|
Red Bull/KTM Andy Grider Blazes in the Moroccan Desert
Benj Tadjite , Morocco - (January 2, 2006)
 |
| Andy Grider Finishes in Second Place for Stage 3. |
|
|
Baja Racing Champion Andy Grider began the 2005 off road racing season with a dominating win at the first race of the season in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. Grider teamed with fellow Dakar participant, Chris Blais, to beat the Honda Red Riders hands down in what many described as a 250-mile sprint through some of the Baja Peninsula’s toughest terrain.
Held each year on the azure blue water shores of the Sea of Cortez, the SCORE Tecate San Felipe 250 is regarded by many off road racers as their favorite race of the season. The quaint village of San Felipe, Baja California is situated on the normally calm Sea of Cortez and offers a variety of terrains for off road racers.
Grider rode his KTM motorcycle to an important victory signaling to the world of off road racing that the Honda Red Rider factory team in fact could be beat. However, for Andy Grider, the San Felipe 250 and the rest of the SCORE Tecate Desert Series races were all in preparation for this year’s Dakar Rally where he would face his most difficult challenges in his storied off road racing career.
Fast-forward to January 1, 2006. From the shores of the Sea of Cortez, to the mountains of Portugal, and now onto the sands of Africa, Andy Grider has embarked on an adventure that will test the fortitude of man and machine against Mother Earth. With only three stages completed, Grider seems to have found his groove as he rode his KTM 660 LC4 to near perfection finishing in second position to Red Bull KTM teammate, Australian Andy Caldecott in the third stage of this 15-stage race. This is Grider’s first podium finish in a Dakar Rally stage and his performance moves him into 8th position overall trailing leader, Frenchmen Cyril Despres, by a mere six minutes.
News of Grider’s performance was felt like shockwaves throughout the off road racing community as phone calls and emails flew back and forth announcing Grider’s tremendous performance. And this race has just begun.
This first African stage of the rally was also the first African stage of his career as the quiet racing champion asserted, “Everything was new for me. Our Manager Joe Barker has trained us in many tests in the American deserts, but this land is completely different. Every time you learn something, you can feel more and more confident. I enjoyed the stage, and was under control. I started fast this morning. Rapidly the landscape changed. Suddenly, I felt completely alone in the middle of the desert. But I also felt comfortable and I opened the gas. In a few minutes I noticed far over there a cloud of dust. I forced and then I reached Andy (Caldecott). We drove together until the end of the special test, and there we discovered we were first and second.”
Seven of the top nine motorcycle racers are riding KTM bikes as they push forward to capture one of the most challenging off road racing rewards in history, the Dakar Rally Championship. Stage 4 will see the American Red Bull/KTM rider, Andy Grider, navigate and conquer the first of the many African sand dunes in his quest for the Dakar Rally Championship.
About Andy Grider:
ANDY GRIDER
Residence: Los Olivos, California
Website: http://www.griderracing.com
Born: July 28, 1974
Santa Ynez Valley High School, Santa Ynez, CA
Andy has been racing dirt bikes since 1983. Won two AMA National Motocross. Moved into Supercross for three years. Retired from racing in 1994. Came out of retirement in 1999 for the Vegas to Reno race with Quinn Cody. Decided to return to off-road racing in 2000 and won the Four-Stroke title in the AMA Hare and Hound series.
2006 KTM RED BULL U.S.A. DAKAR RALLY TEAM MEMBER
2005 4 th Place Best in the Desert Nevada 1000 2005 4 th Place SCORE Baja 500 2005 1 st Place SCORE San Felipe 250 2004 2 nd Place SCORE Baja 1000 2003 2 nd Place SCORE Baja 1000
2002 1 st Place SCORE Baja 1000
Featured in Dana Brown’s documentary movie of the SCORE 2003 Baja 1000, Dust to Glory.
