Sandblast 2008: Max Stratton blasts through the sandhill forest.When:

Sandblast is the first rally of the 2009 Atlantic RallyMoto Cup season and draws riders and drivers from all over the east coast to the sandhills of South Carolina. The surface on the stages is sand, which can be soft and mushy if it's been a warm winter, or quite firm if the weather has been wet and cold.

The latest report is that the sand is firm, which could favor the high-horsepower big twins. But this is also the first time there will be 450X's at Sandblast, so we'll see how the battle shapes up.

Read the reports from Sandblast Rally 2008 by clicking here.

Anticipated TEAM MAX BMW entrants:

Doug Morrison
Max Stratton
Joe Warner
Rob Nye
Jason Adams
Ben Stratton
TJ Jarrett
Chris Olsen
Andrew Phillips

Sandblast Rally Report - 6 Podium Finishes for BMW!

With four RallyMoto events now under our belts, we've come to a definitive conclusion: hotel parking lots are a huge part of the rally experience. They're equal parts social center, news forum and open air garage. And much of the drama in a rally begins and ends on the hotel's patch of painted pavement.

For 4 AM on a Sunday morning, the parking lot of the hotel is surprisingly busy. After 10 hours of rallying yesterday, the competitors are moving stiffly toward their trucks to endure another considerable day of travel. When they climb out into the snow back in the northern states, fond memories and stray grains of sand will be the only remaining evidence of Sandblast. (Oh, and photos - we've got lots of those too!).

Saturday was an ideal day for a rally: 70 degrees, bright blue sky, and most importantly, a corps of volunteers ready to make sure the day went smoothly. Before we give you the full report, we need to extend our appreciation to all of the BMW MOA members who answered our call for volunteers for this rally. They arrived on old airheads, new RTs, big LTs, Adventures and GSes from all over the US and we can't thank you enough for your help and support. Without the volunteers, events like this just wouldn't happen.

Most of the volunteers missed the Parc Expose on Saturday morning as they deployed to their stage assignments, but it was an impressive sight. 48 out of 51 registered bikes made it to the starting line and were released into the first transit every 30 seconds:

Doug Morrison leaves the first control.Ben Stratton, transit 1.
Two of the three DNSes didn't even make it to South Carolina. One was forced to stand and watch as his time slot sat empty under the Red Bull arch at the start. The distinctive red and white R100 GS PD with the #80 plate would be spending the day sunbathing in the hotel parking lot while Jason Adams spectated a RallyMoto for the first time. On Friday evening after shakedown, Jason noticed that the GS was under considerable strain riding into the (wait for it.....) hotel parking lot. After a brief assessment, the problem didn't immediately reveal itself. But when you find bits of aluminum in your oil pan the night before a rally, hope quickly turns to disappointment. We've seen lesser men react vigorously to more minor setbacks, but Jason handled the situation with grace, class and a mature attitude. Jason became a dad for the first time six months ago and it's nice to know he'll be setting a good example for his daughter.

Speaking of learning from past experience, after long delays clearing the stage after the cars last year, it was decided to send the motorcycles out first. This proved to be a good idea for the schedule (the riders experienced no major delays all day) but it was tough for the early riders who didn't have any tracks to follow. Between the terrain and the speed, reading a roll chart on the stage is nearly impossible and riders don't have the benefit of a co-driver to provide navigational instructions. For the top competitors, reading the course ahead and negotiating the turns quickly were the keys to notching stage wins. At the end of the day, 6 of 9 podium spots in three classes were occupied by BMWs.


Mark Albertson
TEAM MAX BMW
2nd place, Production 1
5th overall


Shawn Hamblin
Pine Barrons RallyMoto Team
1st place, Production 2
3rd place overall

For most of the riders, managing to finish was a sweet victory. Nine riders failed to meet this goal, but knowing when to retire is a key element to safety in RallyMoto. Fatigue forced Mark Danielle to spectate the final stages after riding well early in the rally. It was a smart and safe strategy on Mark's part, since the X Challenge he is riding is his first "dirt" bike and Sandblast was his first real off-road and sand-riding experience. An accomplished street rider who we often see at track day, Mark was slowly being seduced by RallyMoto during the past year. After watching the December sprint at Kearney Rally Village, Mark could no longer resist the allure and signed on for Sandblast. We're glad to have him along.

