This is the story of the Dakar 2021, the historic off-road competition in which Angelo Pedemonte participates, with the RT73 Team branded by FPS Automation.
See you next Dakar
Unfortunately Angelo Pedemonte was forced to retire, the bruises suffered in the bad fall of stage 4 made themselves felt more and more in the following days, the sea of dunes then of stage 6 was interminable and continuing would have been an unconscious decision. We wish Angelo the best of wishes and we thank him for letting us participate in this adventure, hoping to see him again soon at the start of another competition.
6rd Stage
Al Qaisumah> Ha’il
Sand and dunes await the competitors at the start of the 6 ^ special of 448 km (for now it seems the distance will be changed by making it shorter) after a transfer of 170 km that from Al Qaisumah will lead them to the city of Ha’il.
The news about this test speak of keeping one’s guard on navigation, but starting from the rear, Pedemonte will be a bit facilitated by the tracks, what matters for him first and foremost is the physical resistance in overcoming the sea of dunes, probably the most demanding of third level, he will play his experience of the Moroccan deserts, on the famous dunes of the Merzouga Rally, which will help him choose the technically best passage. This stage precedes the much desired day of rest, which then in reality for many will be an occasion for more in-depth maintenance, for others a few more moments to resume a few hours of lost sleep.
The number of Italians on motorcycles has drastically reduced,
Cominardi injured in stage 3, Internò injured in stage 4, Piolini injured in stage 5 and Catanese retired due to mechanical problems with his bike still in stage 5 and the race is only halfway through …
4rd Stage
Angelo Pedemonte is now at the Riyadh bivouac (the arrival of stage 4 today), he is much better and has time to recover better until the start of stage 6 with departure from Al Qaisumah and arrival in Ha’il, a timed track of 448 km and only 170 km of transfer. Simone Gilli, the team mechanic, has already done a great job and the bike is ready! Thus will begin his “Dakar Experience” and after the rest day of January 9, he will resume his race to reach the north of Arabia where there are the most spectacular Saudi landscapes, which only the participants of the last edition like us of the RT73 Team have had a chance to admire. From Ha’il to Neom is a succession of pristine paradises! In stage no. 6 dunes of all colors are expected and it will be important to know the tactics in facing them in order not to linger at sunset.
The map of the route is not yet available, in the meantime a wish to Angelo Pedemonte for an excellent recovery!
3rd Stage
The third stage started with a loop around Wadi Ad-Dawasir south of the bivouac. 403 km of special timed within the 629 km stage presented different and contrasting surfaces, technical canyons with sand dunes, stretches to be covered at high speed and very technical stretches to be overcome very carefully. Between the 4th waypoint and the 5th Pedemonte he had to call for assistance, the front tire had burst catapulting him to the ground, immediate assistance as usual in the Dakar. Pedemonte not having suffered any fractures, will be able to continue the race, as he himself has expressed in a determined way.
2nd Stage from: BISHA – WADI AD-DAWASIR
Transfer> 228 km – Special> 457 km
Angelo Pedemonte‘s adventure at Dakar 2021 continues with the RT73 Team branded by FPS Automation. After the difficult stones of yesterday, today the first dunes that alternated from yellow to white and large open spaces in a long off-piste, we are approaching the great sand desert. The special was faster, but still long and with treacherous soft sand on the dunes.
On the track, instead, a trio continued in sequence that accompanied each other for almost the entire stage: Angelo Pedemonte (# 123), Giovanni Stigliano (# 107) and Francesco Catanese (# 90) improving in positions. A good comeback from Pedemonte who was able to better manage his strength by gaining 4 positions in the general classification, now he is 75th.
Tomorrow the caravan will move to a ring of sand and dunes to return to Wadi Ad-Dawasir with a transfer of 227 km and a special of 403 km. They will approach the famous “empty district” the great desert of pure and uncontaminated sand, they will cross countless chains of dunes with some more technical sections.
Episode 5 – The Dakar has begun
Episode 4 – This Dakar has to be done
Episode 2 – The Dakar 2021 route
Episode 1 – FPS Automation at the Dakar Rally 2021
Who is Angelo Pedemonte
An entrepreneur but always passionate about motorsport, especially long raids in unknown territories, those that involve driving not only from a physical point of view, but above all in navigation and in the choice of routes. The sense of orientation must necessarily be part of the wealth of experience and Pedemonte says he found his gym in Morocco and in the numerous International Rally in which he raced, gaining considerable experience in the use of the Ertf and Iritrack navigation systems. For several consecutive years I raced on the famous dunes of the Merzouga Rally, always finishing the race, apart from a retirement due to injury. Now it is for the race of the races, for the Dakar that everyone fears but everyone aspires to.
The history of the Dakar
The legendary Paris-Dakar, since the second half of the seventies, represents the goal and dream of all drivers (cars, motorcycles and trucks) passionate about rallying in the desert. The historical route included the departure from Paris and the arrival in Dakar, Senegal. The competition, during which epic and even tragic pages of motor sports were written, was finally canceled in 2008 when the deterioration of the political situation in the Western Sahara area no longer guaranteed safety for the drivers. The competition (which kept the name of Dakar) was moved to South America for a few editions and then arrived, in 2020, in Saudi Arabia.
