Most liked posts in thread: Dakar 2013

Steve · Jan 5, 2013

Ready to go.

Steve · Jan 6, 2013

Short summary video after yesterday's very short 13 competitive kilometer opening stage.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHohfsUSKw]Leg 1 - 2013 Dakar - Best-of-RallyLive.com (GB) - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 6, 2013

Leg 2: Serious business begins (best-of-rallylive.com)

06/01/2013 9:57 am

Serious business begins today (Sunday) with a 242km stage around the town of Pisco which gave Peruâ€™s national drink its name. More than half the stage will be on sandy ground.

The first motorbike competitors will leave the bivouac at 5:30am for the 85km road section to Ica. The stage start is scheduled at 7:15 for the bikers and at 10:11 for the car competitors.

The first 2.5km of the test have been dropped for archaeological reasons and participants have been requested to keep to the official track on their way to the start line.

The stage begins with 50km of hard-packed dirt followed by sand and the first, straightforward dunes â€“ more like sand hills â€“ at Km136. The trail then basically follows a pipeline and this section features a number of deep holes which have been filled in by the local authorities for the rally. Competitors have been warned not to stray too far from the route, however!

The tough part comes after Km140 and continues all the way to this eveningâ€™s overnight halt in Pisco. The off-road portions are said to be very fast but there will also be some more difficult, crested dunes that will require caution. The stage crosses the Pan Americana Highway at Passage Control 1 before switching to farmland tracks. The organisers say they had to negotiate hard with the landowner to obtain permission for the route to pass here! A high number of spectators are expected for the last four kilometres which were also visited by Saturdayâ€™s stage.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 6, 2013

Leg 2: Peterhansel takes the lead (best-of-rallysportlive.com)

06/01/2013 8:54 pm

Victory on Stage 2 has taken StÃ©phane Peterhansel (Mini ALL4 Racing/Michelin) to the top of the order in South America. He was joined on todayâ€™s podium by Giniel de Villiers and Ronan Chabot who are now also second and third overall. Al-Attiyah and Sainz dropped 11 and 18 minutes respectively and are 6th and 11th overall.

Leg 2: Pisco-Pisco (327km)

The decisive factor of todayâ€™s competition was undoubtedly the Waypoint (WP) at Km74.99. Depending on the type of waypoint (eclipsed, concealed, safety or visible), competitors have to pass within between 200 metres and 3km of the specified GPS coordinates. Todayâ€™s 242km stage featured seven such WPs.

This morning, a number of bikers had trouble triggering the Waypoint at Km74.99, and the car competitors had difficulty with it, too. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Buggy) dropped more than 10 minutes and described it as a â€˜closedâ€™ WP which only appeared on his GPS 50km further on. His team-mate and overnight leader Carlos Sainz suffered the same fate, dropping 18 minutes in all.

At the end of the stage, co-drivers Lucas Cruz, Timo Gottschalk and Jean-Paul Cottret got together with their road books to try to identify the reason for the problem. â€œWe hesitated and got a little lost, but we didnâ€™t panic and we found the correct route before the others,â€ said StÃ©phane Peterhansel calmly while observing the co-driversâ€™ deliberations. â€œEven so, it was a tough dayâ€¦â€

The stage win ended up in the hands of last yearâ€™s Dakar winner who finished 2m38s clear of Giniel de Villiers (Toyota Hilux/Michelin). â€œToday was more complex than I was expecting, with lots of sand and little visibility,â€ reported the South African. â€œI didnâ€™t start well, but I went better over the second part of the stage.â€

The 2009 Dakar winner has moved up to second overall, ahead of Frenchman Ronan Chabot who delivered another surprising performance in his two-wheel drive SMG buggy. â€œJust starting the stage in fifth position today, in the middle of all the factory drivers, was a dream come true. We were competitive with the 4x4 cars over the dunes but then we veered a little too much to the left. We found ourselves just behind Peterhansel and we followed him to the finish.â€

Third fastest for Chabot was sufficient for him to gain a footing on the provisional podium, but his team-mate Guerlain Chicherit was forced to replace his SMG buggyâ€™s rear transmission on the stage: â€œWe had to cover the last 100km at reduced speed.â€

Argentinaâ€™s Orlando Terranova (BMW X3 CC) was fourth, chased by Russian Novitskiy (Mini). Lucio Alvarez (7th, Toyota) was delayed by unseated tyres, one of which occurred after a small â€˜offâ€™. Meanwhile, Polandâ€™s Holowczyc (Mini) dropped about 10 minutes after getting lost.

