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My first view of the Atlas Mountains.

Who said desert racing was HOT?

To be honest I was not expecting sights like this in Africa.

The landscape was harsh but had a beauty all of it's own.

One of the many mud brick buildings.

Like a scene from Mexico....an Oasis in the desert.

Our first African bivouac. The real Dakar starts here. Welcome to Er Rachidia.

A view of the compound before it was filled with over 2500 people.

Crews would mark out areas to set up camp/workshop and await the arrival of the team.

This was the main cafeteria area. The tents along the back contained the serving and food areas. The tents along the side had rugs for everyone to sit on and enjoy their meal.

Local stores were set up to cater for the "tourist" wanting a souvineer.

The cold Morrocan nights were off set by several pit fires.

Local Morrocan bands entertained us throughout the night if you had a break from your work!

Morrocan Drummer

The music was great to listen to. I can still hear the African drums....

The new KTM 690 Rallye

As we left Er Rachidia I could see why it was so cold last night.

The flat roof on the mud brick houses tells me they don't get a lot of rain in this area.

Our next camp was at Ouarzazate. Each camp was at the airport.

The ELF plane was full of equipment for bikes. Just one of the 20 aeroplanes that followed the event.

So you want a room close to the airport?

A windy mountain climb out of the town.

Mr Dakar....Denis Martin was attending his 10th Dakar. He has raced a truck in the event as well as navigated and this year was a bike mechanic.

Andre Papin was our driver for the Dakar. At this stage he was having a rest from driving and trying his hand at navigating

Yes this is me....photographed by me....

Same GPS as competitors, same Terratrip, different road book. We still had to navigate our way there and the GPS was checked each night for hidden way points as well as speed detection.

Coming into Tan Tan

A camel is a mans best friend out here.

The locals lined the streets, the tourists lined the road into the airport!

Patrice Carillon and myself at our camp in Tan Tan

This shot was taken at about 5am after working all night with no sleep in a sand strom. The food tents all but blew down, peoples sleeping tents blew away and we are about to drive to our next destination.

The Dakar circus hits the road.

The mounds of dirt topped with white paint mark the way.....the safe way through a mine field!

Keep your eye on the road and don't take any excursions off it....or it could be your last.

The service trucks seemed to have a race of their own.

500km of off road in a six wheel drive truck, just what you want after working all night and getting no sleep.

A bush refuel. Transferring fuel from the sub to main tank. A rare chance to stretch the legs for 15 minutes