More horse-and-wagon. You see this all over every place we went.
Des & the fuzz get escorted to a new route
Yes Des, I'm still behind ya!
Border guards like the bike
Shawna flashes a hustler at the border crossing
Shawna's ride with the Petersen crew. What you can't see is that even the work trucks are fully decked out with Sparco seats and race harnesses.
Guido Faber crosses the border into Hungary in style
The scene is far more laid back at this crossing into Hungary. The cross into Romania, at a different location, was almost tense. And they didn't let us take any pictures.
All the way on the liaison stages, people line the streets watching the Dakar vehicles pass, waving, and cheering. People drive to park by the side of the road and watch. Kind of like a circus.
At Debrecen, we unload David's KTM, put the wheel back on, and he rides in officially. For some reason, the Repsol team was exempt from this little regulation.
There aren't brolly girls at Dakar, but there is always a gaggle of local hotties throing a lot of Red Bull around. I think the stuff tastes vile, it makes me nauseous, and I get a much cleaner kick from Yerba Mate, but where would motorsport be without Red Bull? And yes, that's my hat again.
Setting up shop at the Debrecen service park
The riders pretty much just sit and wait until I can get them to the hotel as soon as possible. Which is as it should be, since they work their asses off all day. In two hours, this field will be packed with trucks and teams.
