Most liked posts in thread: Rally Dakar 2012

Justa Jim · Jan 4, 2012

Steve said: ↑

Stage 4 results for the MINI All4 Racing team: 1st, 4th, 5th, 10th and 11th. As a reference, 136 cars were classified as finishers yesterday on Stage 3.

Not all cars have completed Stage 4 yet so the overall standings aren't available but I think those stage finishes will stand.

More later.
Click to expand...

Not bad at all. Thanks Steve.

So, we can start following the MINI dune buggies instead of WRC. Works for me.

Jim

Crashton · Jan 4, 2012

I like the Dakar stuff a lot, but to me it does not hold a candle to the WCR.

Justa Jim · Jan 4, 2012

Crashton said: ↑

I like the Dakar stuff a lot, but to me it does not hold a candle to the WCR.
Click to expand...

Is WCR the World Circuit Rally?

I like WRC better too, but I am very disappointed with BMW/MINI and think this season could make them look like a joke. I guess I'll follow VW now and see if they are serious. Somebody need to take on the big guys.

Jim

Steve · Jan 4, 2012

Day Victory: Peterhansel back on top. (minimotorsport.com)

StÃ©phane Peterhansel has regained the lead at the Rally Dakar. The nine-time Dakar winner produced a consistent performance on difficult terrain to set the fastest time of the day.

A landscape that was even more rugged than yesterday's, and a host of tricky sections and water hazards that really put the co-driver's navigational skills to the test. That was the fourth stage of the Rally Dakar. Only the coolest heads found themselves at the front of the field today. Cue MINI's old hand StÃ©phane Peterhansel.

Right from the start of the 750-kilometre stage to Chilecito, StÃ©phane was always in control and was ultimately rewarded in every way for the somewhat conservative approach he took. And what of StÃ©phane's fiercest rival on the fourth day of the Dakar? Nasser Al-Attiyah started from sixth place overall and was applying serious pressure on the 326-kilometre timed section, gradually making his way through the field â€“ until 38 kilometres from the finish.

According to unofficial reports, the defending champion hit such difficulties in a muddy section that he was forced to stop for a good quarter of an hour. And so the comeback came to an unfortunate end, while StÃ©phane took full advantage. He had clocked the second-fastest time at every intermediate check up to that point, thus recapturing the lead he was forced to surrender yesterday as he finished day three in seventh place.

Following Al-Attiyah's problems Peterhansel set the fastest time at the final intermediate check to secure the overall lead. "I took a rather cautious approach to today's stage, having suffered two punctures yesterday," said StÃ©phane. "The final sections showed just how much strain the route has had on the material, with several teams already experiencing problems." This was not the case for StÃ©phane, whose success means that first place in the overall rankings has now been occupied by a MINI ALL4 Racing on each of the opening four days of this year's Dakar.

Wednesday was also a successful day for StÃ©phane's colleagues in the X-raid team. Nani Roma finished fourth to move into third place overall. "It was difficult to lead the field out today," said Nani, who was first out onto the route following yesterday's stage victory. "I was conservative today. You cannot win the Dakar so early on, but you can very easily lose it already."

Fifth place today went to Krzysztof Holowczyc in the third MINI. He now lies in fourth place overall. Leonid Novitskiy finished today's stage with the tenth fastest time, one place ahead of his team-mate Ricardo Leal dos Santos in eleventh place. Ricardo recovered well from his unwanted stop in a water section just one kilometre from the end of yesterday's special stage, which saw him plummet down the rankings. He has now fought his way back to 30th place overall. Meanwhile, Leonid now finds himself in sixth place overall, thus completing the quartet of MINI ALL4 Racings in the top ten of the 2012 Dakar.

So far so good. Thursday's fifth stage to FiambalÃ¡, which is 423 kilometres in length, throws up the first real test of all the teams' driving and navigational skills. Only 177 kilometres will be timed, but several title favourites have already laid their dreams of a Dakar victory to rest in the white dunes of FiambalÃ¡ in recent years. Losing one's orientation or getting stuck in the sand here can result in the loss of so much time that the deficit is all but insurmountable. One thing is certain: FiambalÃ¡ will separate the men from the boys.
Click to expand...

