Rhino Run 2022 - KAMAAAN Benky!!

[Shebeen]

2 minutes ago, milky4130 said:

I think it was at Solitaire on the live feed Benky said he is not following the tracking, I think not doing that also contributed, not sure if that would've made a difference to a motivated AZ.

He can answer that himself, but i don't think the tracker was loading in the ganmadoelas. a sms or whatsapp to supporters can, but is also time consuming.

 

When the winning margin is just 17minutes you can start picking out time at stops to whittle either way, but ultimately they were racing against each other and they were both pretty finished by the end. if benky had a 2 hour margin at solitaire instead of an hour fifteen would that have been sufficient?...we will never know.

[Comrade J]

6 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

clearly I am too old for instagram.

New to actually using it and find it incredibly user unfriendly.

https://www.instagram.com/sofianeshl/

I tried clicking on the face to find the story thing but it has all disappeared now, is his allegation post gone for good now?

 

 

The two Ugandan Riders were caught cheating. Race control piocked the anomolly of much faster section times compared to AZ and Benky, and then discoverd the riders got a lift...

Technology is a bitch........

[Comrade J]

Here  is the direct post....

 

the_rhino_run

With such an amazing race for first place last night, it pains us to make this post.

As some dot-watchers may be aware, there are allegations of riders breaking the rules in the Rhino Run. We request some patience as we assess the tracking data over the coming weeks. It certainly looks like there are some issues with the tracking data for some riders with average speeds that do not appear possible for some sections. This is very concerning. If it is clear that a rider has broken the rules, if they do not withdraw from the race, they will be disqualified. We take integrity seriously. It will take some time to look at the complete set of data and communicate with the riders involved, before any disqualification is announced.

In such remote areas without phone reception it can take more than a day for riders to make contact. We finally spoke to @teamamani riders @katopaul_amani and @wasswapeter_amani this afternoon. They have withdrawn themselves from the race after getting help from a car on course. The brothers reported being concerned about some medical issues in a very remote area and, needing help, they got a lift to seek treatment. While they are withdrawing from the race, they will continue their ride to Windhoek as their health permits. Their trackers will still report their position for their own safety.

Whether there are disqualifications in the coming weeks or not, the most important consideration is that all riders make it to Windhoek, or off the course, safely. Public tracking will help with that. There is no easy exit option for riders on course - the riders are passing through extremely remote areas and short of hitch-hiking there is no way out without continuing to ride.

Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks as more riders finish the course and we have time to process the data, speak to the riders and validate rides where necessary.

[gemmerbal]

@Shebeen and @milky4130 if one considers all that Abdullah had to deal with, mechanicals and whatnot, it certainly was a great chase in the end. On Youtube they posted daily highlights (on Curve’s channel) and I think it was on day 6 where they asked Benkie: so whats the plan for today? He replied, time to seal the deal. Those words ultimately came back to bite him. He also referenced somewhere that he thought his tyre choice would give him the advantage in the sand, this may or may not have been true albeit that he lost the race on asphalt/hardpack coming into the final stretch. I was watching the dots on Friday late night and it was a rollercoaster!

[gemmerbal]

4 minutes ago, Comrade J said:

Here  is the direct post....

 

the_rhino_run

With such an amazing race for first place last night, it pains us to make this post.

As some dot-watchers may be aware, there are allegations of riders breaking the rules in the Rhino Run. We request some patience as we assess the tracking data over the coming weeks. It certainly looks like there are some issues with the tracking data for some riders with average speeds that do not appear possible for some sections. This is very concerning. If it is clear that a rider has broken the rules, if they do not withdraw from the race, they will be disqualified. We take integrity seriously. It will take some time to look at the complete set of data and communicate with the riders involved, before any disqualification is announced.

In such remote areas without phone reception it can take more than a day for riders to make contact. We finally spoke to @teamamani riders @katopaul_amani and @wasswapeter_amani this afternoon. They have withdrawn themselves from the race after getting help from a car on course. The brothers reported being concerned about some medical issues in a very remote area and, needing help, they got a lift to seek treatment. While they are withdrawing from the race, they will continue their ride to Windhoek as their health permits. Their trackers will still report their position for their own safety.

Whether there are disqualifications in the coming weeks or not, the most important consideration is that all riders make it to Windhoek, or off the course, safely. Public tracking will help with that. There is no easy exit option for riders on course - the riders are passing through extremely remote areas and short of hitch-hiking there is no way out without continuing to ride.

Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks as more riders finish the course and we have time to process the data, speak to the riders and validate rides where necessary.

I saw the post on FB on Saturday I think. Its hard to fathom but I think that considering they were mid-fielders, it might have been a case of needing either medical or other assistance as there clearly is no signal out in the sticks. It would make no sense to cheat when you are hundreds of kms behind the leaders. I don't know, guess we will find out in time. It’s certainly the first time I’ve seen guys cheat in this way in this type of event, maybe I’m wrong?

[gemmerbal]

 

[milky4130]

I think calling it cheating is harsh. As per the media post, what are they to do if they want to scratch from the race? from what I'm gathering absolutely nothing, it takes days to get word to the organizers. Had they finished and not declared that they got assistance then by all means bring on the tar & feathers. I think some disgruntled rider in a world of pain aiming for top 5 all of sudden noticed on the tracker that these guys were ahead and called it as he saw it.

