24th JANUARY 2008
A BIG THANK YOUIt is hard to put into words how we are thinking but to everyone that has helped us as we tried to reach our goal of competing in the hardest race in the world the Dakar we THANK YOU. Your assistance has been greatly appreciated and without your support the quest just to get to the starting line would have been a great deal harder, also to the people that supported and that are still supporting our two charities, fantastic your donations will make a difference to the lives of many children a big THANK YOU to you all.

So what will we do next ? There are some North African Rallye's throughout the year starting with the Optic (www.npo.fr) at the end of April, this is effectively a mini Dakar but over a shorter time scale, some of us might enter some of these to give us a bit more experience but the elusive big one has still to be raced by us and the Dakar organisers have said that it will happen again in 2009 but it might not go to Dakar itself so check out our site on a regular basis so see what the situation is when it is announced as we are still up for the challenge!!

Regards The Team
Calum, Iain, John, Ewan and Neil

4TH JANUARY 2008
A.S.O. cancels the 2008 edition of the Dakar rally
After different exchanges with the French government - in particular the Ministry for Foreign Affairs - , and based on their firm recommendations, the organisers of the Dakar have taken the decision to cancel the 2008 edition of the rally, scheduled from the 5th to the 20th of January between Lisbon and Senegal’s capital.

Based on the current international political tension and the murder of four French tourists last 24th of December linked to a branch of Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, but also and mainly the direct threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organisations, no other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken by A.S.O.

A.S.O.’s first responsibility is to guarantee the safety of all: that of the populations in the countries visited, of the amateur and professional competitors, of the technical assistance personnel, of the journalists, partners and rally collaborators. A.S.O. therefore reaffirms that the choice of security is not, has never been and will never be a subject of compromise at the heart of the Dakar rally.

A.S.O. condemns the terrorist menace that annihilates a year of hard work, engagement and passion for all the participants and the different actors of the world’s biggest off-road rally. Aware of the huge frustration, especially in Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, and beyond the general disappointment and the huge economical consequences in terms of direct and indirect repercussions for the countries visited, A.S.O. will continue to defend the major values of great sporting events and will carry on its engagement for a durable development through the Actions Dakar, started 5 years ago in sub-Saharan Africa with SOS Sahel International.

The Dakar is a symbol and nothing can destroy symbols. The cancellation of the 2008 edition does not endanger the future of the Dakar. To offer, for 2009 a new adventure to all the off-road rally passionate is a challenge that A.S.O. will take on in the months to come, faithful to its engagement and its passion for sports.

3RD JANUARY 2008
PRESS RELEASES
We have been in the news recently, click on the links below to view the press releases as PDF documents.

• Press Release 1 - TMX 30th Nov
• Press Release 2 - Barrhead News
• Press Release 3 - Daily Mail
• Press Release 4 - Evening Times
• Press Release 5 - The Herald
• Press Release 6 - SACU
• Press Release 7 - TMX 7th Dec

19TH DECEMBER 2007
MOROCCO TRAINING TRIP 07 - DAY 3
The real Dakar world for us now begins !!!!  Our first road book day, after an early breakfast we headed to the start of an old Dakar section zippy stopped us and described what would have happened here if it was for real, so as we heard about the amount of people, cars and helicopters we all started to get a bit nervous so having checked our road books were working and that we were ready to go Ewan realised that he had forgotten his Camelback with his drinking water so he turned back to the Hotel with Neil in tow when Ewan stopped at the road Neil didn’t and crashed into Ewan !!!! great start !!

All groups started at 2 min intervals and we were off, having driven dirt roads for the previous two days it was in Calum’s mind that this might be relatively easy, amazing how the mind tricks you into a false sense of security as at the first corner it was littered with large boulders on the main tracks it was nearly a wipe out within the first mile, every section on the road book was a challenge but as time went on the road book became our best friend alerting us to the dangers ahead. Iain was finding it difficult to read his road book while traversing the terrain at speed but as time went on it became slightly easier. Then Disaster Calum had a front wheel puncture, John decided to blast on having mistaken some one else for Calum, Iain stopped to see if he could, help but Calum said to go on and he waited for Zippy to bring a spare tube in the mean time Ewan and Neil passed by and after offering assistance went on, having changed the tube Calum got moving and it wasn’t long till he caught Ewan and Neil as they dissected the road book to try and understand it fully, Calum was having none of this and left them to go and enjoy the section at what he thought was a fast rate then he noticed a bike catching up it was Zippy in warp drive !!!!! the two of them rode together for the rest of the section with Calum realising that he had a warp drive as well!!

