More Monday Morning Moto News - Dakar Rememberances

The 2010 Rally Dakar is over and the scores, times and names are in the books. However, it was a huge event and there was at least one story for each competitor - if not more. So, let's take a look at some of the interesting news which came from the event and look back on the incredible race that it was.

First comes a story about the fourth Canadian to ever finish a Dakar event - Patrick Trahan. This was his third trip to the event, but first time to go all the way to the finish. That is not uncommon due to the harsh conditions and the ever-increasing risks associated with riding at this level. What a story...

http://tinyurl.com/ybl96p5

Next, of course, comes the story from the Italian Aprilia team, Team Aprilia Giofil. They had a very tough road and competed in a few other rallies before venturing to Dakar. They also put on one hell of a show at the event by winning stages and having one rider, Francisco Lopez, finish overall third. And, to make it even more interesting, this was the first Dakar ever for the Aprilia RXV 4.5 Africa.

http://tinyurl.com/ybjuhbl

A final overall race report - and it is long: http://tinyurl.com/ydmodfm

Next is the expected report on the winner of the motorcycle event, Cyril Despres: http://tinyurl.com/y9ava5c

Some great and colorful photos: http://tinyurl.com/ybewv5g

Sunday Morning Moto News - Dakar Stories for All

Well, the Rally Dakar is over now and we all know that Cyril Despres and his KTM won the event in convincing style. But, what we may not know are all of the stories around the event which ended several hours ago. First up are some stories on the victor, then there is a story about the American rider, Jonah Street. The rest of these come from various sources and will give you full coverage of the event. So, since it is Sunday, sit back and click on some links!

http://tinyurl.com/ye67crb

http://tinyurl.com/y96hycw

http://tinyurl.com/ycqhnxv

Jonah Street: http://tinyurl.com/yel8srb

Team Aprilia Giofil report: http://tinyurl.com/ye2d3cy

Saturday Morning Moto News - Dakar Winner!

This will have to be a Stage 13 and Stage 14 report as all of the news now is about the winner. Stage 13 saw the KTM 690 machines take the advantage over the Aprilia machines, with KTM's Pal-Anders Ullevalseter taking the S13 win, Cyril Despres in second and Marc Coma finishing in that order. The Aprilia team did manage a high position of fourth in S13. Lopez sat in third overall by the end of S13. In Stage 14, Despres took the stage victory, Ullevalseter took second and Francisco Lopez rounded out the podium.

These results give the overall victory to the constant leader Cyril Despres! He now has his third Dakar victory and looks to still be a threat for the next running of this historic event. It's an impressive career so far, and it only looks to be getting better. This means that Francisco Lopez has taken victory in the 450 class, but he ended up third overall in the Rally Dakar - and it was his first. Look for Lopez to be a real threat in all such rallies in the future; his Aprilia team is very capable of winning any of these events.

Stage 13 Results: http://tinyurl.com/ygzx3vh

Stage 13 Aprilia Report: http://tinyurl.com/y92o6v5

Stage 13 Video: http://tinyurl.com/yaztz6s

Stage 14 Article: http://tinyurl.com/y8qmbvb

More on the Despres victory: http://tinyurl.com/y8u8tld

Saturday Morning Moto News - Racing Reports

One important mention here is the news that Roger Lee Hayden will be riding a Kawasaki ZX-10R for Pedercini Racing in the 2010 World Superbike Championship. This means that Rog will be joining his brother Nicky on the world racing stage. It is really about time that another Hayden brother makes it to that level - they are all quite skilled at riding motorcycles.

http://tinyurl.com/ybtms6p

Now, an update or more from the Rally Dakar which began yesterday in South America. As you would expect, there is not a great deal of information on how well anyone is doing, but at least we can see how the first day started off. So, jump on over and have a read. The first link is an update on the Giofil Aprilia Racing Team from before the start, and the second link is really just another introduction to the event itself - and a bit about the first day in Argentina.

http://tinyurl.com/y9ppvhe

http://tinyurl.com/ya5mpz9

Aprilia Will Back Team Giofil’s Dakar Rally 2010

The Aprilia RXV 4.5 race bikes have already won the Rally of the Pharoahs in both 2008 and 2009. Now, with the factory support of Aprilia, Team Giofil will have a real chance at winning the Dakar Rally in 2010. Their team consists of proven racers Paolo Ceci, Gerard Farres, Francisco Lopez and Alex Zanotti. It will be an interesting race in the South American backroads next year.

http://tinyurl.com/yjfy5ub

Team Aprilia Giofil Getting Ready for 2010 Dakar Rally

They have announced their team now - Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez, Gerard Farres, Paolo Ceci and Alex Zanotti - the usual suspects for this off-road team's purposes. They will be riding the Aprilia RXV 4.5 in the event against some competitors with engines almost three times a large. But, the RXV did take victory in the 450 class at the Pharaon's Rally in Egypt. For the team, this is a dream come true!

http://tinyurl.com/yk7ynv9

Update from Pharaons Rally in Egypt - Seventh and Final Stage

Yeah, this is also late...it is increasingly tough to get English language updates from the Pharaons Rally. So, without any more excuses, here we go. Paolo Ceci has won the 450c.c. class at the rally, coming in fourth place overall against many larger machines. Francisco Lopez finished 46 seconds after Ceci and that gave him second in class; if not for an electrical gremlin back in Stage 3, he very well might have finished first overall! Alex Zanotti, who won this class last year, crashed out in Stage 4. If only we had TV coverage...

http://tinyurl.com/yjchf8x

http://tinyurl.com/ygsztvd

From Stage 6: http://tinyurl.com/yjymlog

Update from Stage 4 of the Pharaons Rally in Egypt

It seems that many of the competitors had some issues in this stage - even the solid Aprilia team has had their issues. But, rider Francisco Lopez managed to win an important test in the event - and beat the larger KTM 690 machine with his 450c.c. Aprilia in the process...

http://tinyurl.com/yloe8dv

Better Update from Egyptian Pharaons Rally

From a series of press releases comes some solid news about the Pharaons Rally running currently in Egypt. We hear more about Francisco Lopez and his troubles with his bike. Also, there is news of Alessandro Zanotti, leader Cyril Despres, Paolo Ceci and more! This is the latest news that I have found on the rally as press coverage is oddly missing from many front-line moto news sites.

http://tinyurl.com/yeaxrza

Team Aprilia to Tackle Pharaons Rally in Egypt

The Giofil Team Aprilia will run well-known rally champion Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez on their Aprilia RXV 450 Africa twin. He will ride alongside Alex Zanotti and Paolo Ceci. This is an important race for them as they are very likely to ride in the Dakar rally next year and they need to get some racing done first!

http://tinyurl.com/kjhmhw