Conor Malone answers the most obvious question before being asked. “It’s ridiculous,” he says, for two people with no motorsports experience to try to become the first Canadians in a car to finish the most gruelling motor race in the world.
Although huge in Europe and South America, for many in Canada the annual Dakar Rally is as unfamiliar as cricket or kick boxing. Those who follow the race, though, know it’s a cruel mistress, drawing the passionate with the allure of danger and excitement, but jilting most who enter with failure – or worse.
Although six Canadians have finished it on motorcycles, none have crossed the finish on four wheels. The most recent car attempt, last year by Christian Girouard and motorsport veteran Lawrence Hacking – the first Canadian to finish on a motorcycle – ended before the first real day of racing due to mechanical failure.
The only thing Malone and his team have left to do before lining their car up for the start in Buenos Aires on Jan. 1 is find a sitter for his cat. To be at the finish, though, they have to survive 15 days and more than 9,000 km of mud, sand and rock.
The Team
Malone, a project manager for a large construction company, will be behind the wheel. His friend and fellow Torontonian Glenna Chestnutt, a business development manager in the insurance industry, had planned to be in the co-driver seat navigating, but a ski accident last year left her with a couple of cracked vertebrae and a pelvis broken in four places. She’ll now drive the support truck as general manager. Tom Frank of Colorado Sand Cars, who built their race vehicle, didn’t hesitate to jump from under the vehicle as mechanic and into the vacant passenger seat. His employee, Troy Dees, will now handle the wrenching. They’ve both competed in several sand racing events in the United States, but Malone and Chestnutt had never entered a motor race until setting their sights on Dakar. Together, they make up Team Chinook. You can follow their progress at TeamChinook.com or Dakar.com.
The Mission
The annual Dakar Rally has been run since 1979, with motorcycles, cars, quads and transport trucks now competing. Originally a race from Paris to Dakar, Senegal, this is the third year it’s been held in South America. The route follows a 9,500-kilometre loop from Argentina through Chile and back again over dirt tracks, towering dunes and gravel roads, with speeds reaching close to 200 km/h. Each of the 15 race days consist of a timed section as long as 600 km, bracketed by connections as long as 400 km to get from the previous night's camp to the day’s race course, and then to the night’s rest stop camp. If racers miss the start of the timed section or take too long to finish, they face disqualification. If they’re delayed reaching the day’s destination, there will be little time for rest and repairs. Only a handful of elite racers are vying for a podium spot; most are just trying to be among the 40 per cent or so who finish. Over the years, at least 49 of the unluckiest racers have died trying.
The Inspiration
