Geoff Olholm and Steve Riley are devotees of off-road racing in Australia. Former motorcycle enduro race winners and champions, the duo has spent the last few years campaigning on four wheels.

Both travelled as spectators to the 2010 Dakar to get a feel for the event and the landscape, and both say they had no idea just how big the event was until they got there.

“This is bigger than anything else I’ve done, I’m sort of used to doing stuff like this, but to see the atmosphere, and how big this actually is, I’m glad we went and looked, so we won’t be overawed by it when we get there,” Olholm said.

The Coconut Resort Team has taken its Dakar preparation seriously, not only touring the event in 2009/2010, but competing in the Phaoron’s Rally in Egypt earlier in the year and testing extensively in the high dunes of Morocco.

Geoff says the testing has helped him learn how to drive the massive, 3km high dunes the duo will face in Argentina and Chile.

The testing also helped the Cairns Coconut Resort Race Team iron out some bugs in their brand new, 3.0 litre BMW powered X-Raid racer and help them sort out any lack of knowledge in the organic components.

“It’s just those massive sand dunes are so difficult to drive,” Olholm said. “When we got to Egypt we were all thumbs in the sand, myself and Steve.

"We hadn’t even seen dunes that big let alone driven them at speed but now we’re starting to learn them.”

While Co-driver Steve Riley spent a lot of time on the Phaoron’s digging the X-Raid out of sand traps and fixing tiny bugs, he  won’t just be on digging and fixing duties on the Dakar.

“Steve’s a good steerer too,” Olholm said, “so at the end of a stage when my concentration is falling away or if I’m a bit tired, he can jump in and he’ll go well. It’s a genuine team effort.”

Years racing motorcycle enduros meant Olholm has always had the desire to do the Dakar, but says only recently has he really been able to put it together.

All the same, there have been doubters, and Olholm used that to fuel his ambitions: “I love a challenge, someone waves a flag in front of me and says ‘it can’t be done’ I say ‘there’s no such thing as can’t'!", he said. "Those other guys that are doing it are only human.”

“It’s a huge challenge just to finish, so hopefully I will and then I plan to keep coming back for the next two or three years, and do other rounds around the world too.

“My goal for now is just to get to the end, Bruce Garland has only managed to finish one out of three times, and people just keep telling me to just feel my way, drive 7-10ths, read the terrain and use my brain and my experience.

"If I take it easy and use some sense I should be able to finish in the top 50.

“Then I’ll come back more experienced next year and give it a nudge.”

Olholm sees 2011 as the beginning of a regular Aussie assault on the event.

“Kees and Paul Weel, Des Harrington, Craig Lowndes, all those guys are starting to think and talk about doing it, so we could very soon end up with five or six good drivers over there racing,”he said.

“We’re just stoked to be able to do it, we talk to all our friends all day every day about it.

"It’s just massive. I told (Australian motorbike enduro racers) Rod Faggoter and Ben Brabham and that, ‘You have to do it. You just have to.’

"They don’t realise, it’s not just a little bit bigger than the Safari, it’s 50 times bigger. We Aussies can do well at it, with our experience we can be in the top ten.”

Basic Information

Car:

Coconut Resort Race Team 2010 Dakar Spec Rally Raid UK three litre BMW Diesel, 4-wheel drive.

Team: Coconut Resort Race Team – paired up with RallyRaid International

Geoff Olholm is a Cairns resident and former motor cross and motorcycle enduro champion, he owns and runs the Cairns Coconut Holiday Report.

Steve Riley hails from Leongatha in Victoria, a former Australian motor cycle enduro champion and two-time winner of the Australian Safari, Steve is a well credentialed off road racer.

They will be supported by chief mechanic Chris Stone.

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