Past winners in Dakar dominate 3rd leg
Today's third stage in the Dakar Rally saw past winners, now known as "legends", take top honors in the special 182 km -- the shortest timed special in this year's endurance contest -- known in Argentina as "the white pit" along the route from La Rioja to Fiambala. It was also the first day that the Bikes and Quads did not have a shorter special from the ones that the Car and Trucks ran.
Today was also the first real test in the 2010 Dakar edition and experience paid off. It was a day where the competitors took on the first sand dunes this year. A dramatic change that was close to 30 km but beautiful to view the very white dune.
Vladimir Chagin will turn 40 on January 5th but today the Russian gave himself a birthday present by scoring his 50th career Dakar stage victory. The event just started but already Chagin, Sergey Savostin and Eduard Nikolaev have posted a triple by taking the first 3 stage wins in their Kamaz 4326 and holding nearly a 19 minute lead over the 2009 winner and teammate, Firdaus Kabirov. Third on the stage was Brazilian André De Azevedo in a Tatra 815, now over 60 minutes adrift of the two Kamaz trucks.
The door is opening for Chagin to earn his sixth Dakar event, especially when rival Ales Loprais (Tatra) failed to start today's stage. The Czech ended up withdrawing from the competition this morning due to mechanical problems discovered in stage two.
"I was a good special stage for me. The first part was difficult and then we reached sand dunes. And for me, the harder the stage, the better. And it is better when there is sand," said Chagin. "My truck is always extremely well prepared for the sand and the dunes!"
The overall leader in the Car category has changed after each stage. Nani Roma in a BMW was the first to hold the top honor but yesterday, Volkswagen driver Nasser Al-Attiyah took it over. Today, it was the nine time Dakar "legend" Stephane Peterhansel who won the stage and holds the overall Car lead. The Frenchman notched his legend status in the Bike category on a Yamaha six times before moving to four-wheels.
With Mitsubishi, he won his first of three Car titles in 2003 along with navigator Jean-Paul Cottret. The duo added two more Dakar championships but this year, they take on a new challenge in a BMW X3 CC and already Peterhansel and the 2004 Bike champion and former Mitsubishi team driver Roma came prepared to take on the Volkswagen teams.
"We've had a good day," Peterhansel said. "We started 6th and finished 1st. It wasn't an easy day, with a short special in terms of distance. There were soft dunes, quite complicated off-road parts, big tufts of camel grass and then a big sandy climb which even the powerful race organisation vehicles had trouble getting up. It's true that we didn't let the tyres down much because it's possible to get through with a different pressure level. In short, it was hard. We also saw plenty of bikers who had stopped. The difference today could be seen right from the start, when some riders and drivers got lost, but we got it right with our navigation. Afterwards, we continued to attack and didn't let the pressure drop."
Three VW Race Touareg 2s were second, third and fourth today with Carlos Sainz holding second overall, just four and 1/2 minutes off the pace in the standings while his teammate Al-Attiyah is only an extra three minutes adrift of Peterhansel. It is anyone's game to win or lose.
"For the moment, I'm not interested in stage victories, I'm more bothered about outright victory in the general standings," admitted Peterhansel. "Today is a step along the road to victory. We'll see what the rest of the race has in store".
Two-time Bike champion Cyril Despres took over the lead today with his first stage win this year and the 19th of his Dakar career. While it is early in the contest with 11 special stages yet to run, all three winners in the Bike category have been Frenchman! All three have been on different equipment. David Casteau took stage 1 on a Sherco, David Fretigne won on his Yamaha in stage two. Despres still rides a KTM despite the factory pull out but with some support.
"This is one of those stages when you set out in the morning and you think to yourself, 'ok, 180 km, that will be easy. We'll soon be at the bivouac'. But there you are, we've just spent 3 hours battling on the bikes," said Despres. "It was a really African-like stage: physically tough with the heat, soft dunes and mechanical aspects to deal with.
