Dakar 2014

Steve · Jan 15, 2014

Peterhansel piles on the pressure as Sainz crashes out (MaxRally.com)

by Anthony Peacock / 15th January 2014

The 10th stage of the Dakar Rally, containing a challenging mixture of sand and fesh-fesh, was led from start to finish by Qatarâ€™s Nasser Al-Attiyah in an X-Raid Mini. The 631-kilometre stage ran from Iquique to Antofagasta; one of the most tricky sections of the entire event, where it was extremely easy to get stuck

That wasnâ€™t the most significant result of the day though: instead that honour went to Stephane Peterhansel, who finished second on the stage and more crucially scalped another 10 minutes from Nani Roma, whose overall lead now stands at a distinctly fragile two minutes, with three days left to go. Roma got stranded in a dune at the beginning of the stage for eight minutes, and also suffered a puncture.

Peterhansel said: â€œNasserâ€™s on fire. He caught up with us and I had trouble keeping up with him, he's going very fast. It was yet another good special overall. We've been pulling out all the stops for a few days. We're pushing the car to the limit, it slips and bounces all over the place. The Mini is one tough cookie, it just keeps going and we're having fun. We're confident because we feel at ease in the car, the machine is well-oiled... and things are looking up.â€

The biggest news was a heavy crash for Red Bull SMG Buggy driver Carlos Sainz (pictured), who suffered light injuries in the accident that eliminated his vehicle from the race. The accident actually happened on a neutralised part of the stage, around two-thirds of the way into the action. Up until then, the Spaniard had been running in the top three on the stage. The 51-year-old was taken to the medical centre for checks.

In third overall is Al-Attiyah, while Toyota driver (and former winner) Giniel de Villiers moved up to fourth.
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Steve · Jan 15, 2014

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcUNOSsYAoM"]EN - Stage 10 - Car / Bike - Stage Summary - (Iquique / Antofagasta) - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 16, 2014

Steve · Jan 16, 2014

Stage 11: The Atacama, in all it's Splendour

In addition to the distance, here the competitors will be put to the test by all the difficulties offered by the Atacama Desert… and will have to display all the qualities required for off-road races. After the mine tracks and the many rivers to cross, they will have to distinguish themselves in the heart of the Dunes of Copiapo: the fastest motorcyclists are expected to spend seven hours behind the wheel. Needless to say that on this decisive day there will be no shortage of opportunities for competitors to make a winning comeback in the race. This will be the key stage of the 2014 edition.
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Steve · Jan 16, 2014

Steve · Jan 16, 2014

Dave.0 · Jan 16, 2014

The size of that truck reminds me of a beer truck.

Must get beer across desert, must keep going....

Steve · Jan 16, 2014

Steve · Jan 16, 2014

I like this post stage quote from Giniel de Villiers (now 5th, chasing Orlando Terranova).

We tried to have a nice day and we caught up with the Minis, two of them â€“ I don't know who it was â€“ in the rocky part and then just as I got close I got a puncture. Then we caught up again and we hit the sand they just pulled away. It was impossible to stay with them in the sand. Over twenty kilometres they put about two minutes on me. I caught them again in the rocky section. I think they were obviously going slowly in the rocks, but then I had another puncture and twenty kilometres from the end I had a third puncture. Every time we had a puncture the tyres were burning at the back, so we had flames and it was a big mess. It's a pity about the punctures, but otherwise the car ran well and we had no problems. I knew he knew we had three punctures, unfortunately so. Tomorrow is still a long day and we'll try until the end, but on pace we cannot catch him. He's too fast at this point in time. If you're not going for the first place, for sure, you need to find the motivation, but we are motivated and we have a good car. It's very reliable, without problems and it was a tough day out there today.
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Steve · Jan 16, 2014

I don't like the team orders bit but thanks to watching other racing series' I'm getting used to it, unfortunately.

Mini calls off fight for the lead (MaxRally.com)

by Anthony Peacock / 16th January 2014

Spain’s Nani Roma appears to have the Dakar Rally in the bag, after his X-Raid Mini team called time on the battle for the lead with two days to go.

Stephane Peterhansel had closed to within two minutes of his team mate after Wednesday, but the X-Raid team decided this morning not to risk a one-two-three – and consequently Peterhansel was told to stop challenging Roma. Nasser Al-Attiyah is third, in another Mini – a perfect result for the Germany-based team.

