Most liked posts in thread: Rally Dakar 2012

Justa Jim · Jan 6, 2012

minimark said: ↑

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

I think they would drag on the ground on our cars, Mark and the car behind you would trip over them. :lol:

Jim

Steve · Jan 7, 2012

I just checked in on the status along Stage 7 and the 5 MINIs were all in the top 8 at check point 6 (that's a bit past half way). Lots of dunes to come, anything can happen there.

Interesting that other than a Toyota or two, a Mitsubishi, and a "Great Wall" (apparently a Chinese make) the competition at the front so far this year is between MINIs and Hummers.

Alan · Jan 7, 2012

Yea, its the Non-MINI vs the Zombie Hummer.

Steve · Jan 7, 2012

Stage 7 top 10:
1 - Hummer
2 - Hummer
3 - MINI
4 - MINI
5 - MINI
6 - Toyota
7 - MINI
8 - MINI
9 - Great Wall
10 - Mitsubishi

Justa Jim · Jan 7, 2012

Steve said: ↑

Stage 7 top 10:
1 - Hummer
2 - Hummer
3 - MINI
4 - MINI
5 - MINI
6 - Toyota
7 - MINI
8 - MINI
9 - Great Wall
10 - Mitsubishi
Click to expand...

Jim

ScottinBend · Jan 7, 2012

Alan said: ↑

Yea, its the Non-MINI vs the Zombie Hummer.
Click to expand...

:biggrin5:............

Steve · Jan 7, 2012

Top 10 after Stage 7:

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 15:32:53

02 #304 Holowczyc/Fortin MINI 15:44:15 00:11:22

03 #303 Gordon/Campbell Hummer 15:46:02 00:13:09

04 #305 Roma/PÃ©rin MINI 15:50:58 00:18:05

05 #301 De Villiers/von Zitzewitz Toyota 16:07:00 00:34:07

06 #300 Al-Attiyah/Cruz Hummer 16:15:47 00:42:54

07 #312 Novitskiy/Schulz MINI 16:27:19 00:54:26

08 #307 Sousa/Garcin Great Wall 16:45:43 01:12:50

09 #319 Alvarez/Graue Toyota 17:14:31 01:41:38

10 #315 Van Loon/Scholtablers Mitsubishi 17:21:32 01:48:39

#309, Leal dos Santos/Fuiza, finished 7th on the stage today and moved up to 16th place (19:01:28, 03:28:35).

Steve · Jan 7, 2012

Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day. The rally resumes with Stage 8 on Monday.

Crashton · Jan 7, 2012

I love the fact Robby Gordon is being beat by a MINI. Even though it is really a monster X3 wearing colorful MINI pajamas. That's gatta a be tough on his manhood. :smilewinkgrin:

Steve · Jan 7, 2012

He's making up ground though. He came 2nd today behind Al-Attiyah in the other Hummer. I've been looking for an update on that team's logistical status. I heard Gordon talking a couple days ago about how some of their support/supply trucks were stuck in customs and without them they would probably only be able to make it through half the rally.

Steve · Jan 7, 2012

Half-Time at the Dakar: Peterhansel Leads (minimotorsport.com)

The X-raid team once again showed its class on day seven of the Dakar, with all five MINI ALL4 Racings finishing in the top ten. StÃ©phane Peterhansel is the overall leader going into the rest day.

There was no need for StÃ©phane Peterhansel to take any risks on the final and most difficult stage before the Dakar caravan enjoys a well-earned rest day. Despite already holding a comfortable lead at the top of the overall standings, StÃ©phane consistently produced fast times over the second and decisive part of the seventh stage in the soft dunes around the finish at CopiapÃ³ â€“ in the middle of one of the driest regions on the planet. The nine-time Dakar winner ultimately finished with the third fastest time of the day. StÃ©phane now has an 11.22 cushion ahead of team-mate Krzystof Holowczyc at the top of the overall standings.

Krzystof set the fourth fastest time on Saturday, followed by Nani Roma in fifth place. Krzystof remains second overall, while Nani has now moved into fourth place. The fourth MINI driver in the top ten at the 2012 Dakar is Leonid Novitzkiy in seventh place. MINI number five is driven by Ricardo Leal dos Sandos, who was seventh fastest today and has moved up from 20th to 16th place overall.

