The first point-to-point motorcycle rally in the United States occurred in Cheraw, South Carolina recently at the Sandblast Rally. The event, which has usually been only open to cars allowed bikes to run this year, and Max BMW's XPLOR race team finished strong. Ten of the 13 riders completed the event, no easy feat considering the deep rutted sand and hairpin turns that made up the route. The MaxBMW team grabbed three of the top six places, with the top-placing rider on the Max BMW XPLOR team being Mark Albertson, who earned third place overall and second in the SP1 class aboard his #66 HP2 Enduro. Peter Canning got 5th overall on his HP2 Enduro, while Dave Hubbard, after getting his G 650 Xchallenge only days before the event, snagged 2nd in his class.
Just getting to the event was a race in itself. Thanks to an impromptu winter ice storm in the northeast, several riders were faced with cancelled or delayed flights. Upon learning that his seemingly easy two hour trip down south was not going to happen as scheduled, Jason Adams, who competed on his 1990 R 100 GS PD, thought fast, rented a car, and blasted down to South Carolina on a 900-mile all-night drive with his girlfriend, getting to the event just in time for the 4 hour orientation session. Now that's what we call impressive. But the race, and those who competed it in was equally as impressive.
Braving freezing 29-degree temperatures at the start, the riders were sent off in 60 second intervals. Thirty rally cars had already blazed down the course, so the ground was severely chopped and torn up, with deep sand ruts and berms. Doug Morrison, aboard his HP2 Enduro, was the first rider to hit the sand. A few stages in, a battle between Doug and Mark Albertson began brewing, until Doug had a come-off and lost the beak of his HP2 Enduro in the woods against a pine tree. With sore ribs and determination, Doug hopped back on the bike and wound up finishing 6th overall. Albertson then put his motocross experience to good use and wound up finishing second in the Production 1 class and third overall. "The bike performed flawlessly, the power and the stability to reach 100+ mph in the sand was a huge rush," said Albertson.
There were some mishaps as well, with three riders falling victim to the challenges of the race. But most of team members persevered, including Peter Canning (HP2 Enduro), Max Stratton (HP2 Enduro), Steve Mauk (HP2 Enduro), Chris Olsen (F 650 Dakar), and Keith Ciampa (F 650 Dakar) John Joy (R 80 GS) and Dave Hubbard (G 650 Xchallenge). Hubbard had this to say about riding the Challenge:
"The first thing I noticed is how light it felt. The power from the motor seemed never ending. Even at 80 mph in deep sand it was pulling strong. There was hard pack dirt, mud, and lots of deep sand but the suspension handled it with ease. The brakes were incredible, too. Overall the bike was rock stable and tracked straight. It's an amazing dual sport weapon."
In addition to the timed stages, there were also several liason stages, where each rider had to navigate via roll chart to the next stage. It was important that each competitor arrive to the next stage on time, which meant not arriving either too early or too late, which could incur an additional time penalty. So in addition to the go-all-out stages on blocked off logging roads, the transit stages also featured on-board navigation-which is just as crucial to riding ability in any off road rally, and something that is a lot more difficult for motorcyclists to do than the automotive competitors.
Here's what Jason Adams had to say about the race conditions:
"The sand was a blur, but the ruts were a darker shadow. The surface conditions are changing every 10 yards from soft sand to hard pack to wet muck, to cross-road washes, and all over the place, and then sand, and more sand, and more sand. I'm extremely happy to have finished. Next time, I'll try to beat my own time."
All in all, the MAX BMW XPLOR race team put in quite a performance. We are proud of everyone who competed. It's proof that you can still play in the sand no matter how old you are.
Congratulations to all the competitors!
For more info, visit:
www.bmwxplor.com/riders/TeamMAX
www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com
www.nasarallysport.com
www.sandblastrally.com
