Dakar 2009 - 1980 winners congratulate VW on Dakar victory

29 years ago, on 23 January 1980, Freddy Kottulinsky/Gerhard Löffelmann clinched the first victory for Volkswagen at the "2nd Paris-Algiers-Dakar Rally” in the Iltis, ahead of their French team-mates Patrick Zaniroli/Philippe Colesse.
Back then as well as today, Volkswagen celebrated a one-two victory: Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz won the current edition of the desert classic, which ended in Buenos Aires on Sunday after 9,500 kilometres, in front of their team colleagues Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford in the Race Touareg. On the way towards clinching the first victory of a diesel-powered vehicle Volkswagen decided ten out of 13 stages in its favour at the first "Dakar” through Argentina and Chile.

The one-two victory prompted the driver pairing that had been victorious in 1980 to congratulate Volkswagen. ”Ever since I won the rally, I’ve been watching it in the media,” said Freddy Kottulinsky, who is now living near Schleiz in Thuringia. "I wanted to express my sincerest congratulations to Volkswagen on the historic TDI victory. Even though an exploit in our day with naturally aspirated diesel engines would have been inconceivable, I had no doubt that a diesel would win one day. In passenger cars, modern diesel technology has long become the ultimate.”
Kottulinsky/Löffelmann in the Iltis: unusual conditions in 1980

"Of course I’ve actively been watching Volkswagen’s current path to victory in the media as well, and congratulate the squad,” said former co-driver Gerhard Löffelmann. Back then, he was working for AUDI AG in Technical Development; today, he is a team leader in vehicle engineering, still with the same department. After almost 30 years, the differences in conditions are tremendous. We only drove with a compass, now there are modern GPS systems, even though their use is restricted. What’s more, I didn’t even have any experience as a co-driver. My main role was that of a mechanic who had to be able to repair the car and to thus help to take it to the finish.” Löffelmann still has the roadbook. It was all in French and then team boss Roland Gumpert – the driver of a rally Iltis himself – helped to translate it every night at the bivouac.

Back in 1980, an almost entirely production-based Volkswagen Iltis sufficed to achieve the duo’s victory. The off-road vehicle was only complemented by underbody protection, modified dampers, a roll cage, different seats, additional instruments and a further fuel tank. The standard 1.7-litre engine delivered about 110 instead of 75 hp for the 10,000-kilometre rally distance from France via Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and (then) Upper Volta, all the way to Senegal. "That was enough to win,” recalled Kottulinsky. As much as he enjoyed his activities as a racing and rally driver in his day, he still has a wish, "I’d really be thrilled to drive today’s Race Touareg just for once ..."

Budapest-Bamako Rally: Budapest-Bamako: Invadors hit Monte Carlo

From Sunday to Tuesday – the participants have three days to complete the super marathon stage between Brescia in Italy and Merzouga in Morocco – because on Wednesday morning the real rally starts there! But also on their way to Southern Spain the crews had some tasks to solve. For the Tourist category it was a bit easier, they had only two official stops before Morocco. 

With the ferry cruise from Almeria (Spain) to Nador (Morocco) 2.740 kilometres had to be covered – under the given circumstances a challenge even for the most experienced teams! Although the transfer was/is only transfer, there was a little ’trick’ in the route to make their lives harder. Instead of using the wonderful seaside motorway from Genua to Nizza the competirors had to choose a passage through the Alps to solve a task. But, as organiser Andrew Szabó Gál warned in the first video, this could be a problem... 

And, of course, it was – because of the snow. “It’s possible that because of the snow the passage will be closed”, informed the caravan Gál on Saturday evening. And, to shatter the hopes of the teams, yes, it was. So they had to switch to plan B and drive in the ‘luxury’ way: on the motorway on the seaside. 

And if they were there… The motorway leads near Monaco’s fabulous capital, Monte Carlo. Among motorsport fans it is a common wish to drive on the legendary Formula 1 track at least once in a lifetime… Moreover, despite the snow and freezing weather, in Monte Carlo pleasant 16 degrees and bright sunshine welcomed the caravan. 

What started as individual ideas of the competitors, ended up as an ‘invasion’ in the luxury city. Rally vehicles parked on every corner, crews taking photos beside Ferraris, Bentleys and Rolls Royce… Even the ‘high society’ noticed that something special is going on: beside the guests of a luxury wedding even pop star ‘Jamiroqai’ greeted the Bamako competitors at a red traffic lamp from his black Ferrari. 

The concierge of the legendary Casino and also the policemen dressed in their traditional uniform proved to be understanding: they let the rally cars to be parked on the exclusive parking places in front of the Casino and ‘Hotel Paris’ and even seemed to be happy about the colourful ‘invasion’. “Oh, Budapest-Bamako, le petit Dakar! Welcome to Monaco!” They knew the rally already. 

But after Monaco, fun was over. The crews set on the motorway and headed directly towards Almeria in Southern Spain. They could have a stop in Montpellier, France, but the ‘tough’ ones opted for go directly to the port to be aboard the first ferry of the three booked for the rally.

 Unfortunately we have to report about another withdrawal. Three times winners of the Budapest-Bamako, Slovakian Juraj Ulrich and Daniela ‘Danka’ Ulrichova (Nissan) had to quit the race after Danka’s leg was injured. This meant a bitter disappointment for the couple from Bratislava and the end of their hopes to win the rally for a fourth time in a row. 

Only a few of the rally vehicles were able to board the first ferry on Monday morning. As a reward, now finally they have a normal amount of sleeping – after about 3000 kilometres on the motorway. (Marathonrally.com)

Dakar 2009: South African Nissan Navaras finish fourth, fifth and 20th on Dakar Rally

Three privately-entered Nissan Navaras, built by Nissan Motorsport in South Africa have finished fourth, fifth and 20th in the Dakar Rally Argentina-Chile, which ended in Buenos Aires on Saturday afternoon after 15 gruelling days' racing across two continents and over the Andes Mountains. 

Norwegian adventurer and mountain climber Ivar Erik Tollefsen and his English co-driver Quin Evans, regular competitors in the South African off road championship, finished a remarkable fourth overall in their Nissan Navara pickup competing under the banner of Team Overdrive of Belgium. They completed the 9 500-km ultra marathon cross country race in a time of 44 hr 15 min 31 sec and were 6 hr 4 min 34 sec behind the winners, South Africa's Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz of Germany in a factory Volkswagen Race Touareg.