The surprise of  the section for Calum was the take off he did  along side Zippy when zippy turned around to see where Calum was as he had disappeared and on looking up saw Calum some twelve feet off the ground and thought this will hurt when he comes down and yes it did ouch!! at the end of the section we stopped for a rest before heading into the big  sand dunes where Calum did an over the bars in the soft sand Iain tried to run back to help as Calum was trapped under the bike but smarty pants John took his bike and got to Calum just as he got out from under the bike and John offered some comforting words “get up you F…Y” and then we went for lunch in the next village “two Camel town”, and book into out next Hotel before Iain and John, headed back out to play in the dunes under Zippys guidance while Calum fixed the flattened exhaust on his bike, later after dinner the five musketeers went out to do some night dune riding to obtain some necessary experience for the Dakar, it was quite something running up BIG dunes and not be able to see what was on the other side, there was a lot of falling off coupled with big shouts of laughter. What a night ride amazing.

15TH DECEMBER 2007
MOROCCO TRAINING TRIP 07 - DAY 2
After the eye-opening day that we had on day one it was with some in trepidation that we headed down to our bikes after breakfast for what was going to be another day of excitement. The day started pretty tamely with a fuel stop and at 13p per litre it was affordable !!!! and a long ride on the tarmac when Calum discovered that he was following a wrong GPS heading, so a quick left turn onto the rocky desert had Calum, Iain and John catching up with Neil and Ewan so a pretty quick pace was generated then the next problem reared its head we were lost !! the GPS was struggling to hold its signal and we decided to stop and have a quick chat then Neil decided it was THAT way and he was off at warp speed then Iain thought he must know where he is going and was off after Neil like a speeding bullet at that point the GPS signal returned and was showing a different trail from Neil and Iain so Calum and John went as per the GPS and it wasn’t long till Iain looked back and said wait for Meee!!! And he chased cross country after them with Neil no riding mates thinking oops I ‘d better catch them up,  after that we had all types of terrain for the next 20-30Km from river beds (oued ) to soft Sahara sand and long rocky roads when we were flagged down by Billy Ward as old John who were out on a tour with us had been off and it looked a sore one as he had crashed into a deep rocky oued fortunately only a bit of bad bruising was the outcome at that point it dawned on John that every time Iain looked back it meant that Iain was half expecting John to fall off as it was a tricky bit ! we came across a village where all the women were tending the fields  (back breaking work as it is all done by hand ) and the local kids took a dislike to Iain and threw stones at him!

We then came on to a track scraped as wide as the M1 and flat, so it was full throttle for what seemed like 20 miles amazing ! then it was another left turn and we headed towards our first sand dunes a bit of excitement even the fact that they were baby dunes it was a thrill to ride them as the sand is nothing like what we get at home after this the GPS trail led us into a deep rocky river bed which in places was still wet and as one of the other riders found out, deep mud was there to catch out the unwary, the GPS route was taking the Mick as it was showing a route out of this mini grand canyon that only a mountain climber could scale, the river bed surface was like a quarry littered with large rocks ideal for a trials bike but we are on heavy desert Dakar bikes, so it was up to our skilled team trials rider Iain to find a way out that would get us back on to the GPS route ! When Iain led us out it was into more sand dunes a bit bigger this time and fantastic to ride the motocross riding techniques came into their own here as to shut the throttle would mean a trip over the bars to kiss the sand ouch! The wild life in the dunes was quite amazing as there were lizards almost every where you looked all scurrying out of our way, Iain came across a large white animal like a rabbit with along tail and rear legs and rear legs like a kangaroo and a squirrel type head with short front legs, just what did he see ? there was also two large birds of prey, we were astounded that there was so much wildlife in such an inhospitable place. Then came the thrill ride of our life we dropped into a soft sandy river bed and for the next 15 km we rode flat out in top gear round all the twists and turns that it could offer it was like moto gp with out the tarmac and our KTM 525’s were in a class of their own in this.

Time for a wee break in front of  this amazing triangular house in the middle of nowhere, where we grabbed a quick snack and a drink before we were off again towards the last stage of dunes before the hotel, at this point some of the other Dakar bikes caught up with us and we rode towards the dunes, this time it was harder at there was Camel Grass littered everywhere and this was our first encounter with this horrible product of nature it is like hitting a solid rock when your front wheel hits it from any angle, we quickly learned to try our best to avoid it but as with anything to do with riding off road there was the inevitable encounter which hurt most of the muscles in your body we managed to keep up a fair speed on this and ended up at the hotel some 15 min ahead of the other riders that had caught us up. We the discovered that we had missed lunch with all the other riders so made up by having a cracking lunch at the hotel before heading out to the dunes to play for the rest of the day with all the other riders. Roll on tomorrow as we are having a go at an old Dakar route by road book ( we will describe this in the next day’s riding )so after our evening buffet meal which had entertainment in the form of belly dancers and then they even brought a camel into restaurant, then it was road book training with Patsy and Zippy before retiring to bed.

