2009 Dakar : Volkswagen continues to lead with Carlos Sainz

301 - Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn - Volkswagen Race Touareg

Volkswagen continues to hold its ground after the third leg of the Dakar Rally, with Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn remaining at the top of the leader board.


Stage 3 : Puerto Madryn - Jacobacci : Connection 70 km, Special 551 km, Connection 73 km

January 5, 2009

With some controlled driving, the Spanish-French duo was able to increase the lead it established yesterday in its Race Touareg by more than a minute to 3.40 minutes on the 694-kilometre leg westwards from Puerto Madryn to Jacobacci in Argentina. The second fastest time behind the day's winners Nasser Al-Attiyah/Tina Thörner in a BMW X-raid was enough for Sainz to maintain his lead. The third leg presented the participants with speedy stretches and with winding – and therefore also demanding – sections. With some rocky ground to cover, they had to reduce the risk of tyre blowouts in order not to forfeit valuable time.

The third best time of the leg was likewise secured by Volkswagen, with Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk (D/D) coming in 1.05 minutes behind their teammates. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) achieved fourth position in another Race Touareg on the second longest special stage of the rally, measuring 551 kilometres. The pair fell one place in the overall rankings, to third place. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) were ranked sixth in leg 3, meaning that all four Race Touareg were in the top six. Overall, Miller/Pitchford have now moved up one position, to sixth place.

301 - Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk - Volkswagen Race Touareg

Driver Standing :

Pos.	N°	Name	Make	Time	Variation	Penalty
1	301	SAINZ (ESP) PERIN (FRA)	VOLKSWAGEN	09:04:48	00:00:00
2	302	AL ATTIYAH (QAT) THORNER (SWE)	BMW	09:08:28	00:03:40
3	305	DE VILLIERS (ZAF) VON ZITZEWITZ (DEU)	VOLKSWAGEN	09:10:33	00:05:45
4	300	PETERHANSEL (FRA) COTTRET (FRA)	MITSUBISHI	09:13:35	00:08:47
5	304	ROMA (ESP) CRUZ SENRA (ESP)	MITSUBISHI	09:19:10	00:14:22
6	308	MILLER (USA) PITCHFORD (ZAF)	VOLKSWAGEN	09:20:33	00:15:45
7	315	TERRANOVA (ARG) GUEHENNEC (FRA)	BMW	09:22:29	00:17:41
8	317	HOLOWCZYC (POL) FORTIN (BEL)	NISSAN	09:39:13	00:34:25
9	309	GORDON (USA) GRIDER (USA)	HUMMER	09:39:20	00:34:32
10	303	ALPHAND (FRA) PICARD (FRA)	MITSUBISHI	09:43:35	00:38:47
11	322	SPINELLI (BRA) VIVOLO (BRA)	MITSUBISHI	09:54:15	00:49:27
12	318	VAN MERKSTEIJN (NLD) CHEVAILLIER (BEL)	BMW	09:55:51	00:51:03
13	312	LAVIEILLE (FRA) FORTHOMME (BEL)	PROTO	10:04:34	00:59:46
14	329	SZALAY (HUN) BUNKOCZI (HUN)	OPEL	10:12:59	01:08:11
15	307	DEPPING (DEU) GOTTSCHALK (DEU)	VOLKSWAGEN	10:15:30	01:10:42
16	331	PALIK (HUN) DARAZSI (HUN)	NISSAN	10:21:12	01:16:24
17	327	TOLLEFSEN (NOR) EVANS (GBR)	NISSAN	10:22:02	01:17:14
18	320	MAGNALDI (FRA) LENEVEU (FRA)	BUGGY	10:22:05	01:17:17	06:00
19	330	KUIPERS (NLD) PALMEIRO (PRT)	BMW	10:29:10	01:24:22
20	323	VAN DEIJNE (NLD) ROSEGAAR (NLD)	MITSUBISHI	10:34:09	01:29:21

300-Stephane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul-Cottret - Mitsubishi Racing Lancer

Back to the first and second stage

Stage 2 : Santa Rosa de la Pampa - Puerto Madryn : Special 237 km, Connection 600 km

January 4, 2009

On a stage that was mostly quick, which suited Marc Coma in theory, the leader of the general standings in the bike race lost part of his lead, slowed down by a mechanical problem. Frans Verhoeven won his first ever special stage on the Dakar. In the car category, Carlos Sainz carried off a twofold triumph, by winning the stage and also taking the lead in the general standings.

What is true one day is not always thus the day after. The same could be said for Marc Coma, whose display between Santa Rosa and Puerto Madryn could give hope to the other leading bikers in the rally. Having set off first, with the responsibility of leading the way, the Spaniard continued in much the same vein to start with as his brilliant showing yesterday, landing the best time at CP2, 2.20 ahead of Jonah Street. But he was only half way there! The situation took a turn for the worse on one of the quick sections of which he is so fond, when he was slowed down by a radiator problem. Frans Verhoven, renowned for his consistency, took advantage of this mishap to grab his first ever special stage victory on the Dakar, after having been water carrier for Cyril Despres in 2007. Indeed, his former team leader took second place on the day’s stage, 30 seconds behind and as a result climbs up to 12th place in the general standings.

Many riders would still like to be in Marc Coma’s shoes however, since he has a lead of 13.47 over his new pursuer, Frans Verhoven. Provisional third place on the podium went to Jonah Street, who was 5th to cross the finishing line today. This 2nd stage also gave David Fretigné the opportunity to climb up to 4th position in the general standings. Only 24 seconds behind Cyril Despres on today’s special stage, the Yamaha rider confirmed that his 450cc has nothing to envy against the KTMs.