Fifth overall, 33 min 15 seconds behind Tollefsen and Evans, was former Polish rally champion Krzysztof Holowczyc and his Belgian co-driver Jean-Marc Fortin in a second Team Overdrive Navara. The third proudly South African Nissan, crewed by Hungarian cross country champions Laszlo Palik and Gabor Darazsi, finished 20th, 27 hr 22 min 19 seconds behind the winners.

 "Ivar and Krzysztof's performance on what was one of the toughest Dakars in recent years was massive. It's simply heroic," said Glyn Hall, general manager of Nissan Motorsport, who was team manager in South America for Team Overdrive. "They won the class for production vehicles and were only beaten by the state-of-the-art factory Touareg prototype and a multi-million dollar racing Hummer. We believe that Ivar's fourth place is the highest a genuine privateer has achieved in the Dakar in the modern era." 

"South Africans can be very proud today," added Hall. "Not only did our Navara pickups survive the world's toughest off road race, but there were also two South Africans in the first two cars - Giniel de Villiers in the winning Touareg and his team-mate Ralph Pitchford, who was co-driver in the second-placed Touareg. 

"Giniel is a former national off road champion in one of our Nissan Hardbody pickups and joined Volkswagen's Dakar squad after completing three Dakars in a factory Nissan Hardbody. Giniel is the first South African to win the Dakar and we're very proud of him. It's a huge achievement, comparable to Jody Scheckter winning the 1979 Formula One world championship in a Ferrari.'

 "Ralph is co-driver to reigning South African off road champion Duncan Vos in our Sasol Nissan Navara, pretty much the same car that Ivar and Krzysztof drove on the Dakar. 

"We knew that our racing Navara was a strong vehicle - we've won the national off road championship for the last three years - but to have this kind of affirmation is really satisfying. We have customers all over the world and have already delivered 10 of these vehicles to customers around the world."

 A delighted Johan Kleynhans, sales and marketing director of Nissan South Africa: "Congratulations to all three Nissan crews for their historic performance on the Dakar. Nissan has a proud history in motor sport around the world and today a new chapter has been written. We're very proud of our motor sport department, who built these racing Navaras and also the Hardbody and Navara pickups that have won the last eight South African off road championships. It's a great demonstration of our 'made in South Africa' product and it's appropriate that it comes in the 50th year of our involvement in motor sport in South Africa."

 By Nissan

Dakar 2009 - Round-up Cars

In Spanish

Budapest-Bamako Rally 2009 started on Saturday morning

Early in the morning on January 17, 2009 the participants of the fourth Budapest-Bamako Rally set off from the Hungarian capital Budapest. Despite of the freezing weather towsends of spectators gathered around the start ramp to cheer the crews, who started from exactly the same place where the scrutineering of the Central Europe Rally was held in April last year. 

The first vehicle the leave Felvonulási tér was the pace car, a beautifully rebuilt Peugeot 504 driven by the founder of the rally, Andrew G. Szabó himself. Then the teams drove (rode) through the start ramp one by one in order of their entry into the waiting area, starting with the two crews of the Travel Channel which is to make and broadcast a series of five programs about the rally in May. After a selection procedure, one duo from the UK and one from the Netherlands got the opportunity to tackle the adventures in two identical Suzuki Samurais. The ’Green Knights’, namely Robert Bell and Chris Drumney (both UK, car No 121) have never been to Budapest yet and were amazed by the beauty of the Hungarian capital. The two lively ladies from the Netherlands, Nynke Doorenbos and Amarja Niehof in car No 120 started under the team name ’From Holland with Love’. 

The vehicles represented a colourful mix from old and special ones like the VW Beetle or the FSO Polones Ambulans, which was ’saved’ from a Warsaw scrap-ground, the two Rally Trabants of German Guiness record holder D-Rolf and his helper ’the baker of the Sahara’ Wilfried Janke to the Nissan of three times winner Slovakian couple Juraj Ulrich and Danka Ulrichova, the Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution of Slovenian Robert and Tea Slavec, the seven Hummers of the Czech Hummer Racing Team (lead by former Dakar co-driver Mila Janacek and accompanied by marathonrally.com member Gabi Kulcsar) and also some nail new cars, mostly Nissans, prepared by the same company which takes care of the Navara of the Hungarian cross country rally champion Laszlo Palik. 

Beside them also took off four ambulance cars (after the rally, three of them will serve in Mali, one in Mauritania), a big truck of Herczegh Specialtransport, packed fully with the donations of ’Hungary for Africa’ and also an old fire engine. 

Other interesting members of the field were the Citroen DS of Norwegian Hans Petter Svege and Sturla Bang and the Citroen 2 CV of Hungarian Viktor Lengyel and Laszlo Racz for whom it’s not the first time at the Bamako. And what brings them back to Africa? „We return to find the camera we lost last year”, explains Lengyel with a big smile. 

To make the transfer from Budapest to the shores of Africa a bit more interesting, there are some tasks to solve for points already on these stages. As at all tasks during the rally, the teams can decide if they take part in a certain task or not. Those who were cunning could take some advantage already here. 

But because of the long, 750 km stage to Brescia (Italy) only a few teams decided to solve these first tasks, the majority of the crews took the motorway through Austria instead. But, like at the Dakar, throughout the route in Hungary and Austria, fans cheered the teams from motorway bridges and in the villages crossed. Even at the petrol stations where the crews stopped spectators gathered quickly to see the vehicles. 

As the start of the first stage, after only some kilometres the competitors had to find a hidden character with the help of the GPS – near a stone-pit. The navigation was quite tricky: two parallel ways but only one of them led the crews back to the rally route, the other one ended up in the stone-pit, so there was a good chance of getting lost on the very first kilometres of the Budapest-Bamako. 

Bad news, that already on the first day one of the participants had to abandon after slipping on the icy surface and breaking a leg. The 850 km long Sunday leg leads the caravan to from Brescia in Italy to Montpellier in France, before on Monday they go on to Spain to ferry To Morocco – where the action actually begins. (Marathonrally.com)

Watch a video of the start here

Dakar 2009 - Round up Video - Cars

In English

Dakar 2009: CELEBRATED LIKE HEROES

The 31st edition of the Dakar, the first one in Latin-America, is now over and has seen the victories of Marc Coma in the bike category, Josef Machacek in the quad category, Giniel De Villiers in the car category and Firdaus Kabirov in the truck category. In total, 113 bikers, 13 quad riders, 91 car teams and 54 truck teams finished the rally-raid, that was notably marked by the exceptional enthusiasm the Dakar generated amongst the crowds in Argentina and in Chile.