11TH DECEMBER 2007
MOROCCO TRAINING TRIP 07 - DAY 1
On arrival at the first hotel at Ouarzazate we were greeted with the first sight of our DAKAR race bikes, Gasp, Wow and let us on them !!!! so the day started with a run down the main road to the turn off that would start our dakar training adventure.

First we were handed out GPS to the bikes that was fitted up to use them Calum and Ewan were given the task of leading their teams through the Moroccan wilderness and we set off, down what was a fast rocky track at speeds that we thought was too fast as it felt like we were riding on marbles it was so loose, and the word caution kept popping up in our minds and so with billowing dust causing poor visability like driving in thick fog we charged on thinking my god this is crazy !! the speed was far faster than we had imagined for the type of terrain, then Zippy ( patsy’s right hand man ) stopped us to give is an insite as to what the danger signs were on the tracks that we would be travelling, and looking just ahead the track was about to turn 90 degrees with no warning sign and on closer investigation that particular corner had a 50 foot drop covered in rocks, shootting over this would have hurt and a wee trip to the hospital would have been next (no more riding) Zippy informed us that this corner claims its fair share of victims.

The rest of the day was an amazing journey through mountains and valleys with fantastic villages where the people and more so the children all came out to wave and cheer us as we drove through we thought that being a Dakar rider is fantastic . We arrived at the fuel stop at about 3.45 filled up and Zippy took Iain, Calum and John for a run into the mountains which would turn out to be our first encounter with riding in the dark !!! a fast run to the Atlas mountains where Iain couldn’t wait to unleash ALL the ponies in his engine and he was off with us thinking woha this is mental we are travelling at least 80mph across land that we had never seen let alone ridden, amazing !  upon reaching the mountains dusk was already starting to come into its own but we made it far enough in to view the gold mines and then it went inky black on went the bike lights and after a few Km’s Zippy stopped us and told us that we were going to ride desert sand for the first time ! he led us into a dried out river bed which was deep soft sand it took a short while to get the technique of riding this, but we discovered that you had to drive the bike like you were on a Jet Ski this provided the best results, after that we were back on to the dirt roads where Calum nearly did a trip to hospital having come out a dust cloud in the dark to find he was about to hit a washout at the side of the road some 3 foot deep, he dropped a gear and opened the throttle wide hitting it hard and just managing to stay aboard the bike John remarked “ how he stayed on is anyones guess “a good nights rest was was on the cards after some maintenance to the bikes, what a first day!!! (an eye opener)

23RD NOVEMBER 2007
PRESS LAUNCH
Just a quick note to say I was at the “Scotland to Dakar” team press launch yesterday in Glasgow and it was absolutely BRILLIANT! Patsy n Clive were there along with Robbie Allan – a national treasure, and there were more photographers than you could shake a stick at (whatever that means!).

The day actually started – the nite before, when most of the Dakar guys stayed up ALL NITE to work on the bikes and get them ready for the press the next day. While the nite before that, Ewan drove right thru the nite to get the bikes to Scotland in time – from Patsy’s place south of London!

The bikes lined up in Glasgow city centre at Georges Square adorned with the flag of Scotland and looked the business! The guys got the council chambers in Georges Square Glasgow which really set the scene and all the riders were all dropped into the square by helicopter (or LWB transit van).  The weather was stunning – sun shining and the temperature was amazing – with all the bikes on show in the square outside the city hall. I’ve never seen so many pert nipples – on a Scotsman!

Both the chosen children’s charities’ were present for the event –
Yorkhill Children’s Foundation and The Children’s Hospice Association Scotland and it was great to see how much spirit and enthusiasm was being generated by this Scottish entry. Anyone can donate large or small to both the charities by clicking on the links on the left.

Remember, the guys have still got room for major sponsor opportunities and with this level of national profile it would be a sure fire sponsorship winner – so Shell, BP and any BIG offshore people would be nice!! If you have any contacts that you wanna tempt over – then do so – spread the word!! It’s all about the network isn’t it? There must be a massive Scottish company out there that would love to get involved in this national event entry. Any ideas or possibilities, talk to the guys via Calum McKenzie
Tel / Fax 01505 341208, Mobile 07966 192217
or Email calum.mckenzie@ntlworld.com.

A big thank you to Ian, Neil, John, Ewan, Calum for organizing a great day and thanks to Robbie, Patsy and Clive for being who they are!

19TH SEPTEMBER 2007
COLIN MacRAE TRIBUTE
It is with great sadness that an accident on Saturday 15th of September caused a fellow racer and Dakar competitor to have his life taken away.

