BMW G 450 X and José Manuel Pellicer win the Africa Race rally
by Andy Dukes
Although security fears led to the cancellation of last year's Dakar
Rally and its subsequent transfer to South America for 2009, a number
of rally riders and drivers ignored potential terrorist threats and
braved the Saharan Desert to participate in this `Africa Race' rally,
organised by former BMW Dakar Rally champion Hubert Auriol. Spanish
rider José Manuel Pellicer was one of those who opted for the Africa
Race, which started in Marseille on 28 December and finished on 11
January in Senegal.
The rider from Benicarló in the Castellón province managed to
cross the finish line with his BMW in first place in ten out of 12 stages of
this competition. Furthermore, he not only has managed to dominate the race
from beginning to end, but he was also the fastest participant on many of the
stages, beating even the best times of some of the car drivers!
Despite the toughness of the opening trails, as well as having to lead
the navigation though the African wilderness, José Manuel Pellicer's
professionalism and outstanding riding ability shone through, as did
the flawless performance of his BMW G 450 X. His excellent result was
the first time that a 450cc motorcycle has won a rally raid in Africa,
and what's even more remarkable is that his G 450 X BMW didn't even need
a single part replacing throughout the rally's duration. All that was
required was an oil change and filter cleaning.
"We had brought a spare engine with us and had planned to change it
during the rest day, which is something that is usually done in these
kind of raids," said José Manuel. "But when we realised that the one we
were using was in perfect condition, we decided to continue with the
same engine until the end of the race."
 title="José Manuel Pellicer and his BMW G450X at the Africa Race">
José Manuel Pellicer and his BMW G450X at the Africa Race
For BMW this achievement signals the first victory in a raid since 2000,
when BMW Motorrad Motorsport won the Dakar Rally with Richard Sainct the
victor and Óscar Gallardo finishing in second position on the
factory F 650 RR. In 2001 BMW also took part in this competition with the
twin GS - where the late great John Deacon finished in sixth place on the
R 900 RR and Andrea Meyer won the `Ladies Cup' on an F 650 RR - but
between then and Pellicer's recent African success, no other BMW has won
a raid.
"I have so many interesting stories from this Africa Race," said
José Manuel Pellicer. "For instance, the BMW motorcycle I was
riding was so fast that once I arrived at the end of the stage before
anybody had even set the finish line up! I was timed from the helicopter
and I had to wait on my own in the desert for one hour before anybody
arrived!"
José Manuel Pellicer managed to win nearly all the stages of the
rally, with just two exceptions. One involved a harmless crash; the
other - which took place during the final stage, near the Lac Rose - saw
him stop to help French rider Olivier Le Cocq, who'd had a severe
accident.
BMW Motorrad Spain was understandably delighted with José Manuel's
results in this Africa Race, especially after having provided him with
sponsorship and technical assistance in preparation for this rally raid.
With very little time to prepare a G 450 X for the rally, BMW Motorrad
Spain pulled out all the stops to help prepare the bike for the
competition. Fortunately, it only needed a few modifications, such as
front and rear fuel tanks, a support platform for the navigation devices,
a rubber device in the rear wheel to soften the acceleration, a modified
hlins suspension. d
The finished bike, which remained close to the series production model,
took a delighted José Manuel Pellicer to the victory: "I was very
surprised by the capability of the BMW G 450 X and I'm sure this motorcycle
will leave a legacy," he said.
 title="José Manuel Pellicer and his BMW G450X at the Africa Race">
This feature originally appeared in February 2009 - Updated: 03/07/09
|
Updated on: 03/07/09 at 18:46 CST
|