BIKE RAID: COMA, THE VERY BEST ON TWO WHEELS

In the bike race, Marc Coma made THE performance of the year by leading the rally from start to finish. A feat unseen since 1997 in a Dakar-Dakar when someone called Stéphane Peterhansel had taken command of the raid the moment he started it en route to Tambacounda. Headed for the Argentinian Pampa, Spain’s Coma hit hard right away. A true slap in the face for his adversaries who suffered because of tire problems: Coma stole 41’ to a desperate Despres, 1h01’ to a David Casteu in tears. Only Frétigné managed to limit the damage by "only" conceding 28’ to Coma.
Two weeks and a few more rear tire problems for his contenders later, the tough Catalan won his second Dakar after a last stage where he just followed his main rivals from a safe but sure distance. At the end of a well-raced raid, Coma won wisely with a 1h25’ lead over Despres and 1h38’ over Frétigné. Three years after his first Dakar victory, the KTM-Repsol rider gave Spain his third victory on the rally-raid.

Unable to catch up on the undoubted leader, Cyril Despres did however win 4 special stages - against 3 for Coma -, which brings his stage victory total to 20. Third of the Dakar, David Frétigné, riding his "small" Yamaha, had his best performance ever on the raid winning at the same time the 450cc category race. In the standings of this 31st edition, we will also note the presence of the best woman in the Dakar, Dutch female biker Mirjam Pol, ranking 53rd in the standings. Her countryman, Rob Van Pelt, 33rd wins the bike amateur standings that rewards those bikers who rode without assistance.

In the quad race, Josef Machacek was the bravest of all 13 riders to finish the Dakar - there were 25 of them at the start. The Czech who is almost 52 years old was - once again - amazingly steady, winning 4 special stages and finishing the 10 others in the Top 3. The Yamaha rider wins here his fifth Dakar. He finishes 2h35’ ahead of local hero Marcos Patronelli, second in the standings. The other top performer of the quad race is Elisabeth Kraft, who enters the history of the Dakar by being the first woman to finish the rally-raid on this funny machine called quad.

CAR RAID: LEARNING TO BE PATIENT 
If there are areas where chance is only a marginal factor, it is indeed the world of enduro racing and mechanics. The success of Volkswagen taught those who did not know it that victories are built in the long run, especially in a race like the Dakar. The investment of the German manufacturer, whose goal was to bring the first diesel engine to victory on the most demanding of all rally-raids, started in 2003. After hesitation, progress, confirmation and tough times, it’s in 2009 that the Race Touareg reached its goal by being the master of the race from the beginning till the end.
If the dramatic turn of events of stage 12 - the fatal crash of Carlos Sainz - deprived VW of a Grand Slam, the three remaining cars finished the race in the Top 6 with Giniel De Villiers and Mark Miller ranking first and second. With 10 stage victories out of 13, the crews of Kris Nissen did not leave much to their contenders. This might seem a bit harsh for the others in the race but it responds to a firm will of preserving the whole team from the worst. By the way, the profile of the new winner of the rally corresponds perfectly to the demands of the Dakar. In his five previous participations, the South-African driver gave the impression of being steady and making progress at all times; his victory this year is also the victory of his patience.
And patience is also exactly what Team Mitsubishi must start learning. After an uninterrupted series of 7 victories and a track record with 12 titles in total, the Japanese team finished this Dakar with just one car out of four ranking fourth in the general standings. Since they arrived on the Dakar in 1984, the absence of the Mitsu drivers on the final podium only happened twice before in 1990 and in 1994. This year, Hiroshi Masuoka, Luc Alphand and then Stéphane Peterhansel all left the race prematurely. The last of the Mohicans at Mitsu, Joan "Nani" Roma did his very best to keep his place in the top 3 but collapsed in the stage of La Rioja. His proud reaction the next day when he got the best clock in the Cordoba stage is a very small consolation price for the team: indeed, in order to successfully convert the cars to diesel engines, the engineers and technicians still have a long way to go.

The race through elimination also touched the X-Raid team with the exclusion of Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, when he was in the lead of the general standings. The level of performance of the BMW X3 had allowed him to win two stages but his lack of reliability forced his to drive around a line of dunes, which led to his exclusion from the raid. Argentina’s Orlando Terranova, who was starting to impose himself slowly upon the elites, had to withdraw from the race after a major driving error.

In the T2 category, Nicolas Gibon gives a new victory to Toyota in this category and also - more importantly - ends up in 14th position in the general standings, whereas the best vehicles engaged in the Production category tend to generally rank around the 40th position. His closest contender, Xavier Foj, also demonstrated the competitiveness of T2s as he finishes 16th of the rally-raid.

Finally, the only 100% female crew registered to start in Buenos Aires, with Florence Migraine Bourgnon behind the wheel and Clémence Joyeux handling the road book, managed to finish the raid and ranks 86th in the general standings. As to the last one in the general standings (91st!), he is also a winner in his own right in his category as Jose Manuel Salinero was the only one who drove the whole Dakar alone in his car.

TRUCK RAID: KAMAZ GETS BACK WHAT WAS HIS

From the first to the last stage in the truck raid, the race was intense and there were many unexpected turns of events. From day one on, it was the Dutch participants who stood out. Van Vliet won the stage and became the first leader of this Dakar in front of De Rooy, while Chagin was only 7th. But the real turn of events of this opening went to Hans Stacey. A flat tire relegated him 39 minutes behind the pack and started the list of his setbacks. The leader of Team Man withdrew at the start of stage 8. Young De Rooy benefited from it to leave his mark on the early stages of this Dakar. Leader as of day 2, De Rooy stayed in the lead for four days and won a total of three stages. But the Dutch mark on the rally was going to fade at mid-raid and give way to the Russian trucks. Kabirov took the lead in the general standings at the end of stage 6, which opened a fascinating pursuit between the many-time winners of the Kamaz team. Chagin and Kabirov took turns at winning stages and at taking the lead in the general standings, and fought a spectacular fight with no mercy. The conclusion of this fight happened in the last special stage when Firdaus Kabirov finished just 30’’ ahead of Chagin and won his second Dakar, pushing Chagin back at 3’39’’ in the standings. Only Gerard De Rooy sort of stood his ground in this final stage and ends up getting third place on the podium, right in front of Mardeev. With 3 trucks out of 3 in the four first places of the general standings, this year, the Kamaz trucks were simply untouchable.

