Articles by Mike Ryan

On January 12 - 14, MidAmerica Auctions hosted their 21st Annual Las Vegas Auction. To mark the anniversary, a number of rare and unusual motorcycles were offered, including examples owned by Steve McQueen, rare marques, racers and ex-museum bikes. Held at Las Vegas's South Point Hotel, the auction saw over 80 percent of consigned lots sold, for a sales total of US$4.6Million.

The Dakar 2012 proved to be the 'Year of the Mini', with the X-Raid All4 Raing Minis finishing first and second in the event. The only real challenge to the X-Raid Minis came from the Hummer H3s of Robby Gordon and last year's winner (in a VW Touareg) Nasser Al-Attiyah.

After 13 stages of close-fought competition, the end of the motorcycle section of the 2012 Dakar rally was anticlimactic. Cyril Despres triumphed for his fourth Dakar victory after team mate and main rival Marc Coma suffered mechanical problems on the penultimate stage.

Stage 13 of the 2012 Dakar rally proved to be a pivotal one in the motorcycle class. After a see-sawing battle between Cyril Despres and Marc Coma, the penultimate day of the event saw Frenchman Despres take what appears to be an unassailable lead with one day remaining.

In what has been one of the most closely-fought and intriguing battles in recent Dakar history, the Red Bull KTM team mates, Marc Coma and Cyril Despres, continued their battle in the Peruvian dunes on Stage 12 of the 2012 Dakar.

For its arrival in Peru, the Dakar 2012 saw the motorcyclists and the quads run a longer stage to the cars and trucks, consisting of 171kms of transit and two separate Special Stage sections of 534kms between Arica and Arequipa. While Stage 11 featured more of the 'fesh fesh' sand, and some river crossings, much of the stage was characterised by bone-jarring rocky trails.

Stage 10 of the 2012 Dakar rally went the way of Joan Barreda Bort (Husqvarna 450 RR). What was even more impressive is that the young Spaniard beat the powerhouse Red Bull KTM team of Marc Coma and Cyril Despres while riding with a damaged foot for most of the stage!

If the 'Flanders' marque means nothing to you, you're not alone. Given the name, one would think it's European, but Flanders were actually built in the USA before World War I, and were the creation of Walter Flanders.

The ongoing battle between KTM team mates Cyril Despres and Marc Coma continued on Stage 9 of the 2012 Dakar. This time, it was the turn of Despres to regain the overall lead, but neither rider won the stage, as they both incurred time penalties for an engine swap after Stage 8 of the rally.

After a less than stellar debut World Superbike season on the Team Pedercini satellite Kawasaki outfit in 2011, Mark Aitchison will return to the series this year with Team Grillini on a new BMW S 1000 RR

Following a day of R&R in Copiapo, the 2012 Dakar got underway again on Monday, January 9, in a 722 km stage (245km transit, 477km Special Stage) from Copiapo to Antofagasta.

They were tipped to be the team to beat before the start of the 2012 Dakar rally, and the flotilla of Minis from the German-based X-Raid team haven't disappointed, winning multiple stages and looking likely to secure an overall class victory in the fortnight-long South American endurance event.