|
Post by afx on Jan 14, 2019 11:20:37 GMT -8
Toyota ‘has plan in place’ if Alonso wants to contest Dakar
Motorsport.com can reveal that over the last two months Toyota has been planning for the eventuality that Fernando Alonso will decide to contest the Dakar Rally in future. Two-time Formula 1 world champion Alonso – who won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Toyota last June – is expected to test a Dakar-spec Hilux within the next month, after contesting the Rolex 24 at Daytona. He will then complete his bid to win the FIA World Endurance Championship, and return to the Indianapolis 500 in May in an attempt to complete the sport’s hallowed Triple Crown. Toyota’s Japanese HQ has contacted Glyn Hall, the team principal of its South African-based Gazoo Racing SA rally raid project, and he has been working on a plan in case the Spaniard wishes to take the step. As Nasser Al-Attiyah reported this week, Alonso contacted him to see if it was possible to test his Hilux. But the plan now put in place by Gazoo Racing SA would go much further, should he wish to take it. The approach is to hold a first test “in a controlled environment” for Alonso to experience the sensations of desert rallying, and to compare himself with one of Toyota’s established Dakar drivers to see if it’s a challenge he’d wish to take up. “We already had a similar situation with Giniel de Villiers,” Hall told Motorsport.com. “He was a four-time touring car champion [in South Africa in 1997-2000], he had never driven off-road, and two years later in 2003 he finished fifth in the Dakar [on his first attempt]. So everything is possible, but it is not an easy race. "The first step would be to take a test in a controlled environment, so that we both know what the possibilities are – maybe you do not like it, or maybe it will take too much time off your calendar to see the level of difficulty of competing in the Dakar. “Fernando's skills are exceptional, we have seen him in the last 17 years, he has evolved into one of the best in the world.” Alonso himself has said he has a huge respect for rally events, but admitted: “I have to be honest and know that I have no talent to do them.” But Toyota appears ready to offer him the chance to convert his circuit-racing skills to learn the art of rally-raid driving. Hall added: “If you are a good driver, you are a good driver and you have the skills. One of the things Fernando has seen in F1 races is that he has the ability to listen and think when he is driving on the limit. "That is a skill that is key in the raids, because you listen to a co-driver, and the race is complicated and you have to think about it.” Toyota plans to carry out Alonso’s test in South Africa, and its former Dakar winner Al-Attiyah said he would lend a hand to help the F1 ace learn. “The first thing is to feel the car, compare the sensations with another-level driver,” added Hall. “It would be a fantastic opportunity, not only for Toyota, and for us in South Africa where the car is manufactured, but for the entire Dakar [event], for the entire cross-country community. “It would be an inspiration and an incredible story to tell. There would be a lot of emotion if Fernando comes to the Dakar. I think the sport would explode.”
|
|
|
Post by Chris K. Hale on Jan 16, 2019 6:47:39 GMT -8
Too bad Peterhansel crashed out on the last day! .....
