Most liked posts in thread: Dakar 2013

Steve · Jan 19, 2013

Race2Recovery makes history (iRallylive.com)

19.01.2013 22:06

The Race2Recovery team has made history on the Dakar Rally by becoming the first-ever partly-disabled team to complete the arduous event.

Race2Recovery, a team drawn mainly from wounded ex-Service personnel inclusing several amputees, had three goals: to finish the event, to show that serious injuries are no barrier to extraordinary achievement, and to raise money for the Tedworth House Personnel Recovery Centre in the UK, which offers lifetime support for injured British Services personnel.

The team has succeeded in all 3 aims: a short while ago, their sole surviving vehicle, the Wildcat Bowler driven by Major Matt O'Hare and Corporal Philip 'Barney' Gillespie passed the final checkpoint.

The car is now being shepherded home by the rest of the team.

iRally is proud to have been an earlier supporter of Race2Recovery: if you wish to donate to the Race2Recovery Foundation and help Tedworth House, visit Home - Race2Recovery | beyond injury, achieving the extraordinary.
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Nathan · Jan 7, 2013

Steve said: ↑

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Thats so cool I had to post it again in a quote.

Steve · Jan 19, 2013

The X-Raid team couldn't have hoped for much more.

Provisional result:

1 - Peterhansel - MINI
2 - de Villiers - Toyota
3 - Novitskiy - MINI
4 - Roma - MINI
5 - Terranova - (X-Raid) BMW

Angib · Jan 3, 2013

When you're not busy following the BMWs dressed as Minis, you may want to follow these guys trying to complete their first Dakar:

[ame=http://youtu.be/dB4MIXcGSDw]Dakar Rally: Race2Recovery 'The Road to Dakar' teaser by Gaucho Productions - YouTube[/ame]

British and American injured service personnel - Race2Recovery. The sight of the guy winding his prosthetic leg 'over the top' to get past the roll cage is superb. They are getting coverage on Eurosport (Euro cable sports channel) who also do the Dakar coverage here, but I guess their YouTube postings may be all you can get.

They got an interesting article in my newspaper today describing the team's concerns that the vehicles might make it but their teams' prosthetics might not - that's a whole extra level of machinery maintenance that other teams don't have to do! It also explained how a guy with an above-the-knee amputation deals with the clutch pedal that he can't feel - he has a dashboard light to tell him when the clutch is depressed.

Steve · Jan 7, 2013

Leg 3: Peterhansel tops Dakar leaderboard (best-of-rallylive.com)

07/01/2013 9:52 pm

Nasser Al-Attiyah handed Team Qatar Red Bull its third straight 2013 Dakar stage win by winning todayâ€™s competitive section ahead of Robby Gordon and StÃ©phane Peterhansel (Mini/Michelin). Carlos Sainz was delayed by mechanical trouble, however, and Peterhansel now tops the provisional order.

Leg 3: Pisco-Nazca (343km)

Carlos Sainzâ€™s reacquaintance with the Dakar has been one of ups and downs so far. After claiming SS1, the Spaniard dropped almost 20 minutes in Mondayâ€™s dunes but his day was salvaged by the stewards who ended up declaring him to be the winner of SS2. The overnight leader consequently started todayâ€™s leg from Pisco and Nazca at the front of the â€˜carâ€™ field, ahead of Peterhansel.

Sainz had another run to forget today, however, including an electrical problem with his Buggyâ€™s engine which kept cutting. The issue cost him around half-an-hour, and even the assistance of his team-mate Nasser Al-Attiyah, who stopped to provide help, couldnâ€™t cure the trouble. The Qatari consequently continued the stage and went on to win SS3, ahead of Robby Gordon and his Hummer which was as competitive as ever in the dunes.

Indeed, sand dunes were the dayâ€™s biggest difficulty, and the first of them figured among the toughest challenge. Lucio Alvarez (fourth), Nani Roma (fifth) and Leonid Novitskiy (sixth) coped well, but Giniel de Villiers got lost at Km65 and dropped some 30 minutes. Meanwhile, the rallyâ€™s early hero Ronan Chabot (Buggy) lost 40 minutes because of a hub problem at Km80.

Despite ground temperatures of up to 50Â°C at Gran Tablazo de Ica, Mini ALL4 Racingâ€™s StÃ©phane Peterhansel was able to stay cool thanks to the air conditioning system fitted to the Team X-Raid Mini/Michelins. The Frenchman looked perfectly refreshed as he answered the mediaâ€™s questions at the end of the stage after taking the lead.