Justa Jim · Jan 4, 2012

Jim

Steve · Jan 4, 2012

Overall ranking (top 10 only) after Stage 4:

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5 Column 6

Rank Driver/Co-Driver Manufacturer Time Gap to 1st

01 #302 Peterhansel/Cottret MINI 09:43:20

02 #301 De Villiers/von Zitzewitz Toyota 09:49:01 00:05:41

03 #305 Roma/PÃ©rin MINI 09:50:04 00:06:44

04 #304 Holowczyc/Fortin MINI 09:51:30 00:08:10

05 #303 Gordon/Campbell Hummer 09:59:43 00:16:23

06 #312 Novitskiy/Schulz MINI 10:09:45 00:26:25

07 #300 Al-Attiyah/Cruz Hummer 10:14:04 00:30:44

08 #307 Sousa/Garcin Great Wall 10:14:05 00:30:45

09 #319 Alvarez/Graue Toyota 10:16:31 00:33:11

10 #317 Wevers/Lurquin Mitsubishi 10:20:02 00:36:42

Steve · Jan 5, 2012

Angib said: ↑

One of the best things about the Dakar are its ethics, that grew out of the need to look out for other competitors first, and race second.

I only found out this year that, at the competitors' briefing before the start, the youngest competitor is required to deliver a 'sermon' to all other competitors on the right way to behave! Reportedly this year's youngster, 20-year old Loca Bonetto, acquitted himself well:

But yesterday was a superb example, shown on Yurpeen TV coverage - last year's car winner Nasser Al-Attiyah was seen in the bivouac helping one of the privateer motorbike competitors fix his bike. Not something you see in other races.
Click to expand...

Here's hoping that spirit continues.

I find that sort of friendly camaraderie easier to imagine when the original Paris-Dakar was new to everyone. These days "Dakar" isn't just the one big rally (now in SA), it's a series of rallies in different countries. For those who participate in the series that means bigger budgets and as we've seen in other motorsport series' that often leads to corporate-style pressure and cutthroat battles for results (and air time, such as it is). Don't mean to dampen enthusiasm, just saying...

Stepping back down from my cynic/pessimist soapbox...well done Al-Attiyah.

Alan · Jan 5, 2012

It was on the NBC Sports Summary as well....

Seems Nasser Al-Attiyah started riding quads (I think that's what he said) and was helped by one (several?) other entrants when he ran out of gas. They shared some of their gas with him so he could finish. Obviously increasing the risk that they would later run short.

Nasser related that ever since that incident he tries to help make sure that all motorcycles make it off at the start of each stage.

I'm not sure when the quads go off, but motorcycles leave before the cars.

Yes, I agree that is awesome! And I'm sure Earl would agree as well.

Steve · Jan 5, 2012

Stage 5 results: 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th!

Overall ranking (top 10 only) after Stage 5:

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5 Column 6

Rank Driver/Co-Driver Manufacturer Time Gap to 1st

01 #302 Peterhansel/Cottret MINI 11:58:03

02 #304 Holowczyc/Fortin MINI 12:02:21 00:04:18

03 #305 Roma/PÃ©rin MINI 12:08:42 00:10:39

04 #303 Gordon/Campbell Hummer 12:11:35 00:13:32

05 #301 De Villiers/von Zitzewitz Toyota 12:19:04 00:21:01

06 #312 Novitskiy/Schulz MINI 12:28:54 00:30:51

07 #307 Sousa/Garcin Great Wall 12:38:58 00:40:55

08 #300 Al-Attiyah/Cruz Hummer 12:48:50 00:50:47

09 #315 Van Loon/Scholtablers Mitsubishi 12:51:36 00:53:33

10 #319 Alvarez/Graue Toyota 12:57:13 00:59:10

After that huge time loss on Stage 3 (finishing 2hr 40min behind the stage winner) the 5th "MINI" (#309, Leal dos Santos/Fuiza) has worked its way back up to 20th place with a total time of 15:06:06, 03:08:03 off the lead.