Mark Danielle navigates the sand on stage 3.

Joe Warner tells a similar story, though for him, RallyMoto was love at first sight. Joe developed an immediate addiction to our Sandblast e-riders last year and spent an "unreasonable" amount of time on the Internet following the development of RallyMoto. By September, he had mounted an HP2 and competed in the Black River Stages rally. He had a good day at Sandblast, gaining ground on each stage, collecting dust from the riders he passed, and earning some hardware in his second RallyMoto event.


Joe Warner
TEAM MAX BMW
3rd place, Production 1

If there were a trophy for sportsmanship in RallyMoto, Aaron Gibson would get one as big as his heart. After learning that Jason Adams had been forced to withdraw, Aaron thought that Jason might like to ride a stage or two on his bike to make up for some of the disappointment of having worked so hard and traveled so far only to be left as a spectator on rally day. Before offering this to Jason, Aaron approached rally master Anders Green to ask if Jason could ride his X Challenge for the remainder of the rally (with no score) if he withdrew after one of the mid-day stages. After learning of the situation and a brief negotiation, Anders agreed. Jason was touched by the gesture and considered it seriously, but told Aaron that he'd rather see him ride all of the stages. It was an awfully darn thoughtful and sincere gesture and we give Aaron two huge thumbs up for his sportsmanship.

Aaron Gibson completed every stage.Many of our RallyMoto veterans were christening new bikes at Sandblast this year. Andrew Phillips, who rode to and rallied his R1150 Adventure at Black River Stages traded up to an HP2:


Andrew Phillips
TEAM MAX BMW
6th place, Production 1

Chris Olsen and Keith Ciampa both swapped their F650 Dakars in favor of X Challenges for Sandblast and joined Jack O'Connor from the Pine Barrons and Bill Conger from the BMW Performance Center for all seven stages:


Christian Olsen
TEAM MAX BMW
3rd place, Production 2

Keith Ciampa punishes the sand on stage 3

Jack O'Connor
Pine Barrons RallyMoto Team
4th place, Production 2

Bill Conger
BMW Performance

Our new Tennessee teammate Ben Myburgh and BRS vet Dan Dupre put their Dakars through their paces on Saturday:

Ben Myburgh accelerates on stage 3.

Dan Dupre looking for speed on stage 6.

The rest of TEAM MAX BMW have maintained the HP2 as their RallyMoto weapon of choice:


Doug Morrison
TEAM MAX BMW
2nd place, Kings

Max Stratton
TEAM MAX BMW
3rd place, Kings

Jimmy Doustou
TEAM MAX BMW
4th place, Production 1

Steve Mauk
TEAM MAX BMW
5th place, Production 1

A gorgeous day yielded a nice mid-winter sunset for the start of the final stage, but darkness came quickly. The bikes wound through the sandhill forest for the final time this year, each with varying amounts of candlepower.

After months of preparation and a great rally, we're rolling north again, watching the GPS and wondering just how fast we'll get home. Is our attention to the clock because the draw of home is so powerful? That's part of it. But we also have to admit that RallyMoto has become a part of who we are, and until Rally Tennessee we'll actually kind of miss that hotel parking lot.

Sandblast Rally Report - Shakin' it Down!

It's 11:00 pm on the eve of the Sandblast Rally and the parking lot wrenchers have all finally surrendered to sleep. No doubt we'll hear the pop and buzz of cold car and bike exhausts again as soon as the dark sky turns to pink. Today was a full day for RallyMoto rookies and veterans alike, with orientation, registration, scrutineering and a short shakedown stage filling a gloriously sunny afternoon and a cool, clear evening.