Dakar 2009 - Stage 14 - Cordoba - Buenos Aires: Video - Cars

In English


In Spanish


Final Overall Standings

Dakar 2009: Photos last two stages

Giniel de Villiers celebrates in Buenos Aires

Dieter Depping crosses a streem in Cordoba

Marc Coma arriving in Buenos Aires

Hands stretching out at Stage 14 finish

                                                      Marcos Patronelli escorted by the police entering Buenos Aires.

Dakar 2009: De Villiers claims historic Dakar win

Autosport.com

By Matt Beer

Saturday, January 17th 2009, 14:16 GMT

Giniel de Villiers has clinched a historic Dakar Rally victory for Volkswagen, taking the first diesel-powered win in the event in its first year in its new South American location.

Mark Miller completed a VW one-two, as this year's dominant team cruised through the final days over an hour clear of the rest of the field.

It should have been a top three sweep for VW, had Carlos Sainz not crashed out of the lead on Thursday. The former World Rally champion had led for most of the rally, only to slide into a ravine with just two days to go, leaving his co-driver Michel Perin with shoulder injuries that forced them to withdraw.

With Miller losing a lot of time in the same stage, de Villiers suddenly vaulted from a distant third - 41 minutes adrift - into the rally lead, where he remained through today's deciding run from Cordoba back to Buenos Aires.

"Absolutely incredible," said de Villiers, who was also fastest in the final stage. "I've never experienced such a feeling before. I was very nervous in the last couple of kilometres, but it's an unbelievable feeling.

"I'm so happy for the team and everyone back at Volkswagen, who've been supporting us for five years to get this win."

Miller drove conservatively and ultimately finished eight minutes behind his victorious teammate.

"The team won, that was our goal," he said. "It could have been Giniel or me, and that's the way it works. I'm a young guy and I'm going to have plenty of chances, I hope."

While VW celebrated, it was a disastrous event for Mitsubishi. The winners of the last seven Dakars hoped their brand new diesel Lancer could continue that streak, but took just one fastest stage time, never led the event, and lost three of their four works cars early on. Joan Roma's eventual 10th place was little consolation.

With Mitsubishi under-performing, the X-Raid BMW team proved to be VW's main rivals. Nassar Al-Attiyah battled for the lead with Sainz in the opening days, only to be disqualified for missing waypoints while trying to protect an overheating engine.

Third place finally went to Robby Gordon, despite the Hummer driver having some late scares with a stuck throttle yesterday and a flat tyre today. But with a vast advantage over Overdrive Nissan drivers Ivar Erik Tollefsen and Krzysztof Holowczyc in fourth and fifth places, Gordon was still able to make it home in third.

Dakar 2009: Volkswaguen celebrates 1-2 victory and first diesel engine triumph in a Dakar

Only when passing the toughest motorsport test with flying colours, only when winning ten of 13 possible stages, and only when thrilling millions of people along the rally route in the process – only then will it be deemed "Das Auto” ("The Car”).

Volkswagen won the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile with the Race Touareg and thus made motorsport history. The exploit clinched by the South African-German duo Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz in the debut event of the legendary desert classic in South America marked the first ever victory of a diesel-powered vehicle in the automobile class in the 30-year-history of the "Dakar”. Their Volkswagen team colleagues Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) as the runners-up completed the exploit as a one-two victory.
In the extremely tough test for man and material the Volkswagen Race Touareg with its innovative 280-hp TDI engine proved to be the fastest and most reliable car, while the field of contenders – featuring 14 top cars with diesel engines – was of a higher calibre than ever. Volkswagen defeated the serial "Dakar” winners, Mitsubishi, who had not been beaten since 2001, as well as the X-raid BMW team. Besides de Villiers/von Zitzewitz and Miller/Pitchford at the top, the German duo Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk in another Race Touareg finished the Dakar Rally, in sixth place overall. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F) in another one of the Red Bull blue Race Touareg vehicles, who had been leading the class of the total of 168 cars that had started to the event on eight days, retired after an accident on the twelfth leg while leading the rally.
36-year-old Giniel de Villiers from Stellenbosch had already clinched second place at the "Dakar” in the Race Touareg in 2006. In 2003, the former South African touring car champion contested his first Dakar Rally, since 2006 he has been navigated by Dirk von Zitzewitz. The 40-year-old from Karlshof, and 15-time German Enduro champion, contested his first first "Dakar” on two wheels, switched into the cockpit as a co-driver in 2002, alongside Mark Miller by the way, and formed a team with Robby Gordon (2005) for Volkswagen as well. Since 2007 Dirk von Zitzewitz has been pointing the right way to Giniel de Villiers. 46-year-old Mark Miller from Phoenix/Arizona drove his first "Dakar” in 2002 and has been a Volkswagen factory driver since 2005, with Ralph Pitchford from Pretoria in his co-driver’s seat since 2006.
Straight from the rally’s start, the Race Touareg crews set best stage times. A total of ten out of 13 possible stage wins at the "Dakar” went to Volkswagen, on twelve of the 14 rally days one of the cross-country rally prototypes from Wolfsburg was leading the event. The duo Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn decided six of the stages in its favour, while de Villiers/von Zitzewitz contributed four stage wins to the Race Touareg’s tally of success. In just five fieldings in the cross-country classic the prototype has achieved 31 stage victories since 2004, Volkswagen’s "Dakar” tally since 1980 reflects 38 stage wins. At the same time, the four Volkswagen pairings contesting this event showed a very close performance: On the 14 legs – one stage was cancelled by the organiser A.S.O. – the Volkswagen drivers occupied 24 of 39 possible top-three positions in the daily standings. Each of the duos finished at least three of the special stages in the top three places.
Race Touareg adds yet another chapter to TDI Power’s success story 
For the Volkswagen Group, the Race Touareg’s "Dakar” victory also marked the continuation of a TDI success story. In motorsport, forward-thinking direct injection technology has now won in any of the fields in which it is being used: In addition to the exploit of the Race Touareg at the Dakar Rally, Audi – with the R10 TDI – celebrated its third consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2008 and later won the title in the European Le Mans Series as well as in the American Le Mans Series, while SEAT in 2008 clinched its maiden title in the FIA World Touring Car Championship with the Léon TDI.