"The bike suffered a bit on the first part, so I had to look after the engine. I tried to ride at a cooler pace for the last 80 km, but it was still sporty anyway. I saw Marc Coma had stopped, so I stopped next to him. I made sure my bike didn't stall because I was scared it wouldn't start again. But his engine was spluttering... it was a very complicated day".
Despres holds a ten minute edge over Casteau who had a battery problem but Fretigne who was third overall yesterday dropped significantly today due to mechanical problems. Defending Dakar winner Mark Coma made up ground after yesterday's penalty but he also dealt with his engine cutting out today but he did move up to 8th overall; albeit it 42 minutes behind fellow KTM rider Despres.
Coma reflected on the event thus far and his lack of luck: "It's a real pity. It's been a difficult day for us. It looks like Lady Luck was not on our side, firstly for the penalty and today for this complicated stage. As far as navigation is concerned, everything was going fine and I had a good feeling on the bike, but after 30 kilometres, the bike started to have problems. I stopped after 100 kilometres to let the engine cool down, then again after that 3 or 4 times. Mind you, the important thing is to reach the finishing line and take something positive out of the situation."
Argentinian fans are focused on the run for the Quad title with their countrymen holding the one-two in the standings. Stage one winner Marcos Patronelli switched to Yamaha for 2010 even though in his maiden Dakar challenge last year with Can-Am did net him two stage wins. On his Yamaha Raptor 700 today, he took the lead back as he aims for the 2010 Dakar Quad championship. Last year he placed second to the Dakar legend Josef Machacek.
On stage two, Hubert Deltrieu placed his Polaris 525 Outlaw in the win column. Today, that honor went to Sebastian Halpern but with Patronelli's second, he returns to the top of the Quad standings with a leading edge of just over nine minutes to his brother Alejandro Patronelli, also on a Yamaha.
Machacek made up some ground after having to stop and repair his Quad and now sits 12th, over two hours adrift of the leader. One needs to remember this is the longest cross-country endurance event and anything is possible.
Tomorrow, the competitors will have an early start as they leave Argentina to cross into Chile. The actual crossing of the Andes Cordillera will be an liaison before they make the elevation change from the mountains for a 203 km special in the desert.
Source: Past winners in Dakar dominate 3rd leg
Today was also the first real test in the 2010 Dakar edition and experience paid off. It was a day where the competitors took on the first sand dunes this year. A dramatic change that was close to 30 km but beautiful to view the very white dune.
Vladimir Chagin will turn 40 on January 5th but today the Russian gave himself a birthday present by scoring his 50th career Dakar stage victory. The event just started but already Chagin, Sergey Savostin and Eduard Nikolaev have posted a triple by taking the first 3 stage wins in their Kamaz 4326 and holding nearly a 19 minute lead over the 2009 winner and teammate, Firdaus Kabirov. Third on the stage was Brazilian André De Azevedo in a Tatra 815, now over 60 minutes adrift of the two Kamaz trucks.
The door is opening for Chagin to earn his sixth Dakar event, especially when rival Ales Loprais (Tatra) failed to start today's stage. The Czech ended up withdrawing from the competition this morning due to mechanical problems discovered in stage two.
"I was a good special stage for me. The first part was difficult and then we reached sand dunes. And for me, the harder the stage, the better. And it is better when there is sand," said Chagin. "My truck is always extremely well prepared for the sand and the dunes!"
The overall leader in the Car category has changed after each stage. Nani Roma in a BMW was the first to hold the top honor but yesterday, Volkswagen driver Nasser Al-Attiyah took it over. Today, it was the nine time Dakar "legend" Stephane Peterhansel who won the stage and holds the overall Car lead. The Frenchman notched his legend status in the Bike category on a Yamaha six times before moving to four-wheels.
With Mitsubishi, he won his first of three Car titles in 2003 along with navigator Jean-Paul Cottret. The duo added two more Dakar championships but this year, they take on a new challenge in a BMW X3 CC and already Peterhansel and the 2004 Bike champion and former Mitsubishi team driver Roma came prepared to take on the Volkswagen teams.
