Role: Dakar Rally Contestant for the fifth time.īackground: Has been with the Swedish army since completing his military service.

Update: During the editing of the magazine Thomas had to withdraw at the 12th stage of the rally. I hope these will prevent problems and give me the flow that I have been waiting for since my Dakar rally back in 2007.” The two biggest changes in 2013 are the new bolt security and a new tank system. “What I have been dreaming about for the past few years is a Dakar rally where everything simply works as it is supposed to. One of their biggest strengths is that they also lock the bolts against soft materials like aluminum and plastic, which tend to move and change shape during a race.” I chose these because they offer the highest security on the market. “For the 2013 rally, I secured all the bolted joints of the additional equipment mounted on my bike with Nord-Lock X-series washers.

Have you found a solution to this problem? Since I’m on the road for up to 12 hours every day, I need to rely on the bolts not loosening.” I don’t have any extra washers with me and retightening bolts takes too much time. When I’m out on the track in the middle of the desert, I’m on my own with just a few tools for an emergency repair. “The real check is made by my service team during the nighttime break. Is it not possible to retighten the bolts during the race?

It happened once in 2012 and in 2011 the whole handlebar came loose twice.” It is common for the bolts to loosen due to the extreme vibrations and the whole navigation tower can fall off. The navigation tower weighs 8kg and is mounted on the bike’s steering head, which has a very small mounting surface. Most important is the navigation tower in front of the bike containing road book, GPS, compass, double trip meter, antennas and other electronics. A Dakar rally motorcycle has to be customised with a lot of additional equipment mounted on the chassis. But the biggest problem is the vibrations. Last year, the petrol boiled in my tank and the bike just wouldn’t run. What is the biggest mechanical challenge? More than half of the contestants are forced to quit because of injury or mechanical problems.” In temperatures of up to 50☌, we cross deserts that shift from huge sand dunes to camel grass, as well as mountainous areas with stretches of sharp, loose rocks. “We drive up to 900 km every day for a total of two weeks in some of the world’s most extreme off-road terrain. Why is the Dakar rally considered to be so dangerous? Bolted had a chat with Thomas before the start of the rally. Participating for the fifth time in the motorcycle class, Swede Thomas Berglund aimed to put the 8,000 km route behind him as one of the top 10 drivers. The rally has resulted in numerous deaths over the last 34 years and is known to be more about competing with the harsh environment than with the other contestants. In January 2013, the legendary Dakar Rally started in Peru for the first time and end in Chile, having crossed the Andes into Argentina. Sistemas de fechamento, ferramentas para rotores e carcaçasįixador de parafuso com arruela rebaixadaĬompeting in the world’s most dangerous race

World most dsngous racr