VW thrills spectators along the toughest "Dakar” route
The Dakar Rally’s debut in South America has proved to be the toughest edition of the off-road classic so far as well as featuring a totally new change. Besides quick gravel stages – the first leg was completed at an average speed of 143 km/h – and long stretches of dune fields with soft sand, trial-like sections across scree, the two-time passage across the Andes with altitudes of up to 4,700 metres above mean sea level as well as sections with high camel grass were on the agenda of the "Dakar”. Unlike earlier editions, the rally’s daily variations of terrain put extreme demands on the adaptability of the teams.

Arriving at the bivouac and the locations where the legs finished provided an emotional reward to the drivers and co-drivers. Millions of thrilled spectators, 500,000 of them just during the ceremonial start in Buenos Aires on 2 January, lined the rally route and gave the total of 530 cross-country rally teams that had started to the event on motorcycles and quads as well as in cars and trucks an enthusiastic welcome every day.
Second "Dakar” exploit for Volkswagen after 1980

As early as in 1980 Volkswagen at its first – and for a long time only – entry won the Dakar Rally. Almost three decades ago, Freddy Kottulinsky and co-driver Gerhard Löffelmann won the second edition of the rally through Africa at the wheel of a Volkswagen Iltis, a nearly production-based car, followed by their French team-mates Patrick Zaniroli/Philippe Colesse – clinching a Volkswagen one-two victory back then as well. Two further Iltis vehicles finished in places four and nine. In 2003, Volkswagen returned to cross-country rally racing with breakthrough TDI technology, fielded the first generation of the Race Touareg in 2004 and won the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup titles in 2005 and 2007. The one-two victory at the 2009 Dakar Rally marks the Race Touareg’s biggest single exploit. (VW-Motorsport)

Dakar 2009 Last Stage - Cordoba - Buenos Aires: De Villiers, Coma, Machacek the winners of the Rally-Raid

The last stage of the 2009 Dakar Argentina - Chile has come to and end, finally. South African Giniel de Villiers (VW)in the cars category, Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM)in bikes and Czech Machacek (Yamaha) in quads are the new crowns of the famous rally. Still to finish, the trucks are now racing the final stage. Second overall to De Villiers (who won this last stage) is his VW partner from the USA, Mark Miller (second in the stage), Frenchman Cyril Deprés (3rd in the stage) is second overall to Coma (6th in the stage) also with KTM, and Argentinian Marcos Patronelli (7th in the stage) with a Can-Am quad came in second to Machacek (2nd in the stage), a wonderful feat for a Dakar rookie, who won 3 stages. Robby Gordon (Hummer USA) suffered a puncture at km 80 of the final stage but arrived in 18th place, placing him as 3rd overall. Norwegian Tollefsen (Nissan)(10th in the stage) is in 4th place overall after a fantastic race together with his partner from Poland Holowicz (Nissan)(3rd in the stage). Spaniard Nani Roma (Mitsubishi) came in 4th in the stage and finished 10th overall, the last survivor of the RalliArt team.
Final Overall Standings

Dakar 2009 - La Rioja - Cordoba: Video Stage 13 Cars

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Dakar 2009 - Stage 13 - La Rioja - Cordoba: Nani Roma wins stage for Mitsubishi at last

Pending validation by the race stewards, Spaniard Nani Roma (Mitsubishi) has given the Japanese manufacturer its first stage victory on this 31st Dakar, which is also Nani’s first stage victory on four-wheels in a Dakar! In this 13th stage, the Spaniard took the lead by 7’18" over Polish driver Krzysztof Holowczyc (Nissan), and by 7’27" over French driver Guerlain Chicherit (BMW). However there has been no change in the general standings where South-African driver Giniel De Villiers (VW) is still in command, 2’20" ahead of his US team-mate Mark Miller (VW), and 1h27’13" ahead of the Hummer of Robby Gordon. Victim of a mechanical problem after

 hitting a big boulder, the US driver still holds the lead in the Open category but looses his first stage in this category to his team-mate, Frenchman Eric Vigouroux. Finally, in the Production category, Japanese driver Jun Mitsuhashi (Toyota) has won stage 13 but it is still France’s Nicolas Gibon (Toyota) who leads the general standings.

 Joan "Nani" Roma (Esp - MITSU) - 304

Yesterday was a stage like there are many on rally-raids. You must always expect this kind of ups and downs on a race like the Dakar. Today, I drove well. The car responded well too. This stage victory is a satisfaction for everybody. Now, we are going to go back to Buenos Aires without taking too much risk. I am not disappointed at the end of this Dakar.

 Krisztof Holowczyc (Pol – Nissan) - 317

"Today was a great stage for me. It’s funny because this morning, Jean Marc (Fortin) and I, we were saying: ’do you remember back in 1999, we had lost a wheel of our Subaru in WRC right here. It was rather easy for us, not too heavy on the car that does lack a bit of power. In the sand, we loose time but on this type of trail, it’s easy to drive. Some parts of the special stage were the same as in the WRC Rally of Argentina. This allows drivers to express their talents on more technical sections."

 Giniel De Villiers (Afs - Volkswagen) - 305

"I think we can call this a team stage. The most important is to reach the finish particularly after loosing a car yesterday. The manager wanted us to drive like this today and we abide by the wishes of the team. It’s important for Volkswagen to finish the Dakar in first and second places. We don’t want to take any chances anymore. It would be meaningless. We worked hard to get to this and throwing it all away on the last two stages would not be clever. For now, I am happy of my Dakar. It could have been better. But this is how it goes with the Dakar."

TEAM DAKAR USA

Posted by on Jan 16, 2009, 18:26

“Obviously, I wish that the No. 309 Monster Energy Toyo Tires Hummer would have had a better outcome today. Regardless of a pesky little rock getting in our way, I am still happy with where we stand going into the last stage tomorrow. Even though we haven’t won any specials yet this year, we are still here competing for the Dakar Rally title and that is what that matters. This race is about survival and preparation, and Team Dakar USA has excelled at both. We have been able to address the problems, fix them, and continue forward. Both cars are still in the race, and I couldn’t be more proud of the Team Dakar USA program,” commented Robby Gordon.

Standings after Stage 13

Dakar 2009: Mitsubishi´s Roma survives marathonstage

Mitsubishi's Joan 'Nani' Roma and Lucas Cruz Senra (both Spain) survived what should have been the longest and potentially most difficult special stage of the entire 2009 Dakar Rally on Tuesday. They completed the 670km loop through the Atacama desert, that was shortened to 476km by event officials, in fifth place to maintain fourth in the overall classification.

