The 43rd edition of the Dakar Rally is underway in Saudi Arabia. We?ll be sharing daily updates from our friends at WESTx1000. Stay tuned. 
Begin Press Release: 

S8: 13 Miles to the Finish
The Second Half of the Marathon Stage Is Where It All Goes Wrong? Or Right"

?If everything seems under control, you?re not going fast enough.? ? Mario Andretti

Control is a skill. A quality which must be developed carefully; harnessed in the worst of times and forgotten in the best. If we don?t learn to have control, then how would we ever know when to lose it" This is a trait all formidable athletes must have. Keeping the breath steady. Focusing the mind on observing the terrain, spotting obstacles, following the roadbook. To stay calm, think clearly, and excel under pressure. That takes a sort of power over one?s self that monks spend years in meditation to achieve. And yet, a pilot experiences Zen essentially by necessity. And from it, their craft becomes their therapy. The countryside is like everything we?ve already seen, yet still like nothing else. In the beginning, racers traverse unbeaten roadways made of rubble mixed into khaki-colored valleys carved between low-profile ridges and filled with beach. Rubble lay strewn about the sandbox, like toys left unattended by toddlers. From the modest gorges to quick jaunts winding up and over the crags, many take these sorts of sections gingerly to spare their tires (to no avail). Clouds lingered over the course, low a...