As for the challenging dunes at the end of the stage StÃ©phane said: "I expected them to be tougher, but at the end we never came close to getting stuck." It is a very happy X-raid team that heads into Sunday's rest day. After all, no other team has led the 2012 Dakar since the start last Sunday. Nevertheless, Team Manager Sven Quandt's crew is determined not to let the opposition out of its sight. Defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah has shown genuine pace towards the end of the week and has declared his desire to make up eight minutes on the leaders every day from now on.

Only when the competitors reach Lima will we actually know the winner of the 2012 Dakar, and there are still a number of tough stages between now and then. Take Monday for example: the eighth stage sees the drivers complete 477 timed kilometres over a rollercoaster of a route towards Antofagasta, before they return to the dunes for Tuesday's ninth stage. The final section of this stage is particularly spectacular: before arriving in Iquique the teams must conquer a super dune standing almost two kilometres high.
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Steve · Jan 8, 2012

Ecxellent first week of Dakar for MINI. (minimotorsport.com)

The X-raid team, with its five MINI ALL4 Racings, has been the most successful team in week one of the Dakar. The team won four of the six stages and has four of five cars in the top ten.

As it happens, there was no need for X-raid Team Manager Sven Quandt to worry about the performance of the five MINI ALL4 Racings ahead of the Rally Dakar. After all, the cars had already proven their potential at various rallies since the start of 2011. That, coupled with the experienced team built around record Dakar winner StÃ©phane Peterhansel, was not exactly a bad starting basis for the toughest rally in the world.

However, Quandt did have the odd concern regarding the modifications to the regulations, which meant that petrol-powered vehicles are allowed larger restrictors and a six-speed gearbox this year. "We saw what that means at the autumn test in Morocco," said Quandt. "It makes the cars' top speeds ten to fifteen kilometres per hour faster."

Above all, Quandt believed that larger restrictors would make an impact at the Dakar: "The petrol-powered vehicles have more performance, up to 360 hp." In contrast, the MINI ALL4 Racing, with its diesel engine, generates 315 hp. "On the other hand, we have a better torque with a good 700 Newton metres, while the petrol engines produce between 500 and 550 Newton metres," said Quandt. The result: "We are quicker in the sand, but the others are probably quicker on the fast routes."

The 2012 Dakar is now a week old and the fast early stages are a thing of the past. There was no sign of the supposedly weaker performance. Three MINI ALL4 Racings finished in the top three on day one, and a MINI set the fastest time of the day on three of the following five stages. On the remaining two days, a MINI finished in the runner-up spot. In addition, four of the five MINI crews start week two in the top ten of the overall standings, with StÃ©phane Peterhansel and his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret in the overall lead.

Whether the class of the driving crews has made up for the supposed shortfalls, or whether there was not actually any real disadvantage is irrelevant now: the result is all that counts. And the result has certainly earned great praise from executive suite in the X-raid team. "It was a very good first week. Everyone in the team did a super job and we are looking forward to the decisive second week of the Dakar."

The final week is set to become increasingly sandy â€“ if not before, then definitely when the Dakar heads to Peru. "A difficult battle in the sand," was how Nani Roma's co-driver Michel PÃ©rin saw the final three stages developing before this year's Dakar even started, "where something could happen any minute and the Dakar could suddenly be over for someone."

It is good to know, then, that all the drivers in the X-raid team have praised the performance of the MINI ALL4 Racing in the sand. Bring on part two of the 2012 Dakar.
Click to expand...

Steve · Jan 9, 2012

Stage 8 results:
1 - MINI
2 - Hummer
3 - MINI
4 - MINI
5 - Hummer
6 - Toyota
7 - Great Wall
8 - MINI
9 - MINI
10 - Toyota

Justa Jim · Jan 9, 2012

All five in the top ten, including first.

Jim

Steve · Jan 9, 2012

Top 10 after Stage 8:

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 20:04:15

02 #303 Gordon/Campbell Hummer 20:11:51 00:07:36

03 #304 Holowczyc/Fortin MINI 20:12:03 00:07:48

04 #305 Roma/PÃ©rin MINI 20:16:42 00:12:27

05 #301 De Villiers/von Zitzewitz Toyota 20:42:00 00:37:45

06 #300 Al-Attiyah/Cruz Hummer 20:49:40 00:45:25

07 #312 Novitskiy/Schulz MINI 21:11:48 01:07:33

08 #307 Sousa/Garcin Great Wall 21:27:44 01:23:29

09 #319 Alvarez/Graue Toyota 22:08:30 02:04:15

10 #315 Van Loon/Scholtablers Mitsubishi 22:23:19 02:19:04

#309, Leal dos Santos/Fuiza, finished 9th on the stage today and moved up to 15th place (23:48:10, 03:43:55).

