Category: Other

1. Aviva UK - I've Heard That Line Somewhere Before

   Posted on 12:01am Tuesday 31st Jan 2012

   The new star of the Aviva advert is fisherman Ollie where he quotes a line from a famous film also filmed by the riverside.

   Played by actor Paul Whitehouse, who became know for his work with Harry Enfield in The Fast Show. His previous characters in this campaign have been a Plymouth Argyle supporter, a flamboyant dancer and going back to his Welsh roots - an elderly Welsh Goth!

   These characters and videos have been a hit and we are sure that this latest video, along with another Aviva video with Ollie’s best fishing joke, will be as popular as ever.
    
   The ad will be accompanied by a Facebook app which allows users to interact with 'Ollie's Garage', play MultiCarp the fishing arcade game and to create a song with Colin the Carp. 
    
   Although these adverts are humorous, Aviva is a serious insurance provider, being one of the largest insurance providers in the world, including motorcycle insurance.

   This article is sponsored by Aviva

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

2. Dakar Rally 2012 - Round Up from RedBull.com

   Posted on 12:01am Tuesday 17th Jan 2012

   WINNER: Cyril Despres

   As the 34th edition of the Dakar Rally came to a close yesterday, KTM’s Cyril Despres was celebrating his fourth title win ahead of close rival and teammate, Marc Coma.

   The final stage of the Rally, which ran from Pisco to Lima was won by Pal Anders Ullevalseter, with Marc Coma finishing second, not only in this leg, but overall, and Yamaha’s Helder Rodrigues taking the final podium place.

   Stage One - Mar del Plata to Santa Rosa de la Pampa

   1: Chaleco Lopez

   Stage Two - Santa Rosa de le Pompa to San Rafeal

   1: Marc Coma

   Stage Three - San Rafael to San Juan

   1: Artur Ardavichus – first Kazakh to lead the rally

   Stage Four - San Juan to Chilecito

   1: Cyril Despres

   Stage Five – Chilectio to Fiambala

   1: Cyril Despres

   Stage Six

   Cancelled due to weather conditions

   Stage Seven - Copiapo

   1: Marc Coma

   Stage Eight - Copiapo and Antofagasta

   1: Marc Coma

   Stage Nine - Antofagasta-Iquique

   1: Helder Rodrigues

   Stage Ten - Iquique to Arica

   1: Joan Barreda

   Stage Eleven - Arica to Arequipa

   1: Cyril Despres

   Stage Twelve - Arica to Arequipa

   1: Marc Coma

   Stage Thirteen - Nazca to Pisco

   1: Helder Rodrigues

   Stage Fourteen - Pisco to Lima

   1: Pal Anders Ullevalseter

   For a full account of the Dakar Rally 2012, bikers blogs, and exclusive videos just visit: www.RedBull.com/Dakar-rally-2012

3. Lima's big party!

   Posted on 12:01am Monday 16th Jan 2012

   The 34th edition of the Dakar and the fourth in South America, comes to its end. After 8400 kilometers, riders have finally crossed the finish line in Lima, and so has Alain Duclos. The Aprilia RXV was the only “factory” rider to complete the Dakar without changing the engine.

   LIMA - The Plaza de Armas of Lima was decorated for the celebration of the Dakar´s finish after two weeks of race. Three countries were crossed, 8400 kilometers, and mostly one of the hardest Dakar ever. The marathon rally in South America confirmed once again to be the toughest race for bikes in the world, and only 100 from the 186 riders that started in Mar del Plata on January 1st made it to the end.

   And finally Alain Duclos was able to cross the podium of the finish line. For him, things were not easy during the race, electrical problems pushed him far behind at stage seventh, but the French-Malian rider showed from the first days that he had the skills to take the Aprilia RXV to the best positions.

   The expectations of Duclos changed in the rest day, and the main goal was reinvented to finish the Dakar with only one engine, with only the engine he started the race in Argentina. The reliability of the v-twin of Aprilia was proved and Duclos completed the Dakar as the only “factory” rider to use just one engine.

   There are still regrets for the incident of Francisco López. “Chaleco” also showed his talent during the first half of the race, and it was the only rider that shined behind Coma and Despres. Even if his health condition after the recovery from his fall in Tunisia was not at 100%, he was able to sign a stage win, the sixth victory of his career.

   Alain Duclos: “Another Dakar is over. I am glad I crossed the finish line and of course, I expected a better result. The Dakar is always a great life experience and a passionate adventure. And I am also glad to have discovered another country that gives us a warm welcome. Tomorrow I will start thinking about the Dakar 2013.”
    

4. Africa or Perù?

   Posted on 12:01am Friday 13th Jan 2012

   Alain Duclos reaches the 15th place in stage 12th. Peru is the 27th country crossed by the Dakar, and tests the skills of the riders with its difficulties.

   NASCA –It was expected that the Dakar difficulties were growing with its stages, as it was shown today with its 12th special between Arequipa and Nasca, known by its lines only visible from the sky.

   It was the second part of the marathon stage, with a 245 kilometers special stage, which contained all possible kind of grounds. It started in the beach, followed by road tracks, canyon and the terrible dunes of Tacana, with a sand so softened that was almost a sacrifice for the engines.

   The lands looked like Mauritania, a strong point of the Dakar in Africa, with lots of “camel grass”. It was a special where Alain Duclos had lots of fun on his Aprilia, and proved it with the 15th position of the day. Alain thought lots of the friction of the engine and took extremely care of it. He is one of the few riders that have not changed the engine yet, which demonstrates the liability of the v-twin engine of the Aprilia.

   As the overall position is no longer a matter since stage seven, the French-Malian rider keeps rolling to acquire more experience and test the bike performance.

   Alain Duclos: “I think this was the most beautiful stage of all Dakar. There were so many different kind of ground in only 250 kilometers! It seemed like if we were in Mauritania. I felt well and my Aprilia worked perfectly. I took care of the engine in the dunes; they were very soft, so soft that I needed to get out of them in 1st gear with the engine giving all of its power!”

5. Last day in Chile

   Posted on 12:01am Thursday 12th Jan 2012

   The Dakar arrives to Arica, the last stage in Chile. Tomorrow the race will cross the border to Peru. Alain Duclos finishes the stage in the 23 position.

   ARICA – The last city in the North of Chile, Arica, greeted the Dakar´s tenth stage, the last one in Chile. Tomorrow the race waves good-bye to go to Peru, to make its first stop in Arequipa.

   Today stage was not so noisy. It was the Spanish rider Joan Barreda who marked his first stage win in the Dakar after this 377 km in the Atacama Desert, the most arid of the planet, and a place where riders found many navigation difficulties.

   Started nineteenth this morning, Alain Duclos had a navigation problem at kilometer 138. The dust did not let him read his navigation instruments and made a mistake. Once he was able to get back to the right track after five kilometers, Alain fought to take back his position and finished the stage 23rd.

   Alain Duclos: “Today it was such a beautiful stage, with steering, dunes, off road sections. I was in the dust and I couldn´t read my road-book so I followed some other riders… and I did five kilometers until I saw I was not on the right track, and I got back but I had to overtake many riders that went through while I wasn´t there…. I lost the right pace and it is harder to find it back when you have problems than when everything is fine.”