| Dakar Rally news, Nissan takes lead. - Click HERE for Original Thread |
| MightyMo |
From the Telefonica Dakar day 3 coverage just posted on the offical web site.
'With 229 bikers having gone through the dirt track of Armilla, it was slightly trickier for the cars. “It’s getting really difficult on the course, explained title holder Stephane Peterhansel (MIT – n°306). It’s starting to look like sand and you lose a lot of power when accelerating”. ‘Peter’ eventually finished second on the day behind ‘mister WRC’ himself, Colin McRae (Nissan – n°308). The Scotsman finished in 7’48” (9sec better than enduro specialist Frétigné) which earned him a third stage victory in his two years on the Dakar after successes in Ayoun El Atrous and Dakar last year. “I had a lot of fun. I had a blast driving the car this morning”. McRae looks indeed very satisfied with his brand new Nissan after the upsets of last year. A point of view that Ari Vatanen (NIS – n°311) seems to share: “the car has nothing to do with last year’s one”. With Giniel de Villiers (NIS – n°317), fourth, the Japanese brand has its three Pick-ups in the top four spots. Winner of the opening special in Barcelona for his debut on the rally, Robby Gordon (VW – n°317) confirmed he would be one to follow with 5th place today.
In the overall, McRae clinches top spot for the first time in his Dakar career ahead of Gordon, 1sec adrift. The former WRC World champion knows however that it doesn’t have much significance although it has its importance for the upcoming days. “I just wanted to go fast to be able to leave in the first positions for tomorrow’s stage between Rabat and Agadir, because I believe there won’t be a lot of overtaking possibilities on the special”.' |
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| MightyMo |
The top nissan trucks have fallen back a few places due to punctures, but none are too worried at this point as it's just stage 4 of 16, and mileage wise even less distance covered compared to the whole rally. Amusingly Rob Gorden of NASCAR fame is leading right now in a race built Diesel VW Tuareg.
http://www.nissan-dakar.com/EN/RACE...ORT/stage4.html |
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| MightyMo |
Wohoo!!! Nissan is back on top with a 1-2 finish today and moving to 1-2 overall:
"On extremely rocky tracks, the car special was just as spectacular with maximum speeds close to 190-200km/h for the favourites. And when it comes to fast stages, Colin McRae has become a Dakar specialist. Already a winner in Granada, two days ago, and in Ayoun El Atrous and Dakar a year ago, the British driver flew to stage 4 success with an impressive 6'15" advantage on his teammate Giniel De Villiers (NIS – n°314) and 7'18" on Jutta Kleinschmidt (VW – n°310). By doing so, the 95 WRC World champion moved back to the overall leadership he had left after yesterday's special. This time, however, the Scot has a rather interesting 5'28" advance on De Villiers.
Fourth on the day, Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah (BMW – n°318) kept hope alive for BMW after a rather calm start to the rally. Finishing over 7' adrift, Al Attiyah who finished 10th of last year's edition, proved to the German brand and his rivals that he would be one to keep an eye on. On the other hand, it was a dreadful day for the Mitsubishi clan. Except for Luc Alphand (MIT - n°312) who finished in 5th position, the two other leaders of the Japanese team suffered serious technical hiccups. Title holder Stephane Peterhansel (MIT – n°306) had to settle with a 24' deficit on McRae due to numerous punctures. Meanwhile, and in a far worst position, Hiroshi Masuoka (MIT – n°309) was struggling with severe transmission problems and finished the stage over 3 hours adrift."
More here and tomorrow, another 492km including the races first forray into the dunes. |
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| Kris |
Keep keeping us up-to-date!
It is a great race, if I recall the past correctly, Mitsubishi and Nissan always did well.... |
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| MightyMo |
Mitsu has been on-top for several years, but this year it looks like both Nissan and VW are showing very well early on. Lots of days and kilometers to go though...
Sucks that SPEED Channel isn't broadcasting coverage this year :( |
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| Kris |
Imagine Murano going 200 kms/hr across a desert!!!!!!!!!
I would be fun, wouldn’t.....
:22: |
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| MightyMo |
Sigh, bad news, on Stage 6 in the Dunes Colin McRae flipped his Nissan bad and is out of the race, and Mitsu came back very very strong. Also Colin's closest team mate was over 16 minutes adrift in stage 6, and is now 14 minutes back over all in 7th place:
"The car special was full of drama. Leaving in first position after his fine win yesterday, Colin McRae (NIS – n°308) took a flying start to the race clocking the fastest times at the first two check points (km 245 and 312) and proving that not only was his Pickup extremely powerful on fast sections but also that when it came to dune crossings, the Scot remained the fastest. But at km 410, the McRae show was harshly stopped. The former WRC rally driver suffered a crash that saw his Nissan go for a flip and was forced to withdraw from the race. Shocked by the accident, he was then taken straight to the finish bivouac in Zouerat. Just an hour before Robby Gordon, the other main actor of the first part of this Dakar (winner in Barcelona and Agadir), also went for a flip. Both the US driver and his co-driver were luckily unhurt but were still repairing the rear part of their Race Touareg and awaiting assistance.
Meanwhile, Stephane Peterhansel (MIT – n°306) left aside his puncture worries of the previous stage (that he finished over 20' adrift) and grabbed his first special win of this Dakar. Taking off in 16th position, the title holder overtook 11 vehicles on his way to his 12th stage success in the car category for a total of 45 victories in the Dakar history book (added to his 33 wins on two wheels). 'Peter' beat his team mate Hiroshi Masuoka (MIT – n°309) by 5'58". The Japanese managing the performance of the day after taking off in 121st spot. Another very experienced driver, Bruno Saby (VW – n°309) carried on his excellent first part to the Dakar with a third spot at over 7' that gives him the overall leadership. The Frenchman has a slim 40" lead on compatriot Luc Alphand (MIT – n°311)."
Here's some pics from Stage 5, I'm sure we'll see some interesting stuff from Stage 6 once the pics make it out of Africa.
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