Steve · Jan 5, 2012

MINI dominates first real Dakar test. (minimotorsport.com)

Five MINI ALL4 Racings in the top six places after a challenging fifth stage of the Dakar: it doesn't get much better. Krzysztof Holowczyc takes the stage victory, while StÃ©phane Peterhansel remains the overall leader.

The news received shortly before the start of the first real test on this year's Dakar was ominous. Heavy rainfall had forced the organisers to shorten the fifth stage by 24 kilometres. That may sound trivial at first, but it meant that day five of the Dakar began practically directly on loose, sandy ground and with a climb from 1600 metres to 2600 metres in altitude, followed by the dreaded dunes on the way to FiambalÃ¡.

However, even the extremely demanding route could not stop the X-raid team and its five MINI ALL4 Racings today. The stage result says it all: Krzysztof Holowczyc celebrated the stage victory, StÃ©phane Peterhansel came home in third place, then Nani Roma in fourth, followed by the two remaining MINI drivers in the form of Leonid Novitskiy and Ricardo Leal dos Santos.

The new overall rankings are equally impressive: StÃ©phane was able to defend his position at the top, while Krzysztof and Nani have now got his back in second and third place respectively. A hat-trick for the MINI brand, while Leonid is just a few places back in sixth and Ricardo has climbed from 30th to 20th place following his mistake on day three of the Dakar.

Of Friday's 641-kilometre journey to CopiapÃ³, 247 kilometres are scheduled to be timed. One highlight is undoubtedly the crossing of the border to Chile, which takes place at an impressive altitude of 4700 metres. From there, the drivers head into the rugged Atacama Desert before having to overcome another dune section. Sunday's rest day may not seem so far off now, but no team can afford to take its foot off the gas yet.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 5, 2012

Catching up...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MObNBS7Lb3o]Dakar Day 2 -- Peterhansel Takes The Lead. - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6HEc6LgHwo]Dakar Stage 3 -- Holowczyc Moves Into Pole Position. - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEKzZroCQ8U]Dakar Day 4 -- Peterhansel Regains the Lead. - YouTube[/ame]

Justa Jim · Jan 5, 2012

Great coverage as usual Steve.

Jim

ScottinBend · Jan 5, 2012

Now remember everyone.....these are simply last years BMW X3's with a Countryman -esque body. In fact the Xraid team is also still running 3 of the X3's in this years race.

Justa Jim · Jan 5, 2012

ScottinBend said: ↑

Now remember everyone.....these are simply last years BMW X3's with a Countryman -esque body. In fact the Xraid team is also still running 3 of the X3's in this years race.
Click to expand...

Beauty is only skin deep, so if they look like a MINI then they are a MINI.

Jim

Steve · Jan 5, 2012

An X-Raid Dakar MINI isn't a Cooper a Clubman or even a real Countryman but technically it was never a BMW X3 either, any more than the VWs are or ever were Touareg's, etc, etc. As is common, the X-Raid Team built those things from the ground up and fit an X3-esque body shell (and a BMW diesel engine w/ twin turbos). This year the chassis and suspension were altered for the group of 5 "MINIs", intending to lower the center of gravity (and I forget the other goal) and they fit a MINI Countryman-esque body shell.

Steve · Jan 5, 2012

I'm not sure whether I'm reading this right but it looks like they're planning to cancel Stage 6 tomorrow due to effects of weather on the course.

Due to the bad weather continuing over the Andes Cordillera (rain and snow), the Chilean authorities were forced to close, for the night, the border at Paso de San Francisco, situated at 4700m.

For the 7th time, the Dakar is about to cross over the Andes, and because of very unfavourable conditions, added to the fact that the course has been hit by rain and snow, in order to guarantee the security of the competitors and those following the rally, the organisers have decided to organise a convoy for all vehicles tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 6, 2012

Extra rest day for the X-Raid Team. (minimotorsport.com)

Ever deteriorating weather conditions on the Chilean border in the Andes have forced Dakar officials to cancel the sixth stage, allowing the X-raid team to prepare even more intensely for Saturday's test.

