Stage 1
Each race vehicle is given a specific start time, 30 seconds apart. There were 380 total race vehicles, I think. Our start time was 10:50 am. Our mechanics had changed the turbo out the night before.
The way this works in these rallies is that you go on the paved road for a while first. That is called the “liaison”. The reason is that to find a proper flat place big enough to set up the bivouac and to find a proper place to race, well, they aren’t always in the same place. So you start at your assigned time, run the liaison on the road at a speed limit, get to the timed dirt section called the “special”, and then start the real racing. At the end of the special, your racing time is over, and you take another liaison back to the bivouac.
If you get stuck out there or have a problem you have to fix, you get into the bivouac later, which means the mechanics have less time to work on your car, and you get less sleep. If you do not finish a stage, you are out of the race.
Stage one went great. I can drive the car; that is not a problem. This car is a turbo – a real rocketship compared to the normally aspirated car I race in Baja. It was 8 hours in the car. There were some dunes at the very end of this stage. I did great. What a relief to have the first dunes behind me!
My kidneys were really hurting from the bouncing. We were in the car for 8 hours. I forgot to wear the kidney belt I brought with me. The rest of the rally I did not forget. That night I went to the physical therapist that South Racing brought with them – yes – Dakar is no joke, and you need that some days! He fixed my back, and my kidneys were not a problem from then on.
There were 12 more days of racing ahead of me. But I tried not to think of that. I took it one moment at a time. What do we have to do next? Get this dusty racing suit off. Take a shower at the shower trailer. Eat. Get what I need ready for tomorrow. Do an interview with Ted. Post photos on Facebook. Go to sleep. Wake up 90 minutes before the start time. Eat. Get gear on. Go through the checklist. Put food in the car. (There is no lunch out there.) Get in the car. Strap in and hook up. Drive to start, find the car number that is ahead of you, and get behind it.
One stage complete.
Good.