From today all new content will be added here

New Blog

Anyway her is some videos of FJ Cruisers in the Baja FJ Baja

SO far this is the only one I have found. Maybe I will have to try and scan some old pictures in.

NEWS RELEASE ASO

On the occasion of the official presentation that was held late in the afternoon at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris, Patrice Clerc, President of Amaury Sport Organisation and Étienne Lavigne, director of the Dakar, have unveiled the main lines of the course of the next edition in the presence of Carlos Enrique Meyer, Argentina's State Secretary for Tourism and of Jaime Pizarro Herrera, State Secretary for Sports of Chile. Returning from a series of reconnaissance taking place in both countries of South America that will be welcoming the Dakar for the first time, Étienne Lavigne gave out some information on the event that will take place from the 3rd to the 18th of January 2009.

On the vast Argentinean and Chilean territories, a large loop of 9 000 kilometres including around 6,000 kilometres of specials, will have to be covered by the competitors to reach Buenos Aires, start and finish place of the race. By first of all heading south towards the landscapes of Patagonia, the drivers and riders will then have to cross the Andes Mountains before enjoying a rest day at Valparaiso on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The return trip will then take them to the Atacama Desert and notably to the Argentinean provinces of Catamarca, of Rioja and of Cordoba.

The Dakar that has a vocation to discover unknown territories for off-road rally amateurs will cross over the Atlantic Ocean for its 2009 edition. The calendar has therefore been adapted in order to allow the shipping of the vehicles to Argentina's capital: a first phase of technical and administrative scrutineering will take place on the 26th and 27th of November at Le Havre where the European vehicles will be boarded on ships. The organisers of the rally have announced the opening of the period to send registration files as of the 15th of May. During a month, the competitors that had registered for the 2008 edition of the Dakar will benefit from a priority.

An extreme adventure between two oceans

The Dakar 2009 is off to discover a new continent, South America that offers unlimited possibilities to amateurs of wide open spaces. The round trip to Buenos Aires, via Valparaiso is a challenge in which the most enduring competitors will find their way and have the opportunity to distinguish themselves. With close to 6,000 kilometres of specials and difficulties scattered on the whole course, the battle for the title will remain wide open until the finish.

CHILE

Higher, stronger

Chile is also the kingdom of superlatives: one will find there the longest range of mountains in the world with the highest volcano; as well as the most arid desert on the planet and the highest dunes that can exist. Such a frame can only ideally suit the toughest rally in the world that first of all calls for adventurers eager for wide open spaces. It is with that approach that the competitors will head towards Valparaiso, where other travellers like Jack London or in the imagination of Hugo Pratt, the famous Corto Maltese have set foot.

Before enjoying a rest day on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, the competitors will have to cross through the Andes Cordillera. This obstacle will probably force the race average speed to drop down. It will mainly give all unique images and memories. The energy drawn from these landscapes will anyhow be essential at the moment of entering the Atacama Desert. Having experience in dunes will be at least as useful as the ability to navigate. For the champions like for the others, there are serious risks of loosing minutes and hours in the Chilean sand.

The regions travelled through

· Valparaiso

· Coquimbo

· Atacama

Long and slim. Chile's physiognomy, with limits stuck between the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Andes Mountains on the other, makes it one of the longest countries on the planet. With 4300 kilometres from north to south (close to a total of 5400 km of sea line!), Chile has no equivalent in the domain. On the other hand its width never exceeds 349 km and even drops down to around fifteen kilometres in the south. On this filiform territory all the types of climates are witnessed as well as depth. From the Atacama Desert, known as one of the most arid in the World to the top of the Ojos del Salado, the highest active volcano on the globe (6893 m), Chile offers a wide range of different landscapes. Concerning encounters, the variety is also impressive: one can easily meet lamas but also Emperor penguins!

ARGENTINA

A complete range

The extent of Argentina with over 3,500 kilometres from north to south gives the country the status of "other giant" of the continent. On a territory marked by the natural and cultural contrasts, the distances are always long: we are in the register of immensity. For the travellers, the amateurs of maps and more specifically those in love with off-road rallies, the study of the place sees new ideas spring up all the time. In Argentina, the competitors of the 2009 Dakar have the insurance of taking on an extreme endurance event.

While it isn't completely a "Tour of Argentina", the course imagined, taking off and heading back to Buenos Aires gives the bikers and drivers the opportunity to express themselves on all types of terrain. First of all heading south, those loyal to the rally will witness fast tracks with a lot of kilometres to cover as of the first days of racing. After having tasted the 'hard' part, the competitors will then discover the 'soft'. On the way back, several sandy stages will allow dune crossing experts to play their part. The crews that will make it to the finish will have visited a total of ten of the twenty-three provinces of the country: enough for the tastes of all.

The provinces travelled through

· Buenos Aires - Federal capital

· Buenos Aires province

· La Pampa

· Rio Negro

· Chubut

· Neuquén

· Mendoza

· Catamarca

· Cordoba

· Santa Fe

With a distance of close to 3500 kilometres between the Bolivian border and the extremity of Terra Del Fuego, Argentina has the aspect of a country-continent. Its dimension on the north-south axe as well as on the east-west line, gives the country several faces. On a climatic, mountainous and life style point of view, variety marks the many areas of Argentina. A welcome land for the Spaniards during the first waves of immigration in the XVIth century, and then for Italians, Germans and French attracted by the prosperity of the capital in the XIXth century, Argentina has through different periods invented a one-of-a-kind cultural model that the Europeans have easily acclimated to.

Anyway I love watching the wall of death and here is a picture of something I have heard of but never seen before. The old Lion Routine.

Anthony

From the Website of OSM Rally Assistance

DAKARO

2009 It is a completely new Rallye in planning and preparation

The organization of the Rallye is produced in contact with FIA / FIM Regularien

This Rallye-Event is license-free

Motorcycles, Terrain-Cars and Truck can participate

Time period is 08/2009

Total-route about 4000 km

Further info and details follow in the course of the year

here still a first hint: DA nubia_KA rpata_RO mania

The UKs First Flattrack Mag

Here is the Guys blog. The picture is from the Final of the First round of teh UK flattrack at Kings Lyn Sideburn

Desert Warrior

Anthony