Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84Winter 2014 | IRON BUTT MAGAZINE  for the event and agreed on most of the bonus locations. The rally would start in Stuttgart, Germany, have a single check- point in the Italian Alps — Passo del Tonale, Italy — and finish back in Stuttgart. Leg  would last  hours and provide approximately  bonus locations for riders to choose from.Leg  would be  hours long and have approximately  bonuses. We devised a system that allowed file sharing to ensure there was a standard format for every bonus — a photo file,a waypoint in BaseCamp, and a text file detailing the bonus requirement. As we knew it would be, developing the bonus locations was the most time-consuming element of the rally. Finding, verify- ing and documenting all the bonus locations was a -month task. Due to the number of bonus locations, we decided to code each bonus in a standard rally format. Each code indicated the bonus number, how many points it was worth and any daylight, timed, or other restrictions. With the help of multiple Britbutt Rally winner Robert Roalfe, every location was given a point value designed to encourage riders to go where we wanted them to go. LEG 1 (36 HOURS) Stuttgart to Passo del Tonale Riders were informed that to be considered a rally finisher, they would need to accrue a total of , points and, therefore, should aim for , points at the end of Leg  to ensure they remain on track. Riders were free to leave at anytime between  am and  am on Sunday. As usual,there were a few mishaps before riders even left the hotel parking lot. Ismo Manilla approached rally staff to inform us that he had lost his flag even though ) the rally had not yet started and ) he had not left the building since the flag was issued to him. A few minutes later we heard a loud crunch as an ST belonging to Thomas Bode toppled over. Minimal damage was caused — cer- tainly nothing that several yards of Duct Tape couldn’t solve. As Margaret Peart left we were horrified to see just how loose the chain on her rental Suzuki V-Strom was, but we failed to get her attention. And at : — with only a minute to spare before being DNF’d — Johannes Faget was the last rider to depart on his Honda XBR.The rally was now afoot. Leg  bonuses, many of which were located at the summits of mountain passes, were concentrated largely in northern Italy, southeastern France, Austria, Croatia and Slovenia. The Alps are a wonderful area for motorcycling, but on a Sunday afternoon these passes would be full of week- end day-trippers and the tight twisting nature of these roads meant that average speeds would be very low and the concen- to go. LEG 1 (36 HOURS) Stuttgart to Passo del Tonale Riders were informed that to be considered a rally finisher, they would need to accrue a total of , points and, therefore, should aim for , points at the end of Leg  to ensure they remain on track. Riders Next, we had to deal with the potential lan- guage problem — we didn’t assume that every- one was fluent in English. Thanks to Gerhard, the solution was to develop a system of symbols that denoted what tasks riders were required to accomplish at each bonus location. This format allowed riders to quickly scan the bonus without having to read any text. This novel solution also reduced the physical size of the rallybook and, hence, the cost. Possibly the most frustrating aspect of hosting the rally was having to make adjustments because of riders who had to withdraw. A total of  riders bowed out for personal reasons reducing our field from  to . Our concern was that if too many riders cancelled it would impact the competi- tive quality of the event. Fortunately, this would not be the case, and on Sunday September , ,  intrepid riders from nine countries lined up at the start for the very first IBA European Tour. not left the building since the flag was issued damage was caused — cer- tainly nothing that several yards of Duct Tape couldn’t solve. As Margaret Peart left we were horrified to see just how loose the chain on her rental Suzuki V-Strom was, but we failed to get her attention. And at : — with only a minute to spare before being DNF’d — Johannes Faget was the last rider to depart on his Honda XBR.The rally was now afoot. Leg  bonuses, many of which were located at the summits of mountain passes, were concentrated largely in northern Italy, southeastern France, Austria, Croatia and Slovenia. The Alps are a wonderful area for motorcycling, Next, we had to deal with the potential lan- Next, we had to deal with the potential lan- guage problem — we didn’t assume that every- one was fluent in English. Thanks to Gerhard, the solution was to develop a system of symbols that denoted what tasks riders were required to accomplish at each bonus location. This format allowed riders to quickly scan the bonus without having to read any text. This too many riders cancelled it would impact the competi- tive quality of the event. Fortunately, this would not be the case, Michiel Kerkhof prepares for the odo check.