The Truck class was won again by Gerard De Rooy (Iveco/Michelin), 1m1s clear of Loprais and 7m52s faster than the ex-World Rally Champion Miki Biasion (Iveco/Michelin).

Stage 2 classification:

1, Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini), 2h35m38s. 2, De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota), +2m35s. 3, Chabot/Pillot (Buggy), +3m52s. 4, Terranova/Fluza (BMW), +5m26s. 5, Novitskiy/Zhilstov (Mini), +9m33s. Etc.

Provisional positions after Leg 2:

1, Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini), 3h0m20s. 2, De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota), +2m38s. 3, Chabot/Pillot (Buggy), +2m46s. 4, Terranova/Fluza (BMW), +6m26s. 5, Novitskiy/Zhilstov (Mini), +9m33s. Etc.
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Metalman · Jan 6, 2013

Steve · Jan 6, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e4NqGtz7Vw]Leg 2 - 2013 Dakar - Best-of-RallyLive.com (GB) - YouTube[/ame]

papa-j · Jan 6, 2013

look ma, motorcycling only with my hands

stage 2 top moment (very short moment at that)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMWfTs3P6Y4"]Stage 2 Top Moment - Pisco - Pisco - YouTube[/ame]

minimark · Jan 7, 2013

Great coverage as usual Steve, thanks!!

Steve · Jan 7, 2013

Leg 3 preview: the mysteries of Nazca (best-of-rallylive.com)

07/01/2013 9:00 am

After spending two days in Pisco, the Dakar caravan heads south today (Monday) towards Nazca, famous for its UNESCO World Heritage geoglyphs. Stage 3 promises to be quite a challenge and it could well be the turn of competitors to leave lasting traces in the sandâ€¦

The debate continues between experts, historians and anthropologists to make sense of the mysterious geometric figures that were â€˜drawnâ€™ by the Nazcas between 400 and 650 AD.

These giant patterns (more than 300 registered) are only visible from the sky and were formed by removing reddish ferrous-oxide stones to reveal the lighter-coloured gypsum underneath. They have since been protected by the regionâ€™s lack of rain, wind and vegetation, while the gypsum has bonded with the sandy, dusty surface.

Sand and dust will no doubt be on todayâ€™s menu for Dakar competitors who face a 243km stage on their way from Pisco to Nazca. The first 80km are likely to be complex because of the several ergs participants will have to cross. Indeed, it is here that Spainâ€™s Nani Roma got stuck and dropped almost half-an-hour in 2012. The toughest erg is located between Km70 and Km75, while there is a difficult off-road portion between Km25 and Km35 with a number of crested dunes.

From Km80 to the finish, the stage switches to smoother tracks, although there is a dramatic downhill section at Km115 with big stones at the bottom to punish anyone with kamikaze tendencies! And thereâ€™s another tricky descent on bumpier ground a little further on.

The stage will be followed by a 96km road section to the overnight camp in Nazca. The first biker will start the stage at 7am and the first car at 10:06am.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 7, 2013

Whoa, a BIG change to the order occurred overnight...while no one was running.....

Leg 2 : Sainz takes the lead (best-of-rallylive.com)

07/01/2013 3:00 pm

The stewards have accepted that the GPS systems of Sainz and Al-Attiyah suffered a malfunction during Leg 2 and have deleted the time they spent triggering the WayPoint which gaved them trouble. The Spanish driver is the new winner of the second stage in Pisco and is back in the overall lead with 5'05" head of StÃ©phane Peterhansel.

Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 7, 2013

Steve · Jan 7, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Xu6EyKZJM]Leg 3 - 2013 Dakar - Best-of-RallyLive.com (GB) - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Jan 8, 2013

Wonderful photo!!!

Steve · Jan 8, 2013

Sad news, but at least it's not the entire Race2Recovery team.

Race2Recovery confirms Harris' exclusion (iRallylive.com)

08.01.2013 16:22

The Race2Recovery team - a group of injured soldiers and civilian volunteers in the Dakar Rally - has confirmed that team leader Capt. Tony Harris, and his co-driver Cathy Derousseaux, has been eliminated.

