HE’S DONE IT: Stuart Gregory completes epic Dakar 2020 journey! VIDEO
Friends are looking forward to hearing all the war stories when he gets back.
AN emotional Stuart Gregory of Port Edward finished Dakar 2020 in Saudi Arabia earlier today.
Friends and family from around the world have sent the popular nut farmer messages of congratulations.
ALSO READ : Stuart Gregory ‘nuts’ about Dakar … hopes to make some South Coast history
The jokes have flown as well, of course.
Jason Palmer chirped: Hey, Stu what time are you back? We are riding Bongana (mountain) on Sunday at 7.30am, don’t be late!”
“Brilliant, brilliant, we are all happy and jealous at the same time. You have done something we have all dreamed of doing,” said another friend.
No doubt, he won’t have to pay for a beer for a while.
And he can look forward to a free meal sometime.
“The Silver Bullets will take you out for lunch to celebrate your achievement,” said Roger Ireland.
It has indeed been an absolute epic, with not everyone finishing this grueling race.
Stuart knows the feeling of not finishing all too well, having gotten so close last year and then his bike packed in on the penultimate stage.
He also knows the stress of not starting, as was almost the case this year.
In fact, his journey to get there is almost as remarkable as completing this desert ride.
Just to finish is nothing short of remarkable. Stuart, competing in the malle category (no support) finished in the top 100.
Those at home or watching on TV may not realise just how tough and dangerous this event is.
This year there was one death, that of Paulo Goncalves (Portugal), as well as injuries to numerous riders.
Some of these are very serious, including a friend of Stuart’s.
The overall winner was Ricky Brabec of California in the United States of America.
He rode for the Motul-backed Monster Energy Honda Team 2020, and made history at this year’s Dakar by becoming the first ever American winner of the ultimate rally-raid event.
The fact that he has done it on a Honda CRF 450 Rally is also historic: it is the manufacturer’s first Dakar win in over 30 years and in the process they have ended KTM’s 18 year domination of the event.
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