Last year, the Sandblast Rally was significant because it was the first-ever RallyMoto event. This year, in addition to having a field of 50 bikes, there is a special buzz thanks to the entry of DAKAR class rally bikes. When the Dakar rally was canceled due to security concerns just a few days before it was about to begin in Lisbon, in early January, Sandblast organizer Anders Green extended free entry to any Dakar riders. Though it certainly cannot compare to the Dakar Rally, Sandblast certainly does have it share of sand! Four Dakar-class bikes are entered in the rally, including Dakar veteran James Embro, who rolled in with style in his purpose-built Dakar F350 support vehicle:



Riding away from a setting sun, the shakedown stage was short, but the gave competitors an opportunity to get a taste of what's to come:

Mark AlbertsonJoe WarnerJimmy DoustouBen StrattonBill CongerRadek BahnikTomorrow:

The first rally bike leaves the time control at 8:31 tomorrow morning to cover 199 miles, with 69 of those miles in timed stages. Team MAX BMW is ready to go and we wish all of the BMW pilots good luck tomorrow:

Doug Morrison
Mark Albertson
Dan Dupre
Chris Olsen
Steve Mauk
Ben Stratton
Max Stratton
Jim Doustou
Joe Warner
Andrew Phillips
Aaron Gibson
Jason Adams
Keith Ciampa
Mark Danielle
Thomas Bourke
Jack O'Connor
Shawn Hamblin
Donald Lilly
Bill Conger
Ben Myburgh

Sandblast Rally Report - The Preparation

It's been said that preparation is the foe of inspiration. In a creative pursuit, perhaps that's true. But when it comes to motorsports, preparation is at the heart of it all. We've seen some pretty inspired efforts this week as the Team MAX competitors navigate toward the Sandblast Rally in South Carolina tomorrow. The usual storylines are here: work schedules pushing departures back, bad weather making towing a trailer treacherous, and of course, a slew of eleventh-hour repairs and last minute upgrades.

Unlike last year, where we sampled the tourist traps along 95 on a leisurely pace to Cheraw, this year's approach into the sandhills was direct and dark. Wearily, we pushed over the state line and within ten-minutes were greeted with the southern hospitality we knew to expect.

Jason Adams, who RallyMoto fans from last year will remember for his 1000 mile through-the-night drive after his flight was canceled, was lucky to get a flight yesterday and avoid a repeat experience. But Jason always seems to find a way to do something dramatic enough to warrant mention in an e-Rider. OK, this time, it's more than a mention. Last Sunday morning, his R100 GSPD looked like this:



Jason decided to take a Sunday, a week before the rally, to essentially a replace the top end.

With new big-end bearings, piston rings and rebuilt heads, you'd think the GSPD with 93,000 miles would have a completely new lease on life. But since Jason rides as much "Gelande" as "Strasse" there were bound to be a couple of other items lurking. This morning, in the parking lot of the hotel we noticed a familiar looking box:


and witnessed this:



An ignition canister transplant is how Jason decided to start his day. Synching the carbs was the next item on his list. As far as early morning bike work goes, he was in good company. As a steady flow of trucks and trailers continued through the parking lot, Aaron Gibson had the doors to his Sprinter van-turned-workshop open and was tying up some loose ends on his rally bike. Aaron was adding a pair of plain looking turn signals to his unique bike that has the soul of a borg, the skin of a zebra and a serial number that proves it's a BMW. Talk about inspired!

Things were a little calmer in the parking lot by the pool, where Doug Morrison and Mark Albertson were wiping the frost off of their comparatively familiar looking HP2s. With newly laced wheels from Woody's Wheelworks and some cleverly mounted HIDs for the night stage, Mark and Doug get the Eagle Scout award for RallyMoto preparedness.

Keith Ciampa has been getting prepared for the Rally commando-style in the sandhills of the Carolinas. Keith was one of the history making Sandblast RallyMoto riders last year on his F650 Dakar. Apparently, he's got a new mount this year and we uncovered one of his secret training videos out on YouTube. It's an uncensored glimpse into the mind of a competitor and a nicely edited piece. The Internet is a wild frontier folks, so please don't say we didn't warn you that there's a some coarse language in the video. (Video temporarily unavailable.)

NCO (or Novice Competitor Orientation) starts in a few minutes, so we're off to school for a couple of hours. Registration and tech are this afternoon, followed by some shakedown runs, a solid meal, and then probably a rough night of anxious sleep. We'll be up and out early tomorrow, but we'll report to you as soon as we can. Check out www.sandblastrally.com for more info on the Rally and also be sure to tune in to RallyRadio.net for Internet-radio coverage from RallyMoto riders who will be calling in throughout the day.