Scotland has truly lost a Motor Sports Racing icon. He has parted and left each and every person involved in racing with a legacy of fantastic memories.

Colin MacRae an outstanding competitor, was to compete this year with a BMW X3 car making a total of 6 Scottish competitors on the starting line at Lisbon, ready to take on the Dakar, a first to have so many Scot’s in the race, unfortunately we will all be competing with Colin in our memory.

Our hearts go out to his family suffering this terrible tragedy. May his soul rest in peace and his skills be followed to keep Scottish Motor Sports alive.


19TH SEPTEMBER 2007
DAWN TO DUSK 25th & 26th AUGUST
(Our 1st major test ordered by Patsy) How our 5 Scottish Dakar off-road riders managed to complete the UK’s most gruelling 12-hour-long endurance race. When we drove down to Neath in South-Wales to our 1st competitive training exercise we were all excited and cautiously subdued, on arrival as we entered the pitts things began to become more serious as we saw the size and seriousness of this event “what the hell were we doing here?” the thought coursing through our heads as we prepared to start our first stints in the famous Dawn to Dusk endurance. We were informed there were 503 riders entered.

Maybe the prophets of doom in our works & offices were right. This is the most arduous off-road endurance race in the UK after all and I thought we’d bitten off more than we could chew. The Dawn to Dusk is a unique event that’s been going for six years. The brain child of four-time Dakar competitor (and 2 times finisher) Nick Plumb. It’s a one-day event designed for anyone who fancies really putting their off-road skills and stamina to the test. The Dawn to Dusk circuit takes in steep rocky slopes, forest fire roads, tree roots, bogs, river crossings  and specially designed extreme mega hard steep climbs, descents, jumps and every other type of endurance obstacle you could think of. Our 5 Scottish riders competed in two different classes Calum, Johnny and Iain competed in the clubman 12 hours marathon Iron Man race and Ewan and Neil were in the  “pussy cats” clubman 2 man race. This year there were 154 12 hour marathon competitors and 68, 2 man teams. We all did extremely well despite having not competed at that level for 20 odd years.

RESULTS
Calum McKenzie finished 125th despite only finishing 3 laps and was taken to hospital with and suspected broken arm, it turned out it was not broken and only needed 6 stitches. While he was x-rayed they also noticed Calum had bruised ribs and a cracked sternum bone, on a bright note Calum told us he’d be fine for next weeks training and scheduled practise. (Aye right Calum)  Calum still thinks he has 18 year old body. “Ding Ding” Calum your body is 46 and takes 6 weeks to heal not 6 days (well done Calum, keep dreaming)

Johnny Whiteford completed 13 laps and finished 13th this was despite Johnny having a head on crash with a competitor going the wrong way on lap 3 and cracked is scaphoid bone and to keep going in that condition and finishing in 13th out of 154 is incredible (well done Johnny)

Iain Shankie completed 15 laps and finished 5th. Iain despite having about 6 crashes, 1 serious, 5 minors and was lucky not to be injured. Johnny commented Iain would need more powerful batteries for next year his Duracell ones ran out as he drove back to the pits he could not open his hands from the handlebars position and had no strength left to even take his boots off.

Ewan and Neil Buchan did exceedingly well finishing 35th out of 68 on a disappointing note Neil got caught sleeping on a paddock chair while waiting for brother Ewan doing his 2 laps before the change over. It must have been his 100mph talking from the night before. (“Neil” less talking means more laps). Ewan completed 8 laps and Neil “Sleepy” Buchan completed 7 (well done boys).


4TH SEPTEMBER 2007
NO TURNING BACK AS THE BIKES ARRIVE
It is Saturday 21st of July and we are picking up our Dakar race bikes from a bike dealer in Bristol, we left on the Friday night at 1am with the intention of collecting them as the dealer opened at 9am, unfortunately the constant rain had left England looking like a giant swimming pool and with the M5 being temporarily closed due to flooding it was around 12.30 pm, before we collected them.

Iain and John couldn’t resist a wee blast around the car park and with big smiles on their faces, we loaded them up and headed to our race bike builder and rally coordinator Patsy Quick.

Again the traffic and the flooding was not in our favour but we managed to make it to Patsy for the back of 6 pm, after discussions about the bike builds and meeting with Patsy’s husband Clive who will be part of the rally assistance team, we decided at 10pm that we needed to head back to Scotland getting home at 6.30 am, phew! that was a long journey ! at which point Calum loaded his practise bike onto a trailer and headed 2 hours to Selkirk in the Scottish borders to take part in an Enduro, only to find it had been cancelled that morning due to the wet ground. Mother nature was toying with us and she won.