Pavey enters extreme new Beijing Rally

Escapism is the answer to surviving modern day life. Some people go away for the weekend and then others go to extreme lengths to keep the sparkle in their eye. Six-times Dakar competitor Simon Pavey is that man – a motorcycle rally rider who loves the idea of taking himself to the edge of sanity.

Simon has entered a new rally called the Transorientale which starts in St Petersburg in Russia on 12 June 2008. He will race a motorcycle through the lush landscapes of Russia, across the large steppes of central Asia; navigate around the lakes in Kazakhstan to China, where the gigantic sand dunes begin – some of the highest in the world reaching more than 2000 metres. The finish will be in Beijing on 28 June 2008, after competitors have travelled 10,000 kilometres over 17 days.

“I have competed in the Dakar six times now and finish four and I’ve felt like it’s time for a change,” said Pavey who last competed in the Dakar as a support rider to Charley Boorman on the Race to Dakar project. “The idea of this rally really excites me. For the Rally-Raid Marathon competitors it seems that it will be tougher than the current Dakar. It’s a chance for me to ride through different countries and try a new experience. I’ve got high hopes for this event and I’m sure it will live up to it. It’s also the first time I get to share a rally with my wife Linley.”

The Transorientale is aimed at catering for all types of rally competitors – from hard-core, to those who just want to have a go. Therefore, the Rally has several different categories to suit competitors. The Rally-Raid Marathon is for the true die-hard Rally heroes. It is open to all cars, vans, motorcycles and quads in a similar set-up to the famous Dakar Rally testing competitors driving/riding ability, hunger for competition and of course, navigational skills.

The Relay Race has the same structure as the Rally-Raid Marathon, but it’s where riders and drivers can work in teams. Three drivers can share one motorcycle or four drivers in one car. They will follow the same route as the main Rally-Raid category.

The Regularity Raid is for competitors who have less support than the other two categories. It means that the vehicles are not “factory” or costly and it is a much more realistic and cost effective way of competing in a Rally.

Finally there is The Discovery Raid. This category allows those who are passionate about driving to travel across these beautiful countries in almost any vehicle. The course will be entirely on tarmac and close to rescue services. Although the scenery will be spectacular, the route will be issued by road book and the focus and grading will be on the competitor’s navigational skills. Some days competitors will need to drive almost 1,000 kilometers!

Frenchman Renè Metge is the man behind this fantastic new Rally. His competitive background includes winning the Paris-Dakar Rally three times, as well as competing in the Le Mans 24-hour six times. As an organiser, his credentials include two Dakar rallies, the first Paris-Moscow-Beijing Rally, seven Master Rallies and three Orient Rallies.

For the first time Simon will be joined by his wife Linley on this new Rally. Linley will play a key role of driving the support vehicle to assist Simon in his effort of completing one of the toughest rallies of our modern time.

Simon and Linley have run the highly-successful BMW Off-Road Skills courses in south Wales for the past eight years. They have taught thousands of people to ride off road for the first time.

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