The only problem for the German squad today was the accident early on the stage of Krzysztof Holowczyc and Filipe Palmeiro (Mini NÂ°310) who were taken to Pisco Hospital for tests.

Stage 3 classification:

1, Al-Attiyah/Cruz (Buggy), 2h30m14s. 2, Gordon (Hummer), +1m18s. 3, Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini), +3m52s. 4, Alvarez/Graue (Toyota Hilux) +9m36s. 5, Roma/PÃ©rin (Mini), +12m20s. Etc.

Provisional standings after Leg 3:

1, Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini), 5h34m26s. 2, Al-Attiyah/Cruz (Buggy), +6m53s. 3, Alvarez/Graue (Toyota), +18m11s. 4, Notvitskiy/Zhilstov (Mini), +21m0s. 5, Sainz/Gottschalk (Buggy), +21m16s. Etc.
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Steve · Jan 8, 2013

Nice seats!

Nathan · Jan 8, 2013

Robby Gordon Stage 3 phone call

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAj2DAmP_Cw]Toyo Sport 2013 - Robby Gordon Stage 3 phone call (www.infotyres.com) - YouTube[/ame]

ScottinBend · Jan 8, 2013

....and those would be BMW diesels to boot!

Justa Jim · Jan 9, 2013

Angib said: ↑

That's my understanding. Last year they said the only Mini parts are the headlamps.
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But is that much different from any other type of race car today, including the Prodrive car? At least it gets the MINI name out there, which I think is a good thing.

Jim

Steve · Jan 11, 2013

Leg 7 preview: heading for the clouds (best-of-rallylive.com)

11/01/2013 9:28 am

For the first time this year, the Dakar will cross the Andes Mountains. En route to Salta, in Argentina, competitors will visit El Paso de Jama, at an altitude of more than 4,800 metres, while todayâ€™s 218km stage will climb to 3,500 metres.

Salta is a big Argentine tourist destination where visitors can enjoy the colonial architecture and trekking through the nearby Andes where certain peaks exceed 6,000m. The city is also where the Tren de la Nubes (Train to the Clouds) starts its tortuous journey to the Chilean frontier, reaching more than 4,200 metres via 29 bridges, 21 tunnels and 13 viaducts.

Todayâ€™s drive totals 751km for the car runners, 802km for the bikers and 704km for the service crews. Once in Argentina, all competitors will contest the same 218km test, but the bikers will then head for their own bivouac, south of Salta, where no overnight servicing will be allowed. It wonâ€™t be a â€˜marathonâ€™ stage, however, for the cars or trucks which will spend the night in Salta.

The character of the stages changes with the switch to Argentina where the stony terrain tends to be narrower and twistier. Even so, todayâ€™s first 130km are quite fast and it is only the last section that becomes narrow, rocky and rutted. Indeed, it has rained a great deal here over the past couple of days, and it even snowed yesterday (Thursday), while mud could be an issue between Km24 and Km31.

The first biker is due to set out from Calama at 4:10am this morning, followed by the first car competitors at 7:11am. The day kicks off with a 417km road section.
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Justa Jim · Jan 11, 2013

I'd like to have one of the "support vehicles". Those look cool.

Jim

Steve · Jan 12, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ1E2dhiVYc]2013 Dakar - Endurance - XtreM Adventure powered by Michelin - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 16, 2013

Steve · Jan 20, 2013

May as well have the MINI Motorsport story in here.

Peterhansel wins the 2013 Dakar in a MINI

19 January 2013

After his victory at the 2012 Dakar, record winner StÃ©phane Peterhansel again emerges from the toughest rally in the world as the number one in his MINI ALL4 Racing.

Nothing and nobody could stop StÃ©phane Peterhansel. Not the difficult dune sections that really put the competitors at the 2013 Rally Dakar to the test shortly after the start in Lima. Not the majestic Andes, whose gigantic heights the rally crossed not once but twice this year. Not the relentless heat of the Atacama Desert, which has not experienced a single drop of rain in living memory. And not the strong opposition from 151 participants in this year’s car class, all of whom had to be taken seriously. On the 15th day of the Dakar, and over 8,000 kilometres since the start in the capital of Peru, it was finally confirmed: the winner of the 2013 Rally Dakar is the X-raid Team’s StÃ©phane Peterhansel in the number 302 MINI ALL4 Racing.