Steve · Jan 9, 2012

Roma top dog in Chile's rocky desert. (minimotorsport.com)

Mud, scree and the constant threat of punctures: none of this bothered the X-raid team's Nani Roma as he set the day's fastest time over stage eight. StÃ©phane Peterhansel defended his overall lead.

The deciding week of the Rally Dakar is underway, and the drivers were immediately faced with countless challenges to overcome on their first stage back after the rest day. The route took them towards Antofagasta through the infamous Atacama Desert, the edge of which initially greeted the competitors with some muddy sections before transforming into a rugged, rocky landscape with merciless temperatures.

Bearing in mind the adverse conditions, Nani Roma's performance today was nothing short of masterful. The man in the yellow number '305' MINI ALL4 Racing clocked very good times over the early sections of the stage, and there was simply no stopping him after the third intermediate check. From then until the end of the 477-kilometre timed section he consistently set the fastest times and was rewarded with the stage victory â€“ his second at the 2012 Dakar.

Second place went to Robby Gordon in a Hummer, who was 1:59 minutes faster than Nani's team-mate Krzysztof Holowczyc in third place. "To take seven minutes out of StÃ©phane Peterhansel's lead made it a great day," said Gordon. However, StÃ©phane had once again consciously taken a more defensive approach to the day. The nine-time Dakar winner knows all about the perils lurking in the Atacama Desert. After all, it only takes punctures - StÃ©phane had one 30 kilometres away from the finish - or a wrong turn to lose the overall lead.

StÃ©phane started the day with a lead of 15:04 minutes over Gordon. This had been cut to 7:36 minutes by the end of the eighth stage. Gordon is now second, behind StÃ©phane and ahead of Krzysztof Holowczyc in third place. Nani Roma is still well positioned in fourth place overall. The top of the rankings has a familiar look to it, with three MINI ALL4 Racings in the top five again. Leonid Novitskiy finished eighth on Monday and defended his seventh place overall, while team-mate Ricardo Leal dos Santos made up another place and now lies in fifteenth.

Tuesday's ninth stage is the longest special stage of the 2012 Rally Dakar and takes the competitors 556 kilometres to Iquique. The end of the stage is not only extremely sandy, but also phenomenally spectacular. The drivers drop about 700 metres in altitude down the flanks of a super dune into the finish, with the cars reaching top speeds of over 200 kilometres per hour. A real adrenalin rush. Even before this spectacular finish, however, the drivers must show both courage and driving prowess. The dunes are back. It is essential to get the orientation right and manoeuvre skilfully through the tricky, sandy hills. Those who get it wrong risk losing their way or getting stuck â€“ both of which cost valuable time. Nobody can allow that kind of mistake now if they want to win the Dakar.
Click to expand...

rum4 · Jan 10, 2012

that sure does look like fun

Steve · Jan 10, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thEKaIBhmWs]Dakar Stage 5 -- MINI Dominates First Real Test. - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Jan 10, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjDUtqXw4zE]Dakar Stage 6 -- Cancelled Due to Rain and Snow. - YouTube[/ame]

Justa Jim · Jan 10, 2012

Great stuff. Odd that Monster/ X-Raid has the money to go for a championship, but BMW doesn't. :lol:

Jim

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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	15:32:53
02	#304	Holowczyc/Fortin	MINI	15:44:15	00:11:22
03	#303	Gordon/Campbell	Hummer	15:46:02	00:13:09
04	#305	Roma/PÃ©rin	MINI	15:50:58	00:18:05
05	#301	De Villiers/von Zitzewitz	Toyota	16:07:00	00:34:07
06	#300	Al-Attiyah/Cruz	Hummer	16:15:47	00:42:54
07	#312	Novitskiy/Schulz	MINI	16:27:19	00:54:26
08	#307	Sousa/Garcin	Great Wall	16:45:43	01:12:50
09	#319	Alvarez/Graue	Toyota	17:14:31	01:41:38
10	#315	Van Loon/Scholtablers	Mitsubishi	17:21:32	01:48:39

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