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French rider Richard Sainct brings homes BMW's fifth Dakar victory on an F 650. Andrea Mayer wins the ladies' motorcycle category.
It was all champagne and big smiles in the BMW Enduro Motorcycle Team at the finish line on Lac Rose in Dakar on the afternoon of 17 January 1999: "One of my greatest dreams has come true", beamed Richard Sainct in the capital of Senegal after his triumph in the motorcycle category of the 21st Granada-Dakar Rally. In 18 of the toughest days imaginable over a distance of 9,000 kilometres, 28-year-old Richard Sainct from the French town of St. Affrique, riding a BMW F 650 after only being hired by BMW for the Rally in September 1998, kept his lead over the overwhelming majority of KTM works machines, reaching the finish line 4:09 minutes ahead of his fellow-countryman Thierry Magnaldi (KTM) and writing a new chapter in the history of BMW motorcycle sport.
Following previous BMW wins by Hubert Auriol in 1981 and 1983, and Gaston Rahier in 1984 and 1985, this is the fifth win for a BMW rider in this toughest long-distance race in the world.
Thirty-one-year-old Andrea Mayer from the south German town of Kaufbeuren was also ecstatic at the end of the race, clinching the ladies' title the second time after 1996 and bringing home a more than respectable 32nd place among the 161 motorcycle riders who entered the race in Granada, only 54 of whom finally reached the finish line.
With Spanish rider Oscar Gallardo finishing 9th and French rider Jean Brucy in 20th place, BMW's entire four-rider team reached Dakar in good shape and made their appearance this year an outstanding triumph in every respect.
"In hindsight this is the most wonderful gift for the 75th anniversary of BMW motorcycles we celebrated last year", states Dr Michael Ganal, the Managing Director of the Motorcycle Division of BMW AG, one of the first to congratulate the successful riders in Dakar.
"I want to thank all the people who helped me so much", said Richard Sainct, "in particular BMW for providing such a perfect motorcycle, the F 650. My thanks also go to my team-mates Oscar and Jean for their wonderful support and of course to all our mechanics, the engineers."
Willi Rampf, BMW's Enduro Racing Project Manager, was likewise full of praise: "Our riders, the entire team, really put up a wonderful show and deserve the success they have achieved. Considering that this was only our second try, the result is truly sensational. What makes me particularly happy is that our motorcycles really showed how competitive they are despite the toughest competition."
Whether on rocky terrain or racing through the fesh fesh, the extremely fine and treacherous powder sand in the Sahara, the BMW F 650 with its 75-bhp 650-cc single-cylinder power unit proved its optimum performance all the way. Prepared by Richard Schalber GmbH with technical support from BMW, the machines were really built for winning, with dry weight of 168 kg and a top speed of 180 km/h. The rally version is based on the F 650 funduro launched in 1993, which already looks back at a production run of more than 50,000 units.
Outstanding riders, a highly competitive motorcycle and an exemplary team spirit were the vital factors for success allowing the machines from Munich to dominate the scene from the start, leading the overall category all the way from the fourth leg of the race to the finish line in Dakar.
Initially 33-year-old Oscar Gallardo took over the lead on the fourth leg, with great support from team-mate Jean Brucy (36), who gave his Spanish colleague the rear wheel of his BMW after a defect, enabling him to win that stage of the race. Finishing second, Richard Sainct even put BMW in the top two positions, where the team remained until the 7th leg. Then Gallardo suffered a stroke of bad luck, a defective battery forcing him to spend a long time waiting in the desert and pushing him far back in the overall ranking. Sainct took over the lead and remained on top until the end thanks to a combination of clever tactics and concentrated, skillful riding.
Andrea Mayer reached Dakar exhausted but full of joy. "This year was even tougher than last time", after her admirable performance. In the prologue her motorcycle had sunk into a water hole, forcing her to push it all the way to the finish line and putting her in last place. But then, going all-out to catch up with the competition, she quickly moved ahead, only to suffer another stroke of bad luck when taking a severe fall one-third into the race, big bruises "adorning" her eyes. Suffering from two sprained neck vertebrae, she remained in great pain for the rest of the race, but she bravely kept on going and finally was the only lady rider to reach the finish line in Dakar.
"I'm proud of the team and the wonderful spirit everybody showed. Every member of the team was there to help the others", stated Team Manager Richard Schalber. He was also quick to comfort Oscar Gallardo: "Without that bad luck with his battery Oscar might have won the race." Referring with the same respect to Brucy, Schalber added that "Jean is a wonderful rider. He's absolutely unselfish and the best trouble-shooter in the desert, since he's a perfect motorcycle mechanic himself."
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Final results of
the 21st Granada-Dakar Rally 1999, motorcycle
category:
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1.
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Richard Sainct
(France) BMW Overall
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58:44:59
hrs
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2.
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Thierry Magnaldi
(France) KTM
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00:04:09
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3.
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Alfie Cox (S.A.)
KTM
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00:41:19
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4.
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Jordi Arcaraons
(Spain) KTM
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01:24:42
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5.
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Carlos Sotelo
(Spain) Yamaha
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03:21:18
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9.
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Oscar Gallardo
(Spain) BMW
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05:30:36
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20.
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Jean Brucy (France)
BMW
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11:45:53
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32.
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Andrea Mayer (Ger)
BMW
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21:13:43
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