The latest win at the toughest endurance rally in the world is another milestone in the illustrious career of the 47-year-old Frenchman. He has now won the Dakar on eleven occasions – six times on a bike and five in a car. No other driver has ever achieved this feat. StÃ©phane had already ensured that his name will go down in the Dakar history books and the motorsport annals. In 2012 he won the Dakar in a MINI ALL4 Racing for the first time, presenting the X-raid Team with its first ever title at the most famous rally in the world. In May of last year, he announced that he would defend his title at the 2013 Dakar – which he did in impressive style.

“Mr. Dakar” is the Dakar.

Cheered on by thousands of fans, StÃ©phane crossed the finish line in Santiago de Chile with an impressive lead of 42:22 minutes over the second-placed driver in the overall classification, Giniel de Villiers. In the car category, StÃ©phane is only the fifth winner in the history of the Dakar to successfully defend his title. Only Jean-Louis Schlesser (1999-2000), Hiroshi Masuoka (2002-2003), Ari Vatanen (1989-1991) and Pierre Lartigue (1994-1996) had achieved the feat before him, whereby Vatanen and Lartigue made two successful defences in a row. But with his 2013 victory, StÃ©phane is the only driver in the cars category with two back-to-back titles (2004-2005, 2012-2013). This, plus the record number of overall victories means StÃ©phane can lay claim to possibly the greatest Rally Dakar honours, which comes in the form of a seemingly modest nickname: StÃ©phane is known as “Mr. Dakar”. Not only does he have the most Dakar victories to his name, but StÃ©phane also embodies everything that makes the Dakar so fascinating: endurance, toughness, tactical aptitude, driving ability and, of course, success.

Going into the 2013 event, the conditions were far from ideal for StÃ©phane and the X-raid Team, and did not necessarily point towards another victory. The organisers had introduced rules that allowed all petrol-driven cars greater performance than diesel cars like the MINI ALL4 Racing. Furthermore, the many Buggys in the field not only lined up with more performance, but also less weight. For comparison: the engine in the MINI ALL4 Racing produces 307 hp, the Buggys started with 420 hp and were about 500 kilograms lighter than the MINI ALL4 Racing. However, X-raid Team Principal Sven Quandt knew all he needed to regarding the qualities of the MINI: “Maybe we can’t beat the opposition in terms of raw speed – but we probably can when it came to the reliability of the MINI in general and the MINI’s handling on sand in particular.”

Every faith in the MINI ALL4 Racing.

And that was exactly the case. The MINI ALL4 Racing was a guarantee of reliability at the 2013 Dakar. There were absolutely no technical faults to complain of, and the overall result was evidence of the MINI’s class. As well as StÃ©phane in first place, his team-mates Leonid Novitskiy in the orange MINI ALL4 Racing finished third and Nani Roma in the yellow MINI came home in fourth. In addition, the MINI trio claimed six of 14 possible stage wins, which means that more than 42 per cent of the stages were won by a MINI. A remarkable result. However, StÃ©phane never had any doubt about the qualities of the MINI ALL4 Racing. Shortly before the start of the Dakar he said: “I have every faith in the MINI.” And the MINI repaid this trust at the 2013 Dakar – a fact that StÃ©phane valued highly at the end of the rally.

“As in 2012, we did not have a single technical fault on the MINI to complain about. As such, I am delighted that I was able to defend my title in the MINI ALL4 Racing,” said StÃ©phane. “It was once again an exciting Dakar and the victory is amazing, even though I have lined up at the Dakar so often. Up until its win last year, the X-raid Team had had to wait a long time for a victory. And now it has defended its title! That was only possible as a team, however. I would like to thank everyone involved for the work they put in.” Praise that Team Principal Quandt was happy to return: “We knew that it would not be easy to win another Dakar. But we also knew how well prepared we were as a team and just what the MINI is capable of. That, plus the great performances put in by our driving teams, particularly StÃ©phane Peterhansel, who I would like to congratulate on his eleventh Dakar win, allowed us to be successful again this year.”