|
|
|
Post by afx on Jan 20, 2019 5:18:37 GMT -8
The trick that helped injured Price conquer Dakar
It took a makeshift device – that held his KTM's throttle open on liaison stages – to get an injured Toby Price through to a remarkable second Dakar victory. Price went into the event under a serious injury cloud after breaking his right scaphoid during pre-Dakar training last December, undergoing last-minute surgery in Spain and a short recovery in his native Australia – not enough for the injury to heal – before getting to Peru. However the KTM rider defied the odds by not only making it through the gruelling event, but claiming a second career win in stunning style. Dealing with unrelenting pain from the injured wrist, Price has now revealed the lengths he went to in getting to the finish. While having to "grit the teeth" through the competitive stages, some crafty modifications using parts from the KTM's battery cage helped stick his bike's throttle open on liaison stages, offering crucial periods of rest for his wrist. He was also forced into using his left arm to operate the throttle at times. "Through the liaison, there's a little bit of a trick I used from what holds the battery in the battery cage," said Price. "[We] basically just ran a thing around the outside of the grip and it kind of just made the throttle stick a little bit so I could rest my arm a lot more on liaison rides. "There have been some stages where I actually had to do a bit of left-hand throttle; it's not the best way to be riding a bike. "But we made it work, we made it to the finish line, we survived. It's a crazy feeling." Finishing the rally wasn't something even Price himself expected to do, the Aussie admitting he thought he'd be headed home after a couple of days. "I honestly thought if I could get to stage three and then pack up and go home, I was going to be happy with that," he said. "Stage three, we all kind of got lost, we all had a bad day, and it made me put the helmet back on and go again. "The rest day was good for us, it was pretty much on the limit there and the rest day gave me the day off to get a solid day of resting and sort it out. "After that, it was trying to charge on and grit the teeth. The last five days have been a very, very big struggle." Having said the wrist was "on fire" following his push into the lead with two stages to go, Price was equally unable to hide his discomfort come the end of the event. But, he did admit the sweet taste of victory would help ease the pain. "Pretty much all I can say is that it feels like there are about five people driving a knife in my wrist now," he said. "It’s not very comfortable, it’s not very enjoyable, but at the end of the day the victory has paid off. I’ll forget about the pain now, that’s for sure. The win takes away all the pain." When the celebrations are done Price will have his wrist assessed for further damage. "I guess I'll go and get some MRI scans and CT scans and x-rays and see what damage we've done and where we'll situate ourselves for the rest of the year," he added. "Hopefully I'll still have a wrist after this, hopefully they don't chop the thing off."
|
|
|
Post by afx on Jan 24, 2019 4:41:13 GMT -8
Price rushed into surgery on 'collapsing' wrist
Dakar winner Toby Price is set to go under the knife today to repair significant damage that was done to his broken wrist while in the Peruvian dunes. The KTM rider tackled the gruelling Dakar just weeks after breaking his right scaphoid during training and undergoing surgery in Barcelona. While the initial surgery was successful, the strain of riding through the dunes for that long before the injury was properly healed has led to more damage, centred on a screw that's now worn through the bone. That means a trip straight to the operating theatre for Price, Dr Steve Andrews explaining both the damage and the recommended fix in a video posted to the rider's social media today. "They fixed the broken scaphoid five or six weeks ago, and it looks like it had all gone back together reasonably well," explained Andrews. "Unfortunately the load of you riding in that timeframe has put a fair bit through the hole that the screw's gone [through] in your scaphoid. It's started to collapse, it's not healing, and the distal end of the screw is starting to windscreen-wiper and cause a big cavity in the distal pole of your scaphoid. "It's not going to heal if we leave it there, because it's not well-fixed and it's collapsing into the wrong position. "What we're going to do is take the screw out, put a new screw through a different angle so we can get some purchase on what bone is still there and good, and we're going to patch some graft in from your hip to encourage it to heal and to fill the hole in the distil part of the scaphoid." Price complained of discomfort throughout the event, and even had to rig up a makeshift throttle stop to get through the transport stages. Having referenced needing to see what additional damage had been done during his post-Dakar celebrations, the news of more surgery came as no surprise for Price. "This is not what I wanted to hear, but I was expected something along these lines," he wrote on the social media post accompanying the video with Dr Andrews. "I'll be heading into surgery today, but hey, I got the Dakar won on it, so it was worth it I think!"