In the car category, the first stage showed that the Volkswagen Race Touaregs would not be waiting in ambush for long, and today Carlos Sainz was the most capable at combining speed and wisdom. For Nasser Al Attiyah and Tina Thorner, yesterday’s winners, the task was proving that their talents as navigators were equal to their pure driving skills. At this level, small mistakes can change everything. Indeed, after a navigational error, when the crew had to execute a quick about-turn to avoid missing a WPM (way point marker, which drivers must pass through), the Qatari ended up behind Sainz and especially in a cloud of dust. Blinded by the Argentine version of fesh-fesh, Al Attiyah sensibly preferred to avoid potentially dangerous attacks. In these conditions, Carlos Sainz completed a faultless display, right up to the finishing line, with the day’s best time. As regards the Mitsubishis, Stéphane Peterhansel was not scared by the dust and his audacity paid off: he scored the second best time of the day, 1.14 behind Sainz.

The first surprises occurred in the T2 category, in which Miki Biasion, former WRC world champion, lost his place as leader. The day’s winner in the category, Michel De Nora, at the wheel of a Toyota Land Cruiser, only managed to rack up a lead of 1.30 over Jérôme Hardy, in a Mitsubishi Pajero. However, for the moment, Mr. Consistency is Jun Mitsuhashi, a former winner of the “Production” category, who is showing great resistance. He is currently in 36th position in the provisional general standings.

301 - Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn - Volkswagen Race Touareg

Stage 1 : Buenos Aires - Santa Rosa de la Pampa : Connection 196 km, Special 371 km, Connection 166 km

January 3, 2009

Whilst Marc Coma’s victory was foreseeable for the first stage, the magnitude of his success and the catastrophes experienced by other bike race favorites put paid to most of the predictions. Despres and Casteu may have already seen their hopes for overall Dakar victory evaporate. In the car race, BMW met both with success, for Nasser Al Attiyah, and disappointment, with Guerlain Chicherit’s accident, after he started out of the blocks a bit too ambitiously.

Marc Coma’s methodology does not involve hesitation. He seems to have even grown in stature since the Dakar in 2007, where he was way ahead of all his pursuers in the first two decisive steps in Morocco, at Er Rachidia and Ouarzazate. On the inaugural special of this 31st edition, the Spaniard carved out a gulf between him and his rivals, confirming his unofficial status as the fastest rider in the world. Having started behind title holder Cyril Despres, the winner in 2006 already boasted the best intermediate time after 134 km of the race, 1” ahead. He used this first section to catch up with Despres, and what was to follow was a springboard to leaving him in his wake at CP 3 (after 248 km), with the race becoming a demonstration ride. On the 123 km of long straight tracks remaining, Coma showed the full extent of his power: at the finishing line at San Saladillo, he had to wait for almost half an hour before the first of his pursuers arrived. Finally, it was Jacek Czachor who came home in second position, with a gap to make up that would destabilize even the toughest of competitors: more than 22 minutes.

There is no way of really knowing whether the pitfalls at the start of this event will be fatal to overall hopes. However, the situation has never been as critical in terms of final triumph for Cyril Despres. With uncertainty hanging over his choice of tires for this year before the start, the Frenchman received some sort of confirmation on this first special stage: he crossed the line with the rims bare on his rear wheel, 41 minutes behind Coma! Others misfortune rarely lessens his own distress, but David Casteu, a serious challenger for the title, also experienced problems with his tires. Following a puncture, he was forced to turn round and head back to CP2, where one of his team-mates, Emanuel Gyenes, gave him his rear wheel. In total, he has a deficit of 1:01.53 to make up on Coma over the next 13 stages if he still hopes to win.

The day also turned out to be a catastrophe for one of the drivers involved in the struggle for the lead, because Guerlain Chicherit, having gone through CP3 with the best time of the day, lost all hope of making an impression on the stage, and probably even on the whole event, by rolling his car onto its roof after 277 km. The outcome was not as pessimistic for Dieter Depping, who also flew through the first 250 kilometers, but then experienced electronic problems with his VW Race Touareg. He finished the stage an hour behind Nasser Al Attiyah, whose victory will probably not help to console the X-Raid team. However, for the Qatari, triumphant the last time out during the UAE Desert Challenge race, it was his second success on the Dakar, after the Nema-Nema loop in 2007. Today’s showing confirms his status as an outside chance for overall victory.

Ultimately, the two biggest teams on the rally, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen, had to settle for battling for the runner-up position and other places. Former winner Hirochi Masuoka was not so lucky and ended up being towed to the finish, but Carlos Sainz was the most convincing at this game, taking second place behind Al Attiyah, followed closely by his two team-mates, Giniel De Villiers and Mark Miller. Used to pursuing, the Mitsubishi drivers lost a bit of ground on their main rivals: Alphand finished 4.44 behind the day’s winner and Peterhansel 4.54. Just behind them, Argentine Orlando Terranova once again showed how competitive the BMW X-3s are, with a 7th-placed finish on his first day on the event.

The vehicles enrolled in the T2 category are generally less exposed to such spectacular mishaps, but are on the other hand involved an intense struggle for victory. To start the rally, it was a prestigious debutant for the Dakar car race who best represented the category. The former World Rally Champion, who has already taken part behind the wheel of a truck, Micki Biasion finished in 28th place in the general standings. His closest rival in the category, Ricardo Garosci, finished in 36th place.

2009 DAKAR Rally Route-Map

[Source : 2009 DAKAR, VOLLSWAGEN, MITSUBISHI]