“Yesterday, the boss asked us to take no risk at all to keep the three Minis on the final podium,” said Peterhansel. “So I reduced the speed and we started this morning not with the same spirit. It was a safer spirit for the car. For sure, in these conditions first of all we don't take any pleasure in driving and it’s a big frustration.”

Roma though had a very different view of the situation. “It's a good day,” he said. “I made time on Stephane. It was really tough but I'm really happy. I started this morning flat-out to try and keep Stephane at bay – and as for the race... I don't know, maybe tomorrow... but for the moment there are no team orders.”

Peterhansel is now more than five minutes adrift of Roma, having dropped a further three minutes on the day’s stage from Antofagasta to El Salvador.

Neither of them could do anything about their team mate Orlando Terranova though (pictured), who won the stage resoundingly. Terranova is fourth, just ahead of Toyota’s Giniel de Villiers: the top non-Mini driver.
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Steve · Jan 17, 2014

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93i_kfCEZmI"]ENÃ‚Â -Ã‚Â Stage 11 - Car / Bike - Stage Summary - Antofagasta / El Salvador - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 17, 2014

Stage 12: Dunes: The Last Ditch Attempt

The site chosen in El Salvador at high altitude towers over the usual location of the bivouac in Copiapo. This position will ensure that the Camanchaca, the morning mist which sometimes hinders the start of the stages, will be avoided. Sand will be featured on the route again, in particular with a big string of dunes to be overcome at the end of the special stage. And if there are dunes, this automatically means that vehicles will be blocked in the sand! Therefore, in the categories where competitors are neck and neck, the leaders may put themselves at risk.
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Steve · Jan 17, 2014

Here's that Red Bull beer truck again.

Steve · Jan 17, 2014

Peterhansel reclaims Dakar lead, despite team orders (racer.com)

January 17, 2014

Stephane Peterhansel moved into the lead of the Dakar Rally on Friday, despite the X-raid team calling off the fight for victory on the previous day.

The Frenchman trailed team-mate Nani Roma by over five minutes going into Friday's 12th stage from El Salvador to La Serena, and the team had decided it did not want to take any risks.

"The game is over," said Peterhansel on Thursday. "We've had a good laugh and enjoyed ourselves. Yesterday evening, the team asked us to not take any more risks."

However, Peterhansel won Friday's stage and overtook Roma at the top of the standings.

He now leads the Spaniard by 26 seconds ahead of Saturday's final stage.

Peterhansel's was his fourth stage victory of the rally. He finished over three minutes ahead of Nasser At-Attiyah and almost six ahead of Roma, who was third.

Toyota's Giniel de Villers was again the first non-Mini driver at the finish line, coming home in fourth ahead of Krzysztof Holowczyc, who completed the top five despite suffering a puncture.

Saturday's deciding stage from La Serena to Valparaiso is only 157km.

Leading stage 12 times:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Stephane Peterhansel X-raid Mini 3h38m19s
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah X-raid Mini +3m38s
3. Nani Roma X-raid Mini +5m58s
4. Giniel de Villiers Imperial Toyota +10m48s
5. Krzysztof Holowczyc X-raid Mini +18m06s
6. Ronan Chabot SMG Buggy +18m24s
7. Boris Garafulic X-raid Mini +25m26s
8. Lucio Alvarez Ford +26m15s
9. Orlando Terranova X-raid Mini +29m50s
10. Christian Lavieille Haval +31m09s

Leading overall positions after stage 12:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Stephane Peterhansel X-raid Mini 48h45m45s
2. Nani Roma X-raid Mini +26s
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah X-raid Mini +54m07s
4. Giniel de Villiers Imperial Toyota +1h21m13s
5. Orlando Terranova X-raid Mini +1h27m57s
6. Krzysztof Holowczyc X-raid Mini +3h57m25s
7. Marek Dabrowski Orlen Toyota +5h26m09s
8. Christian Lavieille Haval +5h34m59s
9. Martin Kaczmarski X-raid Mini +6h55m33s
10. Vladimir Vasilyev X-raid Mini +7h00m59s

This article originally appeared in Autosport.com
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Dave.0 · Jan 17, 2014

Steve said: ↑

Here's that Red Bull beer truck again.

