Jane Daniels ‘I genuinely did not think it’d be this hard’
Fantic-riding Brit is getting it done in the world’s toughest race
Michael Guy
Dakar rookie Jane Daniels continues to deliver in Saudi Arabia with the four-time women’s world enduro champion holding 52nd overall as MCN went to press at the end of stage eight. The Fantic-mounted Brit, who only had one rally under her belt before entering Dakar, continues to exceed expectations with a combination of strong pace and solid navigation, but it hasn’t been easy, with the 28-year-old suffering a heavy crash on stage six.
Speaking to MCN on the rest day she said: “I was 154km into the 600km stage. It was crossing a dry lake and I was going quite fast because the sand was soft. I was full-throttle and because of that I couldn’t hear the bleeping from the nav system that there was a danger/ warning coming up on the road book. I rolled the throttle a little bit because I could see there was a lump in front of me and as I rolled I heard the final bleep of the warning, but it was too late and I was already at it so I had to commit to jumping into it, but it wasn’t enough. I got thrown over the bars, I did a few cartwheels and the bike did the same.
“The exhaust was folded under the mudguard so I kicked that out, but the biggest issue was that the whole tower had twisted to the left, which meant that it was hitting the safety equipment and so I could turn right, but not left. I managed to bar it away a bit but it didn’t make much difference so I removed the bracket that held my speedo which gave me a bit more clearance. It wasn’t ideal but I did about 220km with it all bent. By the time I got to bivouac where there was no team assistance due to it being the 48-hour chrono stage I could only turn right but I managed to get a crowbar from one of the service vehicles and bar it away properly – so for the remaining 270km of the stage I could turn left and right!”
Crash aside, Daniels continues to enjoy the challenge and the event, but did admit to the fact that despite all her research it’s all proving more difficult that she could have ever imagined it would be.
“I genuinely did not think it would be this hard,” she admitted. “The days are a lot longer than I expected and the Special Stages are way longer than I thought they would be. The liaisons haven’t been too bad apart from the day we had to do 508km transfer just to get to the start of the Special!
“I am enjoying it and that is the main thing. The pace of the leading riders is incredible and I have nothing but respect for them.
“I have absolutely no idea how they ride so fast, read the road book and stay on the bike. The pace they have through the dunes is unbelievable and I definitely need a lot more rally training to be anywhere near them.”
With a further four stages to go, Daniels remains on target to join Tamsin Jones and Patsy Quick in being the only British women ever to complete the infamously gruelling desert event.
‘The damage meant I could only turn right’