2009 GETS UNDERWAY

Dakar 2009 is well finished and the rest of the year starts this weekend as training and practice gets underway.

A big thank you to everyone that came to have a few beers and for some, including myself (Stan) a few more that went on to 5am, finishing with a provided bottle of Henrick's gin. Good training for the next event. mmmmmmmm

Apologies we can't reply to every message sent, but we will try and get a reply out to everyone eventually.

Today, hopefully sees the FIM jury sit again in France and Stan's penalty from the Dakar should be removed. This will be an exceptional bonus moving Stan 20 places up the final standings to 17th. Again, all will be revealed in time.

At the minute there may be a sponsored evening of questions and answers with Front Row GB and possibly Craig Bounds in the coming weeks for anyone who would like to attend. Not sure of location yet and it will be a 'free for all' with regard to bouncing information back and forth for the serious competitor, those who would like to give it a go or for general interest. If you are interested let us know and I will pass it onto the relevant parties so they can assess if it is worthwhile. There will be no cost to attendees apart from turning up.

This weekend will see us back on the KTM250 two stroke, spending a bit of time with the all new UK GAS GAS team for 2009, Rob Sartin from Talon, Steve Plain and at the minute a confirmed attendence by the UK's top enduro rider. If it happens all will be revealed by Monday.

Jon is still recoverng from his Dakar injuries and will be out of action on the dirt for a while competitively. With the first round of the British Enduro Championship starting in 3 weeks Norfolk, Stan is hunting for a late entry to start the season with everyone else.

All the best for now

FRGB

Photos from Dakar 2009

Images of Stan and Jon riding Dakar 2009 can now be viewed at http://frontrowgb.com/gallery.html

20th January 2009



The remainder of Front Row GB have today returned to the UK after the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile.

With two primary riders starting the rally, Jon Stamper unfortunately crashed heavily on Day 5 causing substantial damage to a recent injury sustained in Spain 8 weeks prior to the start of Dakar. Jon was unable to continue due to his injuries and would return early to the UK after assisting the remainder of the team to the rest day in Chile.

Stan Watt continued on his KTM690 maintaining a consistent pace but struggled with confidence in the bike for a few days after also crashing heavily on Day 5, injuring ligaments to his left knee. Towards the end of the rally, Stan started to pick up his normal pace pushing through a few days where luck wasn’t on his side and minor issues lost time throughout some stages.

Day 10 saw Stan pick up a 4 hour penalty on the final section to the bivouac where a number of riders missed a concealed waypoint. Stan’s situation differed to that of some riders who actually missed the waypoint. Stan’s bike took a 900ft drop over a sandy/rocky drop, damaging his GPS and Iritrack (amongst other items) locking the system some 100 metres from the concealed waypoint. In theory and in relation to official regulations, this is within the allocated radius to access the waypoint, the penalty was withdrawn by the motorcycle jury after 36hrs, but due to reasons yet to be confirmed was put back in place at the end of the rally, when the Team where unable to find the motorcycle officials to put in place an official protest.

There are a number of rumours why the penalty has been reinstated by the organisors but the Team are unable to confirm anything officially and are currently struggling to make contact with the official representatives now the Dakar has been completed. Stan finished 38th overall with the penalty in place and would be 21st overall if the penalty can be reversed. In addition on Day 11 Stan stopped to assist Francis Gadioux for 1hr who had sunk his KTM690 in the only ‘bog’ in Argentina. Again, with a reprieve, Stan would eventually have made it to 18th overall. All in all a disappointing state of affairs to finish the rally in 38th.

A great learning rally for the Team, we hope to get something together for Dakar 2010, which will be completely dependent on financial assistance.

We would like to apologise for the lack of communication from the Team throughout the rally due to sporadic internet access and would like to thank all those who have supported the team throughout and the fantastic messages put on the ‘blog’ , on our website and by email.

Many thanks to Jo Allen at Savvy and Victor for updating the blog throughout and all the support from sponsors and well-wishers and to Dave Marton, Gordon MacDonald and Stuart Walker who without, the bikes would never have got started never mind getting to the finish.

Commiserations to Jon but he will be back with a finish on the cards.

We will be back in action soon and maybe have some information with what will be happening in the next year. If anyone requires further information on Dakar 2009 or for that matter Front Row GB then just ask!


Best regards

Jon, Stan, Dave, Gordon and Stuart

THANKS TO ALL

Well,

We have got ourselves back to the UK after an eventual Dakar Rally. We have to say thanks to everybody for all the messages of good wishes. Unfortunately we did not have the internet access as initially thought as the Team would have been updating directly. Many thanks to Jo Allen from Savvy and Victor for stepping in with updating everyone.

We wanted to give everyone a better result to prove we can mix it with the factory boys but certain circumstances has meant we have a 4hr penalty reinstated incorrectly due to equipment failure. Just so everyone is aware there are approximately 12 factory backed riders from KTM, 6 from Yamaha, 4 from Honda and 2 from BMW.

We are back now and able to answer questions, communicate or what everyone needs from us. We would like to confirm plans for next year and the rest of 2009 but this will be down to financial assistance so may take some time coming through

We have learnt a few things to improve what we can do.

If anyone wants or needs to contact us then just ask as you know where we are.

Again, thanks to everyone who has supported us throughout, to the crew (Dave, Gordon, Stuart) and to our sponsors.

Keep in touch and we will be back in action soon

regards

Jon and Stan

AN INVITATION TO A HEROS WELCOME!!!

A local evening of welcome has been arranged for Stan on Saturday 24th January. Everyone who would like to congratulate Stan are encouraged to join in. Hear his stories (and let's face it, there will be plenty!) and down a few sociable drinks at the Milton Arms from about 7pm onwards.

VENUE
The Milton Arms (on the A354)
Dorchester hill
Winterborne Whitechurch
Blandford Forum
Dorset
DT11 0HW.
Tel: 01258 880306.

TIME
7pm (ish)

WHO?
All who can make it are welcome!

The Dakar 2009 Stage 14. The final day

Stans race ended as it began with him pushing as hard as he could to finish the day in 18th place on the stage. Another fantastic ride!

Sadly Stans revoked penatly of 4 hrs was yesterday 'un-revoked' and his final position which was 20th overall has now dropped to 38th place...

The penalty was given originally because the organisers believe Stan missed a check-point. This happened because Stans onboard computer was damaged in a crash which caused it to lock out 100metres before he reached the last check-point on Stage 13. Even though Stan went through this marker, his system didn't show it so the organisers assumed he hadn't made it and added the 4 hrs. Although the penalty was originally revoked, a subsequent complaint by another rider forced the organisers to reinstate it.

While disappointed about the penalty, Stan is delighted to have ridden The Dakar so well for his first attempt!

Stan arrives back home on Tuesday 20th with the rest of the team.... Well done to everyone for such an awesome job!!

The Dakar 2009 La Rioja - Cordoba

Yesterday was another massive day transporting the riders over 800km towards Cordoba but it was again cut short due to excessive rain fall leaving the riders with a 364km liason stage to get to the original CP4 where the racing stage of 220km began.

The open dunes and trackless terrain of the past few days have now gone leaving a sense of relief to those still in the race. On stages nine and ten alone the rally lost over 20 riders and there seems a clear agreement between competitors that this years event has been particularly brutal even with its plethora of shortened stages.

The great news yesterday for Stan was that the 4hrs time penalty announced the day before was revoked and this showed in his 23rd starting place which makes him the UK top rider!!! Today however the 4hrs seems to be back in place this means his starting position this morning was 39th. We are not sure what overall ranking is true at the moment. Suffice to say we are chasing this information now and will anounce it when we know.

Keep watching!

DAKAR 2009 STAGE 12 FIAMBALA - LA RIOJA

A special stage of 254 km through 'significant' sand dunes greeted the riders today followed by a 261km liason section to reach the bivouac

Disapointment for Stan....
After Stans 4 hour penalty on stage 13 he is now riding to finish the race having lost all possibility of achieving his top 20 goal. A steady ride today brought him home in 55th position and placed him 41st overall.

News from the bivouac regarding the penalty.... 'It seems there was a hidden waypoint just before the finish. A lot of people didn't get it, and they were not allowed to return to find it once passed over the finish line (that's when most of them heard about it). This waypoint was somewhere on top of a big dune we believe.' Thanks to Dave Lomax from Adventure Spec for the info.