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The ABSOLUTE VODKA truck should not be far behind.:lol:

Steve · Jan 18, 2014

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB8jBwXzmEQ"]ENÃ‚Â -Ã‚Â Stage 12 - Car / Bike - Stage Summary - El Salvador / La Serena - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 18, 2014

Stage 13: Watch out for the needles

Before admiring the hillsides brought to life by the houses in Valparaiso, the drivers will have to climb the hills planted with cacti during the rally's last special stage.
The pride and joy of crossing the finish line is drawing closer, but the statistics are formal: every year one or several drivers come unstuck during this final exercise so prudence is required! Even this close to the finish, vigilance is the competitors' best ally to ensure their presence on the final podium: the first one organised at night in the history of the Dakar.
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Steve · Jan 18, 2014

A few of those needles.

Steve · Jan 18, 2014

Roma secures Dakar Rally victory (racer.com)

January 18, 2014

Nani Roma won the Dakar Rally as X-raid Mini teammate Stephane Peterhansel slowed on the final stage.

Roma led the majority of the event after a variety of dramas dropped main rivals Peterhansel, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz back during the opening days.

Peterhansel recovered from nearly 40 minutes behind to catch Roma with three stages left, but X-raid was concerned about the risks its drivers were taking and ordered them to back off.

Roma duly kept the lead on Thursday, although he lost it to Peterhansel again with a puncture on the penultimate day.

Peterhansel carried a 26-second advantage into the closing run from La Serena to Valparaiso, but drove steadily and soon fell behind in the overall classifications. He then parked 24 kilometers from the end so that he, Roma and Al-Attiyah could cross the line in formation to celebrate X-raid's top-three sweep.

Roma's first Dakar win in cars comes exactly 10 years after he won the motorcycle category on a KTM.

Giniel de Villiers was fastest on the final stage and finished fourth overall.

While Al-Attiyah got back up to third following his opening week delays, Sainz crashed out four days from the finish.

Marc Coma was the motorcycle winner for the fourth time in his career.

This article originally appeared in Autosport.com
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Steve · Jan 18, 2014

MINI Space's version of the news:

He's Done It: Roma Wins the 2014 Dakar Rally

January 18, 2014

He's done it! Joan 'Nani' Roma has won the Dakar Rally! The Spaniard crossed the finishing line in the MINI ALL4 Racing in ValparaÃso on Chile's Pacific coast as overall champion. This was his second victory in the toughest long-distance rally on the planet, but his first on four wheels. In 2004 Nani won the event riding a motorcycle.

"It is truly and utterly crazy, I can hardly believe it!", Nani Roma exclaimed at the finishing line beaming with joy. "I have to thank all the members of my X-raid team, but most of all my co-driver Michel PÃ©rin, who has done an extraordinary job of navigating me through the Dakar over the last 13 days. I was able to depend on the reliability of my MINI ALL4 Racing car throughout, even though conditions at this year's Dakar have been unbelievably tough. The whole package has just been spot-on and has made all the difference."

Tough, tougher, Dakar: 'Nani' Roma and co. have had to put up with a lot on the 9,374-kilometer-long route from Rosario in Argentina to ValparaÃso. It has taken the drivers across many diverse landscapes and the terrain was very demanding in places. From rough gravel to very fine, deep sand, almost everything was in the mix.

Competitors drove over narrow mountain roads at altitudes up to 4,000 metres in the Andes. In Chile's famous Atacama Desert, the driest place on earth, temperatures were like those inside an oven. In the treacherous desert sands, many competitors fell by the wayside.

"Congratulations to Nani and Michel, a really impressive victory!", X-raid Team Principal Sven Quandt rejoiced. "The whole team has achieved so much in these almost two weeks. The Dakar Rally provides another great logistical challenge time and again. Nani and Michel have navigated their MINI very skilfully and considered through the stages. During this time the MINI ALL4 Racing has run reliably as ever, a particularly important attribute at this merciless rally."

For MINI and X-raid the overall results in South America could hardly make for better reading. This was the third victory for a MINI ALL4 Racing car from the X-raid team in four years since their debut in 2011. A great reason to celebrate! The victory party will take place in the evening in quite relaxed MINI style with a barbecue on the beach of Santiago de Chile.
by MINI Motorsport

All images Â© MINI
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