The pair was allowed to start yesterdayâ€™s Stage 3 along with the team's other 3 cars while awaiting a decision from the Dakar organisers based on analysis of the previous dayâ€™s results. The organisers have found that Capt. Harris and co-driver Cathy Derousseauxâ€™s vehicle had not reached sufficient way points and would therefore not be allowed to continue in the Dakar Rally.

Capt. Harris is quoted in the team release:

â€œTo say weâ€™re gutted is an understatement. In the back of our minds we thought this might be a possibility. I canâ€™t really explain how Cathy and I feel after all the effort and the two years of hard work and training â€“ itâ€™s like a knife through our hearts and hasnâ€™t really sunk in yet. However, we now have to pick ourselves up and channel our personal disappointment into energy and support for the rest of the team. The Race2Recovery project has always been about the whole team and we still have three Wildcats competing strongly in the rally. Our job is to get them safely over the finishing line now and that has to be our focus. We will be Race2Recoveryâ€™s official cheerleaders!â€

Team Principal Quin Evans:

"Itâ€™s obviously disappointing for the whole team but we respect the ASOâ€™s decision. Weâ€™ll refocus all our efforts on making sure that three remaining cars have the best chance possible of reaching the finish line in Santiago de Chile.â€

The team points out that should one or more of the Race2Recovery race vehicles reach the finish line then they will become the first ever disability team to complete the Dakar Rally.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 8, 2013

Leg 4 preview: one the toughest days (best-of-rallylive.com)

08/01/2013 8:45 am

The rich city of Arequipa (population: 800,000) sits at an altitude of 2,300 metres, in the shadow of the El Misti volcano. It is here that competitors will arrive after todayâ€™s long 717km which includes an interminable run down the Pacific seaboard.

The coastline of southern Peru is wild and indented. The Pan Americana Highway twists along tall cliffs, while big waves crash furiously against the rocks below. For more than 300km, the road is lined by giddy drops while the busy traffic is slowed by heavily laden trucks. Itâ€™s impressive, but dangerous and, above all, interminable!

The Dakarâ€™s fourth stage is likely to seem interminable, too, for the drivers and riders who face 288km of competitive action over countless high dunes. One of the most awesome descents awaits the bikers at Km52, and they will be joined at the bottom of it by their â€˜carâ€™ and â€˜truckâ€™ colleagues after their paths split at Km39.

The stage features some big altitude differences, including a drop from more than 2,000 metres at Km120 to minus 100 metres some 50 kilometres further on! Then, from Km250, a steep climb of 1,000m in altitude will put engines to the test all the way to the end.

The stage starts near the overnight camp in Nazca, with the first biker due to begin at 5:45am and the first car at 7:32am. The first part is of little interest, with the exception of a challenging uphill section at Km15. Competitors will then face dunes between Km20 and Km95 before the trail becomes twistier and rougher up to Km150, with an impressive ravine at Km135. From Km150 to Km232, the going will be appreciably faster before one last portion of sand near the finish.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 8, 2013

Robby Gordon was doing well but it looks like he might be out. From the live feed:

"It was expected that Robby Gordon would attack today (like every day, in any case), but he has perhaps pushed a little too hard because it has been reported that the American's Hummer is lying on its roof after 29 km of the special stage. The crew is unharmed, but it remains to be seen whether the American will be able to set the car up right and continue the race."

Steve · Jan 8, 2013

Also, officials may have added back the 21 mins they deducted from Sainz' time when he protested that it was a result of a faulty GPS or bad GPS signal. Apparently further analysis showed that his secondary / back-up GPS was working just fine, so he slips 21 mins down the list.

That is, I think that's what happened, so hard to get get good, official, up-to-date info during the Dakar. :crazy:

old81 · Jan 8, 2013

Referencing 'nice seats' above. Wow, those are some really great shots. I would love to hear on the the MINIs climbing up one of the dunes. Any vid with sound out there?

Great coverage Steve!

beken · Jan 8, 2013

Last year, while working in Alberta, I met a guy who threw his motorbike into the back of his pick-up truck and drove down to participate in the Dakar Rally. He did it on a $20K budget. In comparison to MINI or Robby Gordon, who were dead serious in winning the thing and probably had a $1M+ budget.

He was within 5kms of finishing when his motorcycle's front suspension gave out, but came home with some great stories and insights on the race.

Crashton · Jan 8, 2013

Don- That would be some spectacular spectating. You'd hear BMW's not MINI's though. :wink:

Thanks for the great work Steve!

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