Dakar 2009 - Stage 11: Copiapo - Fiambala

Yesterday’s special stage was cancelled. As the weather forcast announced heavy fog on the whole route of the stage and as the timing of the stage cannot be altered due to the crossing of the Andes and the crossing of the border between Chile and Argentina, the organizers decided to cancel the portion of stage 11 between Copiapo and Fiambala that should have been against the clock. The participants will be getting to the Fiambala bivouac in liaison starting at 8:00 AM today.

If you feel the need for some speed - and some almightly crashes! Take a look at all the videos of all the Dakar 2009 stages so far here....

http://frontrowgb.com/home.html

Dakar 2009 Stage 10 Copiapo - Copiapo

Yesterday was the longest stage of the Rally and a great opportunity to make up time over weaker or slower riders. Most teams were looking at it as the crux of the rally (barring mechanical issues).

Stan shot off the line after a 2 hour delayed start due to fog and soon showed he was in racing form racing form by an unbelieveably metioric rise through the field as the day wore on.

1. Start 40th
2. Km 87.0 29th
3. Km 178.0 27th
4. Km 222.0 24th
5. Km 463.0 19th
6. Km 530.0 17th
7. Km 607.0 16th
8. Finish 26th

Infuriatingly he clearly suffered some issues in the last 70km dune section. Whether that was physical, mechanical, or navigational we have yet to find out but those last 70km cost Stan a hard won 30 min buffer between him and Mick Extance.

Knowing Stan there will a be a lot more 'trying harder' going on today.

Check out the link below for Stans regular call into team sponsor Adventure-Spec. Once on the page click onto Frontrow GB on the right side to access Stans messages.

http://www.adventure-spec.com/rallyraidio/index.html

STAGE 9 - LA SERERNA TO COPIAPO DAKAR 09

88km of non-competitive section today led to 449km of tough riding through 500m dunes, rocks, feche feche, winding tracks and some dodgy road books to add to the confusion!

Stan fought a steady battle gaining and losing as the long day went on, as high as 28th at one point his final placing of 41st left him at 23rd overall and in a commanding position for the hardest day of the event tomorrow.

Sadly the day saw Stan lose more time to Mick Extance who is now 36 mins ahead and only time will tell if Stan has the pace to pull the time back and become the fastest UK rider...

Visit us later to check his progess!

Stage 8 - Valparasio to La Serena

Yesterday a 245km liasion stage led into a 294km special through winding gravel tracks and then onwards 113km to La Serena, the start of the Atacama desert stages.

In every Dakar there are a series of consecutive days designed to physically and mentally batter riders into submission. During this part of the race as many as 30% of the field often retire. Over the next two days 1000km of racing with almost no liason stages will enter the riders into that phase.

Stans steady pace yesterday holding his 25th position is a wise tactical move as he nurses his damaged knee and shores up his strength reserves for the ordeal ahead.

Today and tomorrow the racing will separate the mere men from the racers! Watch carefully!

Stage 7 - From Argentina into Chili

Yesterday was a long route, 816KM in all, stretching from Mendoza in Argentina, through Cordillera of the Andes, to the Chilian coast and Valparaiso on the Pacific Ocean for a much needed day of rest today.


Valparaiso seems to be a very colourful place to rest up, take a look at a few photographs of the town from motorsport photo journalist Judith Tomaselli here... http://www.dakar.com/2009/DAK/LIVE/us/-100/r7_9-carnet-de-route.html#wrap

Stan's race yesterday, was once again, a steady one, he finally rode in 47th which gives him an overall placing of 25. Stage 8 begins on Sunday 11th.

Stage 6 - late start. Dakar 2009

Yesterday started with some unusual news...

Following a disaterous Stage 5 on Wednesday - 171 bikes started the 505km of timed stage, a mixture of tracks, no tracks, and big sand dunes left the field decimated with only 129 finishers out of 158 starters which resulted in the organisors annulling the whole days efforts. Stage 6 start was delayed by 3 hours to let riders who had failed to reach the time cut off the previous day rejoin the rally.

As if that wasnt enough flash floods further up the track made the days route impossible as a river became impassible and the planned 624km of the day became a much shorter 178km!

Stan made the decision yesterday to ride a steady race, he had a few bangs and knocks in the days previous and felt the need for a little strategic recovery in preparation for a push in the second half on the race. He rode in 39th maintaining a very healthy 22 place overall. Let us see how plays it today.