Most competitors at the Dakar are glad of an extra rest day at the toughest endurance rally in the world â€“ especially as the teams already have five days and over 1000 kilometres of timed stages behind them. The high-speed caravan was not actually due a break until Sunday, but the weather god Petrus has bestowed an extra rest day upon the participants. Dakar officials have cancelled the sixth stage of the rally due to rainfall and even snow on the border with Chile.

The teams were due to reach the 4700-metre high Paso San Francisco on Friday. However, deteriorating weather conditions have made the passage to the Chilean border to dangerous. Even under normal conditions the winding, gravel descent from the "Roof of the Dakar" is extremely unforgiving. "The safety of all participants at the Dakar has utmost priority," said a spokesperson for the organisers on Friday morning, explaining the reasoning behind the cancellation.

The X-raid team will now travel as a convoy straight to the start of Saturday's seventh stage. However, the stage cancellation does allow the drivers and co-drivers another day without having to sit at the wheel of the MINI ALL4 Racing. Instead, they can spend the day recharging their batteries and preparing in even greater detail for stage seven, which is one of the most difficult stages on this year's Dakar.

Saturday's test takes the drivers in a 573-kilometre loop around CopiapÃ³, with 419 kilometres against the clock. The first 330 or so kilometres are over firmer sand and a brief spell on asphalt, which may not appear too spectacular at first glance. However, the final quarter of the timed route in particular sees the drivers penetrate ever deeper into a vast dune landscape. The priority here is to keep your orientation and not get stuck in the sand â€“ a big challenge for all Dakar participants, which should once again test everyone's nerves ahead of Sunday's official rest day.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 6, 2012

I just noticed the Monster Energy logo on the flaps. I guess that explains the nasty green...

Justa Jim · Jan 6, 2012

Steve said: ↑

I just noticed the Monster Energy logo on the flaps. I guess that explains the nasty green...

Click to expand...

Nice color MY on that MINI.

Jim

minimark · Jan 6, 2012

UG.. Let us hope those mudflaps don't become the latest trend... :drool

Forums

Most liked posts in thread: Rally Dakar 2012

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

Crashton Club Coordinator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Alan Active Member

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

ScottinBend Space Cowboy
Supporting Member

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

minimark Well-Known Member

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5	Column 6
Rank		Driver/Co-Driver	Manufacturer	Time	Gap to 1st
01	#302	Peterhansel/Cottret	MINI	09:43:20
02	#301	De Villiers/von Zitzewitz	Toyota	09:49:01	00:05:41
03	#305	Roma/PÃ©rin	MINI	09:50:04	00:06:44
04	#304	Holowczyc/Fortin	MINI	09:51:30	00:08:10
05	#303	Gordon/Campbell	Hummer	09:59:43	00:16:23
06	#312	Novitskiy/Schulz	MINI	10:09:45	00:26:25
07	#300	Al-Attiyah/Cruz	Hummer	10:14:04	00:30:44
08	#307	Sousa/Garcin	Great Wall	10:14:05	00:30:45
09	#319	Alvarez/Graue	Toyota	10:16:31	00:33:11
10	#317	Wevers/Lurquin	Mitsubishi	10:20:02	00:36:42

Useful Searches

Most liked posts in thread: Rally Dakar 2012

Justa Jim Well-Known Member Lifetime Supporter

Crashton Club Coordinator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member Lifetime Supporter

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member Lifetime Supporter

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Alan Active Member

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member Lifetime Supporter

ScottinBend Space Cowboy Supporting Member

Justa Jim Well-Known Member Lifetime Supporter

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member Lifetime Supporter

minimark Well-Known Member

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

ScottinBend Space Cowboy
Supporting Member

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Justa Jim Well-Known Member
Lifetime Supporter