|
|
|
Post by afx on Jan 24, 2019 6:00:04 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by afx on Jun 6, 2019 6:11:18 GMT -8
Price targeting "80-90 percent" wrist movement by 2020 Dakar
Reigning Dakar Rally bikes winner Toby Price is hoping to have 80 to 90 percent movement back in his injured wrist before the 2020 event kicks off next January. The Aussie withstood intense pain en route to victory earlier this year, carrying a broken right scaphoid that had been freshly operated on throughout the gruelling trek across the Peruvian dunes. Price even had to resort to using a makeshift device that held his KTM's throttle open on transport stages to get to the end. Upon returning to Australia late January Price went straight back under the knife, a screw implanted during pre-Dakar surgery moving like a windscreen wiper and causing a fresh cavity in the scaphoid. More than five months on, Price reckons he's now back to around 50-60 percent movement in the wrist. And if all goes well, he's targeting around 80-90 percent usage by the time the 2020 edition of the Dakar kicks off next January. "It's all going really well," he told Motorsport.com. "The doctor we had work on it at Brisbane Private Hospital, Doctor Steve Andrews, says it has healed really well. "At the moment I haven't got full movement, that's a little bit annoying. There is a lot of physio work, we need to work on it and keep at it. If it gets back to 80, 90 percent I'll be stoked. But at the moment we're probably running about the 50, 60 percent mark. "We've got to be a little bit smart to try and be ready or Dakar again in January." While an almost complete recovery for January is the primary target, Price admits that he's not sure if the wrist will ever fully recover to 100 percent movement. "That's what I'd like to have to be able to do the everyday job of riding a motorcycle. Sure I want it to be back at 100 percent, but we're not quite sure," he said. "At the moment I just haven't quite got the movement back that I need. In saying that, what I have at the moment is doable, I can still ride a motorcycle. There are no issues and problems. "We're just trying to give ourselves a little more time to make sure it's right. I'm trying to give myself a bit more longevity in the sport, so my career doesn't come to a screaming halt very soon." As part of his recovery Price has opted to skip the bike class at this week's Finke Desert Race in central Australia, instead focussing his efforts on the truck category. "Finke is a good race for me to get some training and time on the bike, but it's also a big risk," he said. "Nine times out 10 if you crash at Finke, you're going to have an injury that'll last at least six months. I love racing Finke, but if something goes wrong it puts Dakar in jeopardy. "Dakar is my main bread and butter, it doesn't matter if you've got half your leg cut off or you've got a tiny cut on your finger, you need to make sure you're ready to go."
|
|
|
Post by robhart on Jun 6, 2019 17:22:49 GMT -8
Talk about extreme sports.
|
|
|
Post by afx on Sept 12, 2019 4:13:39 GMT -8
Price to consult doctor after experiencing numbness on comeback
Toby Price will consult with Dr Steve Andrews this week after experiencing numbness in his injured wrist during his two-wheel comeback in Chile. The Australian returned to the seat of a Red Bull KTM at the Atacama Rally last week, marking his first serious outing since undergoing post-Dakar surgery on his badly injured wrist. He was competitive throughout the five-stage event, triumphing on the gruelling 300-plus kilometre fourth test. Price was ultimately classified fourth overall, behind winner Pablo Quintanilla, also returning from serious injury, newly-crowned Cross-Country Rally Champion Sam Sunderland, and Joan Barreda. While satisfied with his performance after eight months off the bike, Price admitted that there's still work to do on the right wrist that suffered a scaphoid break just weeks out from last year's Dakar. He says he suffered hand numbness during last week's hit-out in Chile, something that he'll consult with Dr Andrews over in the coming days. "I know I still have more in reserve. It was just about re-adjusting to reading the road book and riding and getting myself sorted," Price told Motorsport.com. "The body feels good, but I'll go and see Dr Steve Andrews again this week to check some nerve endings and stuff. "I had a few issues with the hand going numb. It's nothing major at this point, I can definitely ride with it, but it's a little bit uncomfortable." Price isn't expecting it be any great set-back, however, with hopes still high that he'll be fit for next year's Dakar. "Not at all [concerned]," he added. "I'm definitely going to be ready for January 2020. "It's all full steam ahead. I'm confident, I know I can be 100 per cent by then. We're still on-track, I'll be ready to go."
|
|