A day of mixed emotions for the team at Dakar 2009

Yesterday was a day of mixed emotions for the team. Stan had a good race, he rode aggresively to start with placing him 18th for the middle third of the distance, thereafter, and much to team Coach Derrick Edmondson's relief he settled down for the second half into the early 20s, and finally arrived at the finish in 26th, this places him 21st overall - A Great Result! Jon unfortunaly had an accident soon after CP1, he was picked up by the organisers and is OK, only a potential cracked collarbone and a little beaten up, the bike we fear, has come off slightly worse, we will update with more information when it comes in, suffice to say, for now, it seems the race is over for Jon.

Today sees the beginning of Stage 6. It will be a challenging day starting with sixty Kilometres of dunes, an easier middle section punctuated, however, with a wide ford that has to be crossed, thereafter it's into the foot hills of the Andes mountain range for the final stretch.

You can read about the full route in detail here: http://www.dakar.com/2009/DAK/presentation/us/r3_5-le-parcours.html

Team mentions

For all who are interested Stan had good a mention here at marker: 6.29
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/video/05012009/58/dakar-mag-stage-2-2-3.html
Videos are updated resonable regularly so keep an eye on the page...

Anyone who has seen or heard Jon, Stan or the team mentioned anywhere at all, please feel free to upload here or let me know where to find the piece. Many thanks!

Breaking News - Update on Stan's race yesterday

He rode a great race... and had time to help out another rider.

After running really well to CP1 Stancame across a seriously injured rider down towards the end of the secondhalf of the stage. Stan is medically trained and stopped to support and give
first aid to the rider until full medical support arrived. He dropped an
estimated 45 mins (his estimate) and was personally thanked for his actions
by Etienne who promised to look at his Iritrack and see about giving him his
lost time back.

If it was 45 mins as Stan predicted that would place him about 18th and make
a typical rally profile for Stan who usually starts slowly and rises up the
leader board as the days get longer and harder...He managed a 3rd place on
the Optic 2000 this year, I doubt we'll see a top 3 place on the 2009 Dakar
but a top 10 is not out of the question.'

A tough day for the guys

Todays stage at The Dakar Rally in South America seems to have been a tough one for both our riders. For the first time since the beginning of the rally Stan rode in outside the top 30 at 78, and Jon dropped back from his stirling effort yesterday to ride in 133rd. We don't know yet why the guys had a hard race today, but of course we will fill you in when we get the details.

Good Luck For Tomorrow Guys! Check out the full results and follow live tracking at http://www.dakar.com

Jon cuts his stage position by half!

Stage 3 of the Dakar Rally and Jon finished 77th, compare that to yesterdays 157th position and we can only imagine the effort that went into this ride today, this now puts him 102nd overall!
Stan is riding fantastically well, coming in 27th again today, so maintaining his overall 23rd position!

As always, well done to both riders!



Please do add encouraging comments for the riders below, given the opportunity, they will be checking into the blog to tell you the latest news and gossip from the desert.

For full results in detail go to http://www.dakar.com/2009/DAK/LIVE/us/300/classement/CGM.html

STAGE 2 - STAN RUNNING 23 OVERALL !

4th January 2008

Stan had a great race at Dakar 2009 today picking off two riders in front which brings him in 27th for this stage and making him 23rd overall!

Jon has also completed Stage 2 and is currently riding 127 overall!



Well done to both riders!

Check out their full results here: http://www.frontrowgb.com/results.html

Frontrow GB get of to a good start at Dakar 2009

Although Stan seemed to have a shaky beginning before Check Point 1, he soon regained he stance and came in a very admirable 29 position at the end of this first stage of the Dakar Rally.


Both Stan and Jon rode an excellent race today coming in 29th and 119th respectively.




Hopefully both riders are catching up on a bit of sleep now and are dreaming about how they can gradually pick off each rider in front! Fingers Crossed!

Check out their full results here: http://frontrowgb.com/results.html

Dakar 2009 Argentina - Chile begins!

Stan and John set off this morning at the beginning of Dakar 2009! Starting in Argentina, the course will take them through Chili and back to Argentina on this 15 stage endurance race.

















Check out the 1st Stage 733.0 km route here: http://www.dakar.com/2009/DAK/LIVE/us/100/r7_5-parcours.html

For live tracking go to: http://tracking.dakar.com/ASO/index_us.html