As such, an outstanding 2013 Rally Dakar for the X-raid Team and MINI draws to a close. However, before StÃ©phane and Co. begin their long journey home, they can enjoy the presentation ceremony and champagne shower. Both will take place on Sunday afternoon (local time) at the heart of Santiago de Chile, close to the Centro Cultural Palacio de La Moneda. You will shortly be able to find the best images from the winner’s party at Facebook.com/MINImotorsport in the “2013 Rally Dakar” gallery.

Provisional final top five (after leg 14):

1. Peterhansel, 2. de Villiers, 3. Novitskiy, 4. Roma, 5. Terranova
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minirab · Dec 27, 2012

Steve, when and where will it be on tv this year? I think it was on nbc

sports last year.

Steve · Dec 27, 2012

NBC Sports Network, previously Versus, will be showing their lousy (better than nothing?) half hour recaps daily again this year.

The rally starts on the 5th with the first NBCSN recap at 2:30-3:00 am (Eastern) on the 6th.

I'll be looking for better options, feeds, etc, but I don't expect there'll be anything else available worth watching here in the US...just like last year.

Steve · Dec 28, 2012

Inside Facts for Dakar Champs. (MiniMotorsport.com)

28 December 2012

You may never need these facts for the 2013 Dakar Rally. But when it comes down to it, the following information on Peru, Argentina and Chile will soon give you bragging rights among fellow Dakar fans.

15 days from start to finish, 8,574 merciless kilometres through South America, StÃ©phane Peterhansel as defending champion in his MINI ALL4 Racing, and a highly motivated X-raid Team: you already know the key facts on the 2013 Dakar Rally â€“ like many other Dakar fans too. So why not add a little off-piste know-how about Peru, Argentina and Chile to your repertoire. This is enough to make you the champion among Dakar experts. Here we go â€¦

Peru:

The highest sand dune in the world is to be found in Peru, and is known as the â€œCerro Blancoâ€. It is 1,176 metres high and located close to Nasca, where the 2013 Dakar stops overnight at the end of the third day. Its height above sea level: an impressive 2,080 metres.
The Andes are the second-highest mountain range in the world and, in Peru alone, have 50 summits at over 6,000 metres, 1,796 glaciers and about 12,000 lakes.
In Peru there are 28 different climates. This makes Peru one of the top five countries in the world when it comes to the largest number of climates.
The Peruvian sand dunes are not the countryâ€™s only natural giants. The Amazon, which begins in Peru, has the largest volume of water of any river in the world. It has a flow of over 150,000 cubic metres per second.
Peru, with its thousands of years of history, is a young country nowadays. Its average age is just 25 years.

Chile:

The Atacama Desert, with which the Dakar route comes into contact, is one of the largest deserts on the planet and the driest region in the world. It is 100 times drier than Death Valley in the USA. Not a drop of rain has been recorded in the Atacama Desert for over 40 years.
Many parts of the Atacama Desert look like the surface of Mars, making it very popular among film directors. For example, the Mars scenes in â€œSpace Odyssey: Voyage to the Planetsâ€ by director and author Joe Ahearne were filmed in the Atacama Desert.
After its seventh day the Dakar stopps in Calama, a city just 15 kilometres away from a town called Chuquicamata in the Atacama Desert. Here you can find the most copper mining of the world.
At 6,435 kilometres in length, Chile has one of the twenty longest coastlines in the world.
There are more than 2,000 volcanoes in Chile. 50 of these are still active.
Chile is one of only two countries in South America that do not share a border with Brazil.
The city of La Serena, in which the Dakar stops on day 14, is one of the fastest growing cities in Chile. The population has grown by 30 per cent in the last 30 years.
More than six million people live in Santiago de Chile and the area surrounding the capital of Chile, which hosts the finish of the 2013 Dakar Rally on 19th January. That is approximately 40 per cent of the total population of Chile.

Argentina:

The highest and lowest temperatures recorded in South America were taken in Argentina.
The Iguazu waterfalls are higher than the world famous Niagara Falls on the border between the USA and Canada. The Iguazu waterfalls are over 90 metres high, while the Niagara Falls are only 50 metres.
Aconcagua, on the border with Chile, is the highest mountain in South America at 6,962 metres. Aconcagua is only about 150 kilometres as the crow flies from Santiago de Chile, where the 14th and final stage of the 2013 Dakar Rally will end.

