Dunes, Dirt & Dakar
In which I watch a bunch of wheeled vehicles get stuck in the sand (sometimes).
It’s that time of year in which I get mildly obsessed with following the fortunes of the brave (or foolish depending on your perspective) souls taking part in the Dakar Rally.
What is the Dakar, other than the start of my motorsports season?
Officially it’s an off-road endurance rally raid event that takes place each year in Saudi Arabia over two weeks.
Unofficially it’s a test of man (and woman) and machine against some of the most inhospitable terrain you could take a wheeled vehicle over. The bikes, quads, cars, and trucks race against the clock every day on stages that can be as long as 600 km in length across dunes, mud, camel grass, rocks, and wind-blown sand fields known as ergs.
From 1978 to 2007 the rally was originally a point-to-point race from Paris to Dakar, but political problems along the route caused its cancellation. It then switched to race across South America for a few years, before moving to the deserts of Saudia Arabia in 2020.
As well as the challenge of watching the vehicles navigate the terrain, one of the most appealing aspects for me is the fact that the competitors have to work on their own vehicles in the stage, no quick pitstops here. And if someone gets into trouble other competitors will stop and help out. It’s not unusual to see one of the trucks pulling a car out of a dune, or a group of bikes stopping to help a fallen comrade. This is a story of survival as much as it is about winning.
For the past several years I’ve been cheering along the, now, 61-year-old Carlos Sainz Sr.1 whose rallying career I’ve been following since I saw him on the RAC Rally (the British round of the World Rally Championship) way back in 1987. He remains incredibly competitive - As I write this he is actually leading the pro-car class in this year’s Dakar in his all-electric Audi.
Thankfully the official Dakar channel on YouTube has daily highlight shows, as well as more in-depth class-focused videos in multiple languages making it easy to keep up with the events and enjoy the spectacular sights. Now excuse me I need to go check in on the results of today’s stage.
Other Stuff
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Brabazon Bits
This week has been a week of emails, checking in with the publishers on the book’s progress, as well as exchanges with various folks at the BAe and Airbus Heritage teams.
I’ve also started down the path of trying to find out what happened to all the bits of the two Brabazon aircraft after they were broken up with emails sent to the company that actually did the dismantling work, plus various museums that I’ve seen mentioned as having various Brab parts in their collections.
One nice surprise this week was the arrival of The Brabazon card from the “Speed” trading card game produced by Pepys game company in 1948.
Pages and Screens
Books Read in 2024 - “Liverpool: Wonderous Place” by Paul Du Noyer.
This book has been on my shelves for many years and often dipped into for research purposes, but this was the first time actually reading it through.
For anyone familiar with Liverpool, this personal social history told via the story of its music scene will certainly evoke memories and nods of recognition.
It’s inevitable then that I was most engaged with the descriptions of the late 1970s period when I was at technical college in Liverpool and catching the early days of acts like Teardrop Explodes, OMD, and a young fellow called Elvis Costello in various clubs such as Eric’s, buying records at Probe, and reading Do Noyer’s own columns in NME each week.
And of course, the Beatles are woven throughout the narrative in a way that reflects how the city that gave birth to them has viewed her most famous sons over the intervening decades.
But I’m not sure this would read as well for anyone who doesn’t have a connection with the city, as it does rely on a degree of familiarity with the geography, culture, and history of the Pool of Life.
Bond Briefings
The new bi-weekly James Bond Lexicon newsletter is off to a great start with more subscribers than we could have hoped for over the first few weeks. - Thanks to everyone who has subscribed.
In our latest issue, we took a look at Bond on the Bookshelf as we contemplate what makes a 007 library.
If you enjoy the worlds of 007, and haven’t subscribed, you can join us at the link below
Before They Were Beatles Updates
The Forgotten Beatles first episode is now online. We kick things off with a look at Pete Best’s story both before and after his time as a Beatle. - You can give it a listen right HERE
The February issue of the Before They Were Beatles newsletter is written and staged and will drop next week. This time around we will be taking a closer look at The Liverpool Insitute, a place that played a significant role in at least 50% of The Beatles. If you don’t want to miss out on the expanded story of the early Beatles history, you can sign up for a subscription below.
Weekly Web Round-Up
Racing Comics - I recently came across a British comic from the mid-sixties called Ranger that had a few racing-themed covers and have started to add them to the Motor Sports in Comic blog on Tumblr. This one in particular was pretty dramatic
Forest Comics & Books - It’s been a busy week over at the online store with sales across most categories including Dr. Who, Star Trek, The Saint, as well as several graphic novels and a run on several vintage SF paperbacks. But we continue to add new stuff, and you can check out all our current offerings HERE
Batman On The Cover - The journey through Batman’s comics publishing history continues this week we move into October 1968, with new issues of Detective Comics, Brave and the Bold, and World’s Finest, along with a cover appearance on DC’s new in-house fanzine DC Special
My pick from these is another of Neal Adams’ dynamic multi-perspective covers from his run on Brave and the Bold. There is so much going on here, yet you can take it all in with a quick glance thanks to the brilliant design and figure placement.
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See you next time
Alan J. Porter
The Can’t See The Forest (TM) newsletter is a production of Megrin Entertainment, a division of 4Js Group LLC
Father of Ferrari F1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr.