Olympia Jacket met the regulations or not. But by the end of the day he had gotten through and was a happy camper.

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.

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As you are all likely aware, the rally begins on January 1st.

The ASO’s online tracking system is greatly improved this year. You can track Don’s progress on the following page:

http://www.destinationdakar.com/rally-coverage/dakar-2010/rally-tracking/. You can also find it in the RALLY COVERAGE menu at the top of the page. Note that Don is #74. If you click on “Follow the stage” in the bike section, you can select a participant. Entering “74″ or “Hatton” in the search box should do the trick.

During the Rally, this site will be updated on a daily basis, with descriptions of the next days stage and (hopefully) updates from Don or Natalie if they have time and an internet connection.

Once again Don finished 5th in stage 5 but has moved up to 4th in the overall standings for the Enduro Cup Motorcycle class.

Today’s stage was very tough due to the heat and dunes. Natalie provided the following update.

It was a very long stage, there are still guys out there in the dunes. We usually have a very full house for the dinner and briefing, but tonight there were a lot of empty spaces. Teams were straggling in looking pretty tired.

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Don and Natalie made it to Zagora on October 23 after a 4 hour car ride with a manic Moroccan driver. The journey was along an extremely high, narrow winding road with no guardrails.

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. Read the rest of this entry →

Don Hatton, Cowichan Valleys own international motorcycle racer has entered the 2009 Morocco Rally set to start October 24, 2009.

“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”.

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