You can find the complete route of the 2013 Dakar Rally here.
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Steve · Jan 3, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMOlCUUQNsk]DAKAR 2013 OFFICIAL TRAILER - YouTube[/ame]

rum4 · Jan 3, 2013

Thanks for the info

Steve · Jan 4, 2013

MINI ALL4 RACING CARS ENGAGE IN ULTIMATE CHALLENGE ON 2013 DAKAR RALLY

Lima, Peru - January 4, 2013... The Monster Energy X-raid Team and its quartet of MINI ALL4 Racing cars are all set to contest the 35th Rally Dakar, which gets underway in Lima on Saturday, January 5, 2013. Every member of the X-raid team is determined to repeat the squadâ€™s 2012 triumph by claiming victory on the 2013 Dakar Rally. Facing a more challenging route, different technical regulations, and even stronger opposition, the X-raid team has undertaken more pre-event testing than ever before.

This yearâ€™s rally route is anticipated to be the toughest ever held in South America, with competitors driving 8,000 kilometers (4,970 miles) through three countries (Peru, Argentina and Chile), during 14 days of action to reach the finish in Santiago. The overall route is far more intense than in previous years, and there will be no easy start for the four MINI ALL4 Racing machines as the first three days take place across challenging desert sand dunes.

Monster Energy X-raid Team
The X-raid team won the Dakar Rally for the first time last year, with legendary super-star driver StÃ©phane Peterhansel taking victory at the wheel of a MINI ALL4 Racing machine. For the 2013 event, the teamâ€™s driver line-up comprises 10-times winner StÃ©phane Peterhansel (French, age 47) and long-term co-driver, Jean-Paul Cottret. Behind the wheel of the the other three MINI vehicles will be driver, Joan â€˜Naniâ€™ Roma (Spanish, age 40) and co-driver, Michel PÃ©rin; Leonid Novitskiy (Russian, age 44) and Konstantin Zhiltsov; and Krzysztof Holowczyc (Polish, age 50) with Filipe Palmeiro. In total, the X-raid teamâ€™s crew members have 20 years of Dakar Rally experience.

StÃ©phane Peterhansel
Team leader StÃ©phane Peterhansel is a remarkable record breaker, a legend in his lifetime, and once again starts as one of the favorites to win in 2013. With 23 Dakar starts under his belt, Peterhansel is the most experienced and most successful driver, with more wins than anyone else (six wins on bikes, four in cars) earning him the nickname â€œMr. Dakarâ€.

MINI ALL4 Racing
The 4.3-meter long MINI ALL4 Racing car is already a proven Dakar winner - claiming victory in 2012, with four other X-raid team machines finishing in the top 10 that year. For the 2013 event, the MINI ALL4 Racing squad sports new, high-visibility colors, and technical upgrades to comply with new regulations while also enhancing pace and reliability. The new rear spoiler is designed to produce extra downforce, guide hot air from the engine bay over the roof and extract air from the cabin to improve ventilation.

The MINI ALL4 Racing cockpit provides plenty of space for the two-man crew. Each member is secured by six-point harnesses in specially-formed Recaro motorsport seats and wears a HANS safety system head and neck support.

The specially made dashboard displays the bare minimum of information in three parts: driver, center, and co-driver. For example, vital information, such as speed, oil pressure, temperatures and electronics information is displayed centrally - visible for both driver and co-driver. This center stack can be replaced (if necessary) in just three minutes, optimizing servicing times.

The twin-turbo diesel engine is a 2,993 cc power unit based on a BMW production engine and was built by BMW Motoren GmbH in Magna Steyr, Austria. The engine is designed to be used in endurance races under the toughest conditions, and generates over 300hp at 3,250 rpm, with immense torque of almost 516 ft lb (700 Nm) at just 2,100 rpm. This enables the MINI ALL4 Racing to hit a top speed of 178 km/h (110 mph) with all-wheel drive traction delivering sensational acceleration on all types of surface. The MINI ALL4 Racing is equipped with a Sadev six-speed, sequential manual gearbox, Xtrac differentials, and weighs 1,900 kg (empty).

MINI in the US
MINI is an independent brand of the BMW Group. In the United States, MINI USA operates as a business unit of BMW of North America, LLC, located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey and includes the marketing and sales organizations for the MINI brand. The MINI USA sales organization is represented in the U.S. through a network of 115 MINI passenger car dealers in 38 states. MINI USA began selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2002 with the introduction of the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtops. Since then, the MINI Brand in the U.S. has grown to encompass a model range of six unique vehicles.
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