Happy Race Day!!

And Happy New Years!

I just got off the phone with Steve. He is winding down for the night getting ready for the Rally to start! Today was scrutineering for the competitors, which is the Rally's version of technical inspection. Both other times Steve has participated in Dakar this day has been 8+ hours long filled with being told what you did wrong and how many hours you have to fix it. There are normally a lot of last minute changes to bikes, gear, or anything else you can think of. Well, apparently things are a little different when you are not a privateer, because Steve was through scruntineering in two hours today!

On the way to the inspection Steve and Eliseo drove in the Hummer for the first time. He said everything went great, and is looking forward to learning the ins and outs of the Hummer. Lucky for him, he has about 6,000 miles to be able to do this!

Tomorrow he and Eliseo will leave the podium at about 5pm their time, which is noon on the west coast. They will drive through a HUGE sea of people and go through the first day with no special (timed section). He is hoping to be done with the day at about 10pm, get a good night's rest, and then start day 2 around noon. On day four, Steve and Eliseo are scheduled to meet the president of Chile! One of the bonuses of having a Chilean teammate :) Steve said that the Chilean fans are going crazy whenever they see Eliseo or the Hummer! He can't imagine how much more intense it will get when they are actually in Chile!

There are recent pictures and videos on www.planetrobby.com. Also, check out www.toyotires.com to read a blog from one of the support crew, and see pictures! Well, that's all for tonight! I will report back with how Steve's first day went tomorrow.

Happy New Year!
Alison