 The Mitsubishi mechanics left no stone unturned to find the fault that had caused Roma's overheating woes on the ninth stage and the ventilator fan was eventually repaired to rectify the problem. Roma held a virtual sixth at the first passage control and a similar position through PCs three, four and five, before reaching the finish, adjacent to the bivouac, where hundreds of service teams, media and spectators were watching the action unfold at the end of the special from an elevated position on a giant dune.

 Robbie Gordon (USA) set the second fastest time on the special to reduce Roma's hold on fourth position to 21m 25s, but Carlos Sainz (Spain) continued to head team mate Mark Miller (USA) by 27m 31s in the overall standings after setting the quickest time of the day.

 The ASO permitted 312 teams to take part in today's loop stage, with 142 bikes and quads, 109 cars and 61 trucks given permission to restart. Low-lying cloud and a sea mist again forced the delay of the special stage, which had been reduced from 670km to 476km the previous evening, on the grounds that some of the terrain was not challenging and the ASO preferred teams to have more time to tackle the tricky dunes en route.

 But the fog persisted, meaning that the safety helicopters could not take off, and ASO officials were forced to delay the start of the stage by 2h 40m.

 What they said:

 Dominique Serieys, Team Director: 'Nani' is driving very well and has made no mistakes. We had some troubles that have put him back, but we are getting more feedback about diesel technology every day. We are on a good pace now and will try and give him a better car each day. The target is still a podium. Robbie (Gordon) is still pushing and it is good for the rally that another private team is coming into the fight."

 Joan 'Nani' Roma: "I am happy to be here. If they make the original road book about 670km, you know it is going to be tough. The engine mapping could have been better in the power stakes, but we never stopped and we made the kilometers to reach the finish. I am not watching the leader board now. If we cannot take a podium, then fourth or fifth is the same to me. It is just a case of doing our jobs and keeping going over the last few days." 

Lucas Cruz Senra: "It was obviously a hard stage. There were a lot of areas of camel grass and that made it tough. We struggled a little. I stopped on one occasion to take some air out of the tires, because the sand is very soft. The road book was not so good today. One modification was totally opposite to the real direction we had to take and we lost one or two kilometers." (Marathonrally.com)

Dakar 2009 - Stage 12 - Quotes from VW crews

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"The most important news is that the accident of Carlos Sainz and Michel Périn did not result in any severe personal injuries. Both of them are very disappointed that the ‘Dakar’ is over for them, but at the same time they’re relieved that with a shoulder injury for Michel the incident did not result in really serious consequences. We wish Michel a speedy recovery. But – we knew that to win, we’d first have to overcome the ‘Dakar’ itself. With Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford we’ve still got two irons in the fire to win the Dakar Rally with the Race Touareg and TDI power.”

#301 – Carlos Sainz (E), retired"Suddenly, a four-metre deep hole appeared in front of us. We fell into it and landed on our roof. A BMW and Nani Roma were able to get around us at the last moment. The BMW team stopped and helped us to put the car back on its wheels. In the meantime an ASO doctor had arrived who briefly checked Michel Périn and barred him from continuing the drive on account of a shoulder injury. The Race Touareg was by and large okay, the engine was running. Of course we were lucky in this situation as well. I’m very disappointed and I’m very sorry for the team that we´re out, but I’m hoping that our team will win in the end anyhow.”

#301 – Michel Périn (F), co-driver"About 30 kilometres before our accident we’d lost our way but soon found the right route again. We were heading towards the next waypoint, I counted down the distance – as always – and just as I was saying ‘20 metres’ we dropped into this whole. Even the days before, the roadbook had not been particularly accurate and today we paid the price for it. I broke a shoulder blade in the accident and that ended the rally for me and Carlos. I’m very sorry for the team. But I’m hoping that in the end a ‘blue’ vehicle will finish in front.”

#305 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 1st place leg / 1st place overall"It was an incredibly rough day for us. Although the special stage today was short, it was extremely slow. The organiser selected routes with large stones, deep and super-soft sand. In addition, there were some places left out in the roadbook, which of course made the navigation extremely difficult. But about five kilometres before the finish my co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz made up a lot of time for us when he found the quickest way while others were still looking for it.”

#307 – Dieter Depping (D), 4th place leg / 7th place overall"I think today wasn’t just 100 per cent ‘Dakar’, it was more like 120 per cent ‘Dakar’. The dunes were incredibly hard to handle, lots of vegetation that made life difficult for us, and we had to cross riverbeds several times. My co-driver Timo Gottschalk had his work cut out for him. Many branch-offs were hard to see and the roadbook led us astray several times today as well. So, today had everything a rally day could offer.”

#308 – Mark Miller (USA), 2nd place leg / 2nd place overall"Today is one of those days where there’s a lot to talk about. The special stage has definitely been the most difficult one of this ‘Dakar’ so far. Particularly in the sand we had to work hard, we got stuck several times and had to dig ourselves out. On several occasions we let some air out of the tyres and filled them up again after the difficult passages. Once we got stuck, and when I left the car I only then realized we’d lost the rear part of the body – I haven’t noticed beforehand that we’d lost it at all. We were leading for a long time, but lost time again at the end. The overall gap between me and my team colleague Giniel de Villiers is small now – but the main thing is that a Volkswagen will be in front in the end.”

Dakar 2009 - Stage 12 - Fiambalá - La Rioja: Video - Cars

In Spanish (longer)


In English

The World's Largest Trans-Saharan Rally Is To Start This Saturday From Budapest

The grueling, two week endurance rally from Budapest to Bamako will take its 630 participants across two continents and eight countries. Participants will race across some of the world's most politically volatile countries amid tight security to bring humanitarian aid. 

  The region has always been politically very volatile. We try to do everything possible to ensure safety. However we continually ask all participants to carefully evaluate the risks of their participation. 

Budapest, Hungary (PRWEB) January 15, 2009 -- The 630 participants of the Budapest-Bamako, trans-Saharan rally will set out on their grueling two week journey from the Hungarian capital this Saturday morning at nine o'clock. After the withdrawal of the Dakar Rally from Africa, the Budapest-Bamako is now the largest off-road, endurance race in the region covering two continents, eight countries and nearly 10,000 kilometers. 

Budapest is the backdrop to the start of the rally

Teams have to complete the route from the heart of Europe to West Africa, driving on harsh desert terrain in the Sahara and several difficult stages in the African bush. "This will be our most difficult rally to date," said Andrew G. Szabo the founder of the event. 

Amid tight security a record number of 212 cars, 31 motorcycles, 6 trucks and 3 buses are to take place in the long distance race. Participants will go through Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali before arriving in Bamako. 

