Last weekend was a studious one for some of the South American competitors, who came to Buenos Aires to take advantage of the all the advice given for the rally which will start on 1st January in Mar del Plata.
The South American competitors were invited last Saturday to participate in a training day mainly intended for giving newcomers to the event the information vital for a smooth adaptation to the way of life on the rally. The event took place in Buenos Aires, where Etienne Lavigne and David Castera welcomed around one hundred people for detailed explanations concerning points such as using the navigation instruments, procedures for elimination from the race or even some advice on finalising preparations before the start of the rally. Whilst most of the riders, drivers and co-pilots who came to this session will be taking part in the Dakar for the first time, a certain amount also needed to reacquaint themselves with the ambiance after their initiation on the previous edition, whether Argentinean, Bolivian, Peruvian or Chilean. Amongst the newcomers, Marcos Di Palma, one of the Argentinean stars of motor-circuit racing, was keen to immerse himself in the atmosphere before taking his co-pilot’s seat in the car that will be driven by his brother Jose-Luis, already well-versed in the ways of the Dakar: “My brother convinced me to come and I think that with this rally, the French have invented something brilliant! Personally, I’ve never done any navigation and this is why I’ve come to attend the training. The explanations were very valuable and I reckon that I’ll manage to handle it, even if the first few days are likely to be very difficult”.