STAGE 3 RESULTS:
|
Time |
Gap to 1st |
Penalties |
1. |
10 |
Andy Caldecott |
AUS |
KTM 661 Rallye |
Red Bull KTM |
3:21:11 |
0:00:00 |
|
2. |
23 |
Andy Grider |
USA |
KTM 660 LC4 |
Red Bull KTM |
3:24:15 |
0:03:04 |
|
3. |
1 |
Cyril Despres |
F |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Gauloises KTM France |
3:24:17 |
0:03:06 |
|
4. |
4 |
Carlo De Gavardo |
RCH |
KTM 660 |
KTM Repsol - Red Bull |
3:24:38 |
0:03:27 |
|
5. |
179 |
Jose Manuel Pellicer |
E |
-- |
Burn |
3:25:22 |
0:04:11 |
|
6. |
2 |
Marc Coma |
E |
KTM 660 Rallye |
KTM Repsol - Red Bull |
3:26:56 |
0:05:45 |
|
7. |
128 |
Rodrigo Amaral |
P |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Sical Adventure Team |
3:27:39 |
0:06:28 |
|
8. |
95 |
Xacob Agra Carrera |
E |
Yamaha |
Yamaha Espana |
3:27:57 |
0:06:46 |
|
9. |
9 |
Chris Blais |
USA |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Red Bull KTM |
3:28:06 |
0:06:55 |
|
10. |
5 |
Pal Anders Ullevalseter |
N |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Scandinavia |
3:28:19 |
0:07:08 |
|
11. |
11 |
Michel Gau |
F |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Gauloises KTM France |
3:28:53 |
0:07:42 |
|
12. |
12 |
David Fretigne |
F |
Yamaha WR450F 2-Trac |
Yamaha Motor France/Ipo |
3:29:11 |
0:08:00 |
|
13. |
14 |
Alain Duclos |
F |
KTM |
KTM - Toni - Togo |
3:29:38 |
0:08:27 |
|
14. |
6 |
Giovanni Sala |
I |
KTM 660 Rallye |
KTM Repsol - Red Bull |
3:29:50 |
0:08:39 |
|
15. |
60 |
Jaroslav Katrinak |
SLO |
KTM |
MOL Dakar Team |
3:30:10 |
0:08:59 |
|
16. |
39 |
Victor Rivera |
E |
KTM 660 Rallye |
-- |
3:30:27 |
0:09:16 |
|
17. |
8 |
David Casteu |
F |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Gauloises KTM France |
3:30:39 |
0:09:28 |
|
18. |
42 |
Jonah Street |
USA |
KTM |
Rally Pan America |
3:30:55 |
0:09:44 |
|
19. |
15 |
Frans Verhoeven |
NL |
Yamaha WR450F 2-Trac |
Yamaha NL Dakar Team |
3:31:33 |
0:10:22 |
|
OVERALL MOTOS AFTER STAGE 3:
|
Nat |
Make/Model |
Team |
Time |
Gap to 1st |
Penalties |
1. |
1 |
Cyril Despres |
F |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Gauloises KTM France |
6:03:12 |
0:00:00 |
|
2. |
2 |
Marc Coma |
E |
KTM 660 Rallye |
KTM Repsol - Red Bull |
6:04:28 |
0:01:16 |
|
3. |
179 |
Jose Manuel Pellicer |
E |
-- |
Burn |
6:04:51 |
0:01:39 |
|
4. |
10 |
Andy Caldecott |
AUS |
KTM 661 Rallye |
Red Bull KTM |
6:06:53 |
0:03:41 |
2:00 |
5. |
4 |
Carlo De Gavardo |
RCH |
KTM 660 |
KTM Repsol - Red Bull |
6:06:53 |
0:03:41 |
|
6. |
8 |
David Casteu |
F |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Gauloises KTM France |
6:08:50 |
0:05:38 |
|
7. |
12 |
David Fretigne |
F |
Yamaha WR450F 2-Trac |
Yamaha Motor France/Ipo |
6:09:01 |
0:05:49 |
|
8. |
23 |
Andy Grider |
USA |
KTM 660 LC4 |
Red Bull KTM |
6:09:12 |
0:06:00 |
|
9. |
3 |
Isidre Esteve Pujol |
E |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Gauloises KTM France |
6:09:47 |
0:06:35 |
|
10. |
95 |
Xacob Agra Carrera |
E |
Yamaha |
Yamaha Espana |
6:10:33 |
0:07:21 |
|
11. |
14 |
Alain Duclos |
F |
KTM |
KTM - Toni - Togo |
6:12:29 |
0:09:17 |
|
12. |
128 |
Rodrigo Amaral |
P |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Sical Adventure Team |
6:13:23 |
0:10:11 |
|
13. |
9 |
Chris Blais |
USA |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Red Bull KTM |
6:13:35 |
0:10:23 |
|
14. |
42 |
Jonah Street |
USA |
KTM |
Rally Pan America |
6:15:01 |
0:11:49 |
|
15. |
11 |
Michel Gau |
F |
KTM 660 Rallye |
Gauloises KTM France |
6:15:13 |
0:12:01 |
|
KTM Dakar Rally Logistical Challenges:
The mountain of equipment to be transported includes 15,000 kg maintenance material, 6,000 kg spare parts, 1,800 kg luggage for riders and mechanics, including tents and sleeping bags, replacement material for the race- and transport vehicles and accompanying Jeeps, electric generators, welding units, tool kits and complete independent repair and service facilities. In addition, as a contingency plan in the event of transport being delayed or disabled, another 2 tons of selected spare parts are also air freighted. In total, KTM will be transporting between 36-38 tons of equipment and supplies. The KTM Dakar Machine will be underway with 3 x 3 axle and 2 x 2 axle all wheel drive trucks with a maximum cross country capacity as well as 2 x 3 axle all wheel drive race trucks and six Nissan Patrol all wheel vehicles, each carrying enough spare parts so that service work can begin in the event of the late arrival of a truck. In addition, all service vehicles must adhere to the race regulation’s strict safety standards with roll bars, bucket seats, four point safety belts, additional tanks for a reach of 1000km, fire extinguishers and emergency equipment such as satellite phones and state-of-the-art navigation equipment. All KTM vehicles for the Dakar rally feature specially modified chassis to ensure they can handle the additional loads and the rigorous journey they must undertake
|
|