This year's event is off to a tense start due to security concerns in Mauritania and Mali. The 2008 Dakar was cancelled because of terror threats. The recent Mauritanian coup d'etat and the prolonged touareg uprising in Mali are both strong causes for concern. The renewed fighting between the rebels and government forces left three people dead this week north of Bamako. 

The Budapest-Bamako will spend more than a week in the troubled West African countries. "The region has always been politically very volatile. We try to do everything possible to ensure safety. However we continually ask all participants to carefully evaluate the risks of their participation," added Mr. Szabo. The Mauritanian government ensured organizers of the Budapest-Bamako to provide several thousand armed men and tactical vehicles along the rally route. The rally is a strong source of revenue for the Saharan country. It accounts for more than 5% of the annual tourist traffic in Mauritania. The security forces will strengthen their presence in Mali as well in light of the recent events. 

The Budapest-Bamako is a zero assistance, extreme endurance rally where teams have to rely on their own resources in case of emergencies. The event was created four years ago for those who have always dreamt of joining more prestigious desert races but never had the proper funding. In recent years it's been billed as a "low-budget Dakar" or the "poor man's Dakar". 

There's a racing and touring category. In racing, teams have to finish daily stages on time and complete orienteering challenges along the way to earn points. The race is not held on closed roads and is not a timed rally. The emphasis is on endurance and navigation. In touring category drivers have to complete 16 stages to reach Bamako on some of the world's most inhospitable terrain. 

The field of competitors features three-time winner and defending champion, Juraj and Daniela Ulrich, a husband-wife duo from the Slovak Republic. This year, veteran Dakar driver Mila Janacek from the Czech Republic will attempt to dethrone the Slovak couple as captain of the Hummer Racing Team. There are crews from 45 different countries, some from as far as Iran, New Zealand or South Africa. 

In addition to the well prepared off-road cars, there will be some Eastern European automotive relics, a Norwegian Citroen-DS, a Mini Morris, the organizer's 40 year old Peugeot 504, a 1961 Hungarian fire engine, a vintage Polish ambulance, a rare Austin Montego and a Volkswagen Passat, which can be powered by bicycle pedals if the engine fails. In recent years an ice cream truck, a 3 wheeled Velorex, and an Ikarus articulated bus enrolled in the event too. 

The Budapest-Bamako is also a unique exercise in direct charitable giving.Teams are bringing 700,000Euros worth of direct aid to the world's 4th and 5th poorest nation. Miss Hungary 2005 who is completing the course on a KTM motorcycle will deliver many of those gifts to impoverished villages, clinics and rural schools. 

The Dutch all-woman team of Nynke Doorenbos és Amarja Niehof has already shipped 230 bicycles to Women On Bikes, an NGO that helps women in Mali learn to ride bicycles. The bikes and other donations will be given out in Bamako on February 1. 

Quick facts at a glance:

Start: January 17, 2009 8:45AM. Heroes's Square, Budapest, Hungary

Finish: January 31, 2009: 11:00AM Mobido Keita Memorial, Bamako, Mali

Distance:5468 miles (8896kms)

Number of teams: 252

Cheapest vehicle: 272Euro ($380) Austin Montego

Avarage daily distance: 347miles (556km)

Youngest participant: 17 years old

Oldest participant: 74 years old

Stages of the rally in racing category:

 

Jan 18, Brescia, Italy-851km

Jan 20, Merzouga, Morocco via Montpellier, Barcelona, Alicante, Murcia, Almeria, Nador, 2740km

Jan 22, Foum Zgid, Morocco 410km

Jan 23, Assa, Morocco 450km

Jan 24, Smara, Western Sahara 437km

Jan 25, Bou Lanoar, Mauritania 370km

Jan 26, Atar, Mauritania 480km

Jan 27, Tidjikja, Mauritania 430km

Jan 28, Kiffa, Mauritania 420km

Jan 29, Korera Kore, Mali 320km

Jan 30, Banamba 375km

Jan 31, Bamako 250km

 

For further information:

http://www.BudapestBamako.org

Dakar 2009 - Stage 12: Fiambala - La Rioja: Sainz crashes out of Dakar rally

Dakar leader Carlos Sainz has crashed out of the rally during the 12th stage of the event.

The Spaniard, who was leading comfortably with just three stages left, careered into a ravine after 79 km of the day's special stage, damaging his Volkswagen beyond repair.

His co-driver Michel Perin is reported to have injured his shoulder, but both men arrived by helicopter at the bivouac in Fiambala.
Sainz' exit leaves teammate Giniels de Villers in the lead, pending the end of today's stage.

The 3 first cars have now reached the end of this 12th stage and - against all odds - it is South-African driver Giniel De Villiers (VW), who was timed 3rd, 2’12" behind Miller at CP2, who wins. This is his 3rd stage victory this year and his 11th on a Dakar. More importantly, with a 16’17" over his US team-mate Mark Miller (VW), De Villiers is now taking the lead in the general standings after the withdrawal of Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (VW) today. 3rd fastest clock today, 25’27" behind the winner, American driver Robby Gordon (Hummer) is now more than 1h15" behing the leaders in the general standings.

Michel Périn (copilot to C. Sainz - 301 - VW) - 301

We had made a small mistake in the first part. We took the wrong direction at a Y crossing but it was not too bad because we did end up on the right trail. We were tailing Giniel De Villiers who had started about 10’ after us so it was still sort of OK. Then there was a hidden waypoint with a wadi indicated as ’danger’. But it should have been indicated as ’extremely dangerous’. By the way, the car behind us, Nani Roma’s car, would have fallen in the same hole as we did if we had not been there already. I’m ok; I just have something broken in my arm, but I’m alright.

Giniel De Villiers (Afs - Volkswagen) - 305

"It was really a tough stage. In places we would go around in circles for 15’ to find the right trail. It was very dangerous and the sand was really soft. We stopped a first time to deflate our tyres. Then a second time in a huge canyon with tons of boulders. Dirk (Von Zitzewitz) had to get out of the car to find a way out. It was really a tough day."

Patronelli hits hard!

The first 3 quads have now reached the end of the day’s special stage and Argentinian driver Marcos Patronelli (Can-Am) is today’s winner; this is his 3rd stage victory of the rally and a big one it is with a 35’56" (!) lead over leader in the general standings, Czech driver Josef Machacek (Yamaha), and 36’02" over Frenchman Hubert Deltrieu (Polaris).

