Record Australian entry for 2011 Dakar

RALLYING: PARIS, Oct 30, (AFP) - Australian interest in the 2011 Dakar Rally is at a record high, with the highest number of entries and for the first time an all Australian team set to hit the trail in Chile and Argentina. January's start in Buenos Aires will feature ten Aussie competitors, with the youngest of the contingent from Down Under, 21-year-old Jacob Smith, aiming high on two wheels - as long as he doesn't do a 'Mark Thatcher' and lose his way. "Now you mention it, I've never used GPS up to now!" he told the rally's official website on Tuesday.

Thatcher, the son of former British Prime minister Margaret Thatcher, went missing in the Sahara desert for six days on his Dakar debut in 1982. Jacob added: "My goal is to finish in the Top 10. "And this year I'm here just to learn the ropes. Then I'll be trying to score a better result."