[milky4130]

12 minutes ago, gemmerbal said:

@Shebeen and @milky4130 if one considers all that Abdullah had to deal with, mechanicals and whatnot, it certainly was a great chase in the end. On Youtube they posted daily highlights (on Curve’s channel) and I think it was on day 6 where they asked Benkie: so whats the plan for today? He replied, time to seal the deal. Those words ultimately came back to bite him. He also referenced somewhere that he thought his tyre choice would give him the advantage in the sand, this may or may not have been true albeit that he lost the race on asphalt/hardpack coming into the final stretch. I was watching the dots on Friday late night and it was a rollercoaster!

Yeah was following that daily. some great insights to what was happening out there. The pitch reports was also great, typical Ozzie 🤪 If you consider how close AZ came to destroying his rim early on that was a massive gamble that luckily for him paid off.

[gemmerbal]

11 minutes ago, milky4130 said:

I think calling it cheating is harsh. As per the media post, what are they to do if they want to scratch from the race? from what I'm gathering absolutely nothing, it takes days to get word to the organizers. Had they finished and not declared that they got assistance then by all means bring on the tar & feathers. I think some disgruntled rider in a world of pain aiming for top 5 all of sudden noticed on the tracker that these guys were ahead and called it as he saw it.

I certainly don’t pass judgment with using the word cheating, so apologies for the poor choice of words. I think all will be revealed so let’s wait for that. 
 

Insane event though, my word. Props to each and every one of the participants, Im sitting here k_kking myself for my first Munga attempt and then you have okes doing 2740kms in 8 days! Through Namibia to boot, that is HARSH country!

[Shebeen]

1 minute ago, milky4130 said:

I think calling it cheating is harsh. As per the media post, what are they to do if they want to scratch from the race? from what I'm gathering absolutely nothing, it takes days to get word to the organizers. Had they finished and not declared that they got assistance then by all means bring on the tar & feathers. I think some disgruntled rider in a world of pain aiming for top 5 all of sudden noticed on the tracker that these guys were ahead and called it as he saw it.

It all depends on what the organisers were told. Here is what i can glean from the tracker history.

 

They were in the mix with a large group chasing 4th place coming into Aus with ~700km to go.

it looks like Paul's tracker went dead for the bit where they did 200km in about 6 hours. Peter's recorded speeds of 77km/h for about 50km though.

 

they then magically reappear just outside of Betta camp, where they ride in and sleep for 11hours before riding off again.

 

[gemmerbal]

13 minutes ago, milky4130 said:

Yeah was following that daily. some great insights to what was happening out there. The pitch reports was also great, typical Ozzie 🤪 If you consider how close AZ came to destroying his rim early on that was a massive gamble that luckily for him paid off.

Haha pitch report… 🤣

 

imagine looking for a grub screw in the sand to secure your wheel or otherwise you’re screwed! (Pun intended 😛)

[Shebeen]

29 minutes ago, gemmerbal said:

@Shebeen and @milky4130 if one considers all that Abdullah had to deal with, mechanicals and whatnot, it certainly was a great chase in the end. On Youtube they posted daily highlights (on Curve’s channel) and I think it was on day 6 where they asked Benkie: so whats the plan for today? He replied, time to seal the deal. Those words ultimately came back to bite him. He also referenced somewhere that he thought his tyre choice would give him the advantage in the sand, this may or may not have been true albeit that he lost the race on asphalt/hardpack coming into the final stretch. I was watching the dots on Friday late night and it was a rollercoaster!

indeed, Abdullah had a lot of issues, lost phone, the rim, the grub screw, crashes breaking his bag (he finished with a budget school bag!). battling to sleep early on.

 

B U T Benky broke his elbow 8 weeks ago and wasn't going to ride this. he felt he just couldn't miss out and was prepared to give it a bash despite not preparing properly. let's not forget that very important fact.

[Shebeen]

2 minutes ago, gemmerbal said:

Haha pitch report… 🤣

 

imagine looking for a grub screw in the sand to secure your wheel or otherwise you’re screwed! (Pun intended 😛)

you did see the one where he Tony Greig'd the gravel corrugations with his keys?

[gemmerbal]

1 minute ago, Shebeen said:

you did see the one where he Tony Greig'd the gravel corrugations with his keys?

No? 🤣🤣🤣

[gemmerbal]

11 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

indeed, Abdullah had a lot of issues, lost phone, the rim, the grub screw, crashes breaking his bag (he finished with a budget school bag!). battling to sleep early on.

 

B U T Benky broke his elbow 8 weeks ago and wasn't going to ride this. he felt he just couldn't miss out and was prepared to give it a bash despite not preparing properly. let's not forget that very important fact.

Absolutely correct, and he did himself extremely proud! 

[milky4130]

27 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

It all depends on what the organisers were told. Here is what i can glean from the tracker history.

 

They were in the mix with a large group chasing 4th place coming into Aus with ~700km to go.

it looks like Paul's tracker went dead for the bit where they did 200km in about 6 hours. Peter's recorded speeds of 77km/h for about 50km though.

 

they then magically reappear just outside of Betta camp, where they ride in and sleep for 11hours before riding off again.

 

I think the tracker is just confirming the reports, but we are still unsure what the protocol is for abandoning or scratching from the race? I would guess it is find your own way to the finish, so there was no other option but to continue riding after clearing the initial medical concern? I’m just speculating what the situation was.