3rd stage victory for Despres

The first 7 bikes have now reached the finish of today’s special stage and French rider Cyril Despres (KTM) wins the stage; it is the Frenchman’s third stage victory in this 31st edition of the Dakar, he finishes with a 1’23" lead on the leader in the general standings, Spain’s Marc Coma (KTM), and 9’51" ahead of France’s David Casteu (KTM).

 A surprising third place for Farrès Guell!

After starting today’s stage 20th this morning, Spain’s Gerard Farrès Guell (KTM) had the 3rd fastest clock of the day’s special stage, finishing 9’47" behind winner Cyril Despres (KTM), but 4" ahead of French rider David Casteu (VW), who is now fourth of today’s stage.

Standings after Stage 12

Dakar 2009 - Stage 10 Revisited

Dakar 2009 - Stage 10 Video Cars

Dakar 2009 - Stage 10: Sainz makes it once again

Carlos Sainz in a VW Race Touareg won Stage 10, which started and ended in Copiapo, Chile. The most difficult Stage of the Dakar 2009 so far. The Spaniard alternated first place of this amazing special in the infamous Atacama desert, one of the driest on earth, with O. Terranova and Robby Gordon. Terranova, the Argentine driver of the BMW X-Raid team turned over his car at km 180, just 2 km after passing a check point, the car was destroyed but the crew were rescued unscathed it seems. Robby Gordon in his brutal Hummer did a great job right until the end of the stage and came in second to C. Sainz for only 21 seconds. 3rd place was for Mark Miller also in a VW Race Touareg, 7 min 39 sec behind Sainz. 4th place was for G. Chicherit with BMW (12:25),5th came in Joan Roma, the last surviving Mitsubishi Racing Lancer at 15:01 min. 6th was Giniel de Villiers with a VW Touareg at 18:15 min. The race is still on at this time, as ASO, the organizer delayed the start for almost 2 hours this morning on account of the prevailing fog (the helicopters for rescue, television and the organization could not take off). The stage was also shortened in 200 km as there were dunes with far too soft sand for the up to now tired crews to traverse. It seems the French organizers are weary that there will not be enough vehicles to end the race. There are still 5 more stages to go and it is believed that the Stage in Fiambala, La Rioja, Argentina is extremely difficult and shall be raced in marathon style, not allowing the vehicles to be serviced or repaired after the stage, only the crews by themselves will be allowed to repair. Tomorrow is the last stage in Chile and off they go back into Argentina by one of the highest passes there are in the Andes mountains. We'll have to wait and see who survives this last leg in Chile. 

Carlos Sainz now leads the 2009 Dakar Rally-Raid by 27:31 minutes over his team mate Mark Miller, De Villiers is third 41:13 minutes from Sainz, 4th is Roma at 1:13:13 hour.

Dakar 2009 - Stage 9: La Serena - Copiapo - Cars Video

Dakar 2009 - Stage 9: Sainz takes fifth Dakar stage victory

Autosport.com

By Pablo Elizalde Monday, January 12th 2009, 18:46 GMT

Carlos Sainz stretched his lead at the top of the Dakar standings once again after scoring his fifth stage win of the rally.

The Volkswagen driver has now won three stages in a row to increase his lead at the top of the table to nearly 20 minutes over teammate Mark Miller, who took second place in today's stage.

In one of the longest and hardest specials of the rally at 449 km, Sainz avoided trouble and reached the finish line after nearly six hours of driving.
"This special was very hard," said Sainz. "Very, very, very hard with lots of rocks and with difficult navigation. Really complicated.

"Being here today is a victory. We'll see what happens later, but it was a difficult day."

Miller finished less than two minutes behind, but the American had looked set to win the stage before he was forced to stop to fix his steering and a wheel.

"We have been waiting for a year for this stage," said Miller. "We caught Carlos after 60 kms and we overtook him after around 150. Things were going quite well.

"In the last off-road section Carlos and I were both a little bit... The track was difficult to find and there were big boulders and I hit one on the right, I didn't even see it and it broke the steering so we had to stop and fix the steering and at the same time fix a wheel that broke. But it was a really, really fun day."

Thanks to today's result, Miller moved into second place in the overall standings after a difficult day for Giniel de Villiers, who finished far from his teammates after getting lost around the 80-km mark.

The South African, fourth in the special, dropped 12 minutes and is now nearly 23 behind Sainz in third.

American Robby Gordon was third in the stage after another solid day with his Hummer, ahead of the only works Mitsubishi left, that of Joan Roma.

The Spaniard, a former winner in the bikes category, set the fifth fastest time today, but over 24 minutes adrift of Sainz. Roma is now nearly an hour behind the former rally champion.

Standings after Stage 9

Dakar 2009 - Frans Verhoeven tames the dunes

This 9th stage of the Dakar held all its promises with spectacular landscapes and imposing dunes. It was the first act of a probably decisive trilogy that will take place in the Atacama Desert, and was won by Dutchman Frans Verhoeven, even though he started in 33rd position this morning. Marc Coma remains in the lead in the general standings. 

The bike race started very early this morning, without the fourth-placed rider in the general standings and winner of the special stage in San Rafael, Jonah Street. Having injured a wrist, the American was forced to withdraw, in spite of being second to Coma on leaving Argentina. 

After an introduction to the South American dunes several days ago, but on the other side of the Andes, the bikers got to grips with the first part of a sandy triple whammy on this edition of the Dakar, with enough dunes to drive even the bravest crazy. Though, this was not the case for the leading lights on two wheels in this rally. The three leading performers from the day before, namely Despres, Coma and Lopez soon caught up with each other and spent the day together, with Coma thus neutralizing Despres. 

However, it was left to other riders to create the headlines. Firstly, having started 10 minutes after Despres, David Frétigné toiled alone to get close to the leading trio. The Yamaha rider posted the best times at the first three CPs (after 131 km, 218 km and 235 km). Yet, the situation was rocked during the last part of the special stage, where the riders had to confront a section of dunes. 

Secondly, Frans Verhoeven, who started in 33rd position, surprised everyone by putting in the best time after the 399-km mark. Thirty kilometers later, it was indeed the Dutchman who picked up his second special stage victory after his success in Puerto Madryn. Verhoeven beat Frétigné by 3.09 and Lopez by 3.40. 

In the general standings, Coma now possesses a lead of 1 hour and 4 minutes over Frétigné and 1 hour and 34 minutes over title holder Despres, a comfortable cushion indeed.  (Marathonrally.com)