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Andrew Newland Rallying

 

 

- Introduction

- How I started Rallying

- Africa Eco Race Dec 14/Jan 15

- Libya Rally 16th - 23rd April 2015

- 2nd Place in Africa Eco Rally 2016

 

Introduction

Ace Café and NGK Sparkplugs (UK) Ltd are sponsoring one of their Directors, Andrew Newland, to enter the Dakar Rally.

Andrew Newland has had a tough training schedule of small UK Hare & Hound events all the way up to full bore Road Book Rallies.

We will be updating the site with Andrew’s results as the year progresses.

With the Ace Café branching out into the American & European market, the Dakar will offer fantastic coverage. Newland Construction Ltd extended NGK Sparkplugs warehouse in Hemel Hempstead in 2013 and refurbished the Ace Café back in 2001.

Both NGK Sparkplugs and Ace Café are well known brands that all petrol heads know and love.

Andrew has chosen MacMillan as his charity. Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer.

I am sure you will Rally with us in wishing him good luck with his results and with raising money for a very worth while cause that is close to many of us.

 

How I started Rallying

 

A friend of mine suggested I do a triathlon with him, which I did and loved. I spent the next few years doing all sorts of distances and in all sorts of exotic places.

The Call of Adventure beckons………

I have always liked the idea of doing an extreme race, so I decided I would train to do the Dakar Rally, which is known as being the hardest race in the world. And to make it really hard I will do it on a motorbike. I am a great believer in pushing yourself to the limit.

I have ridden motorcycles off road intermittently since I was young so it is not as foolish as you might think. The next question was “how do you train for such an event”.  

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Well firstly I needed to build my CV to even get accepted into the Dakar. To date I have raced in many rallies which have been a mixture of Hard Enduro type rallies with complex tight navigation to long distance African desert Rallies. It has been a very steep learning curve from being rescued most days on the first Rally to coming Second in the Merzouga Rally in Morocco in October 2014. Navigation is key and as important as riding ability.

Time and time again you see pro riders getting lost despite their superior riding ability and speed. My Race at Merzouga went all to plan with only a few navigation errors, which I quickly recovered most days. Day 2 always seems to be my nemesis (probably due to nerves) as I was going well after about three hours of fast riding in the dunes when I had a fall and broke four of my ribs. I rode winded for a few hours and then the Paracetamol kicked in and I could ride with full vigor coming in 5th on the day. Over the next few days I slowly worked my way up the leader board and finished second overall and first British Rider. The hard work had paid off.

The second stage in the process is getting comfortable, being it is such a stressful and extreme environment. Being methodical and concentrating on your own game rather than being swept up in the adrenaline and madness.

So the next adventure I chose was much longer and was the Africa Eco Race 2014/15, which started in Saint Cyprien (france) and ended in Dakar.

This is not the Official Dakar race as that is now staged in South America but the Africa Eco Race is the routes and is considered as hard by many.

The Race started on the 28th Dec 14 and finished on January 11th 2015. Approx 8000km of racing – Trucks, Cars, Quads and Bikes…..Hundreds…..Help.

This was a psychological hurdle personally as if I could finish this race then I would be confident I could finish the Dakar. One step further to my goal.

I will let you know how the next adventure turns out …….

 

Africa Eco Race Dec 14/Jan 15

Andrew was doing really well and was in the top 5 at day 3 when disaster struck and he flew over a dune and broke his collarbone. He has since made a full recovery and looking forward to completing the great event next year.

Libya Rally 16th - 23rd April 2015

 

Yet again a hard rally, but Andrew came in overall 2nd Place & again was the top Brit
- another Trophy for the cabinet !! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

2nd Place in Africa Eco Rally 2016

 

I took part in the Africa Eco race, which started in Monaco on the 29th Dec 2015 and travelled approx 6500km across Morocco, Mauritania and into Senegal with the final destination being the finish line at the famous Lac Rose on the 10th January 2016.

Last year I crashed on day three and broke my collarbone so I was determined this year to finish accident free.

The race started well with 39 other professional & amateur riders, and all be it the riding each day was punishing in terms of distance and terrain, I remained high up in the top five just behind the former rally world champion Pal Anders Ullevalseter.

The ranking changed daily between the current women’s world rally champion (Anastasiya Nifontova) and myself. I had an electrical problem, which changed a comfortable lead in second to many hours behind the front leaders. I kept my head and pushed hard to regain my second place position in the final standings.

One of the most memorable days was winning a stage ahead of Pal Anders Ullevalseter. The whole camp was awash with praise and well wishers wanting to shake my hand and compliment me on the win, a wonderful experience.

 

Each night we had interviews with MotoTv and the helicopters followed my progress each day whilst riding.

Navigation was tricky and this leveled the fast riders against the good navigators.

Each night we set up at a moving bivouac and lived out of tents. Our mechanics and team manager (Patsy Quick – Desert Rose Racing) provided the best support and assistance, which enabled the whole team to finish.

The rally was not without its drama’s with quite a number of riders out with broken legs, dislocated shoulders and heat exhaustion to name but a few – however the spirit of the rally never faltered and the medical teams on ground and in the air were fantastic.

The poverty in Mauritania was very apparent and will leave a lasting memory with me. The people were all very hospitable, but it was clear they have nothing and no prospect of getting anything. The border between Morocco and Mauritania known as “no mans land” is like a scene from Mad Max with thousands of abandoned cars and bandits roaming in this lawless chunk of land. The organizers warned us not to stop or stray from the piste.

I always like Morocco and feel very at ease there as I find the Moroccans a gentle and kind race. It is clear to see that society is flourishing in Senegal as the women are all immaculately dressed in local dress and the children looked happy and well looked after – a truly beautiful place – but remember this is all through the lenses of my goggles doing up to 150kmph.

So all in all a great race and great 2nd place result for an amateur…what a journey.