Another win for BMW at the Dark Dog Tour
Local rider Fred Lejeune has won the Belgian Dark Dog Tour (BDDT) for the second time in a row on his BMW HP2 Megamoto. After he won last years first ever Belgian Moto Tour event and ended the year second overall in the 2007 International Rally Championship (IRC) the BMW Motorrad dealer returned to make it two wins out of two in the BDDT.
With around 70 participants from several countries, the FIM-approved event is the first leg of the IRC and brings together riders from Belgium, France and Italy for a weekend of road rally riding, navigational tests and special stages. This years BDDT took place from 30 April to 4 May in the southern part of Belgium. Last years winner, Fred Lejeune was among the favourites for the race victory, but first he had to overcome the challenge of Buell-riding Frenchman Denis Bouan, as well as the Supermotard specialist Fred Fiorentino on his KTM. This years rally was longer than last years event and it went from Stavelot (close to the famous circuit of Francorchamps) to Bouillon at the French border and back. With heavy rainfall during the first two days, the riders had to not only be careful in the tricky conditions, but also be very clever with their navigational skills especially at night time, as no-one had had the chance to train before the rally. This was a new rule introduced to the International Rally Championship so that the local riders dont have any special advantage. When the race started on the karting track at Francorchamps, it was the Belgian Supermotard specialist Fiorentino who took the lead, ahead of Bouan and Lejeune who were involved in a battle for second place. On day two though, a minor tumble from Fiorentino handed the lead to Denis Bouan, with HP2 Megamoto rider Lejeune not far behind.
Bouan proved to be a very strong competitor on the following special stages, while Lejeune who knew that the result wouldnt be decided right until the end hung on patiently, putting in safe, but fast times near the top of the leaderboard. After Fiorentino made an incorrect calculation in the rally, which cost him a two-minute penalty, the fight for the victory was left to Bouan, Lejeune and Frenchman Philippe Pinchedez on his Ducati Hypermotard. However, on the very last stage (which took place at night), leading rider Denis Bouan made a navigational mistake, which handed the victory to Fred Lejeune. Having remained in contention throughout the rally and not making a single navigational error during the whole event even after more than 25 hours of riding Fred finished just 23 hundredths of a second in front of Bouan. His second consecutive victory on the BMW HP2 Megamoto proved without question, the reliability and performance of this amazing sports boxer.
Fred Lejeune was of course delighted with his second win: I knew that a race is never won or lost before the chequered flag comes out, so I kept my concentration levels high, knowing that my bike and our team (Lejeune Motosport) were in top condition. I thought that I would have been faster on the Francorchamps track but because of the rain I had to adapt my riding accordingly and stay in contention. Thanks to my enduro experience I felt comfortable on some of the unknown stages of the rally, although I was surprised at how fast Bouan was. My goal this year is to win the overall classification of the International Rally Championship, so Im looking forward to the next race in Portugal The next round takes place in Portugal on 57 September, before the bikers meet again for the French Dark Dog Tour which runs from September 26 to October 5 and will determine who will become the 2008 International Rally Champion.
Overall classification (Experts-Multi)
Fred Lejeune (BEL) Denis Bouan (FRA) Philippe Pinchedez (FRA) Olivier De Spa (BEL)
BMW HP2 Megamoto Buell 1125R Ducati Hypermotard Triumph Tiger
25:44.29 25:44.52 26:33.36 26:16.14

MEGAMOTO

Limited

Edition,

Unlimited
he 2008 BMW HP2 Megamoto is a 440lb monster (with a full tank of gas) with 113 horsepower and a seat height of 35! Now lets be clear; my inseam is 30. I was a bit concerned about the height, but it turned out not to be an issue. The Megamotos power has been much discussed in the press and rumored to easily pop wheelies in 2nd gear. Roy Oliemuller, BMW Motorsports Communications Manager, and Jim Viola, events manager, were on hand in Santa Monica, California to provide a brief background on BMW sales over the last year, and to introduce the Megamoto. Five beautiful new BMWs were lined up in formation, waiting for us to take them out on the road. I threw my leg over the seat. Yes, I could manage it, but that seat was tall! I eased out of the parking lot and immediately entered LA traffic, got turned around and took a few minutes to locate the freeway again. I had prepared for the cold weather (yes it IS cold in California in January on a naked bike!) and had worn long johns under my riding gear and a heated vest that I never plugged in. I was also wearing a brand new Scorpion helmet (more on that later). Once underway, I started to feel this machine out a bit. The first thing I noticed was the incredible raw power in any gear at any speed. Roy had told us these motors were hand-built, and that with the light weight, they would move right along. Yes, they did! I immediately thought back to the muscle cars that were around when I was beginning to drive. You had to be a bit careful when starting to keep things in control, but once moving, WATCH OUT! The next thing you notice is the seriously stiff suspension. Southern California freeways were recently reported as the worst in the nation. I know Chicago and some other areas might disagree with this, but the roads in California are bad enough to provide a rough ride for a bike set up for canyon riding. I felt my arms pumping up on the wide bars, but managed to settle down, relax and go with it. Those bars were wide, not what Im used to on the K100LT, RS or Airheads that I ride. I was glad I had brought a new pair of Lee Parks padded deerskin gloves to absorb some of the pounding. I was also a little concerned about the minimally padded seat, but it proved to be OK for a tank of gas at
June 2008 BMW OWNERS NEWS