"We've had a good day," Peterhansel said. "We started 6th and finished 1st. It wasn't an easy day, with a short special in terms of distance. There were soft dunes, quite complicated off-road parts, big tufts of camel grass and then a big sandy climb which even the powerful race organisation vehicles had trouble getting up. It's true that we didn't let the tyres down much because it's possible to get through with a different pressure level. In short, it was hard. We also saw plenty of bikers who had stopped. The difference today could be seen right from the start, when some riders and drivers got lost, but we got it right with our navigation. Afterwards, we continued to attack and didn't let the pressure drop."
Three VW Race Touareg 2s were second, third and fourth today with Carlos Sainz holding second overall, just four and 1/2 minutes off the pace in the standings while his teammate Al-Attiyah is only an extra three minutes adrift of Peterhansel. It is anyone's game to win or lose.
"For the moment, I'm not interested in stage victories, I'm more bothered about outright victory in the general standings," admitted Peterhansel. "Today is a step along the road to victory. We'll see what the rest of the race has in store".
Two-time Bike champion Cyril Despres took over the lead today with his first stage win this year and the 19th of his Dakar career. While it is early in the contest with 11 special stages yet to run, all three winners in the Bike category have been Frenchman! All three have been on different equipment. David Casteau took stage 1 on a Sherco, David Fretigne won on his Yamaha in stage two. Despres still rides a KTM despite the factory pull out but with some support.
"This is one of those stages when you set out in the morning and you think to yourself, 'ok, 180 km, that will be easy. We'll soon be at the bivouac'. But there you are, we've just spent 3 hours battling on the bikes," said Despres. "It was a really African-like stage: physically tough with the heat, soft dunes and mechanical aspects to deal with.
"The bike suffered a bit on the first part, so I had to look after the engine. I tried to ride at a cooler pace for the last 80 km, but it was still sporty anyway. I saw Marc Coma had stopped, so I stopped next to him. I made sure my bike didn't stall because I was scared it wouldn't start again. But his engine was spluttering... it was a very complicated day".
Despres holds a ten minute edge over Casteau who had a battery problem but Fretigne who was third overall yesterday dropped significantly today due to mechanical problems. Defending Dakar winner Mark Coma made up ground after yesterday's penalty but he also dealt with his engine cutting out today but he did move up to 8th overall; albeit it 42 minutes behind fellow KTM rider Despres.
Coma reflected on the event thus far and his lack of luck: "It's a real pity. It's been a difficult day for us. It looks like Lady Luck was not on our side, firstly for the penalty and today for this complicated stage. As far as navigation is concerned, everything was going fine and I had a good feeling on the bike, but after 30 kilometres, the bike started to have problems. I stopped after 100 kilometres to let the engine cool down, then again after that 3 or 4 times. Mind you, the important thing is to reach the finishing line and take something positive out of the situation."
Argentinian fans are focused on the run for the Quad title with their countrymen holding the one-two in the standings. Stage one winner Marcos Patronelli switched to Yamaha for 2010 even though in his maiden Dakar challenge last year with Can-Am did net him two stage wins. On his Yamaha Raptor 700 today, he took the lead back as he aims for the 2010 Dakar Quad championship. Last year he placed second to the Dakar legend Josef Machacek.
On stage two, Hubert Deltrieu placed his Polaris 525 Outlaw in the win column. Today, that honor went to Sebastian Halpern but with Patronelli's second, he returns to the top of the Quad standings with a leading edge of just over nine minutes to his brother Alejandro Patronelli, also on a Yamaha.
Machacek made up some ground after having to stop and repair his Quad and now sits 12th, over two hours adrift of the leader. One needs to remember this is the longest cross-country endurance event and anything is possible.
Tomorrow, the competitors will have an early start as they leave Argentina to cross into Chile. The actual crossing of the Andes Cordillera will be an liaison before they make the elevation change from the mountains for a 203 km special in the desert.
Source: Past winners in Dakar dominate 3rd leg
