Dakar Rally 2011: SS7 Overall Results and Stage Report

Organisers of the 2011 Dakar Rally drastically reduced the distance of this stage, the first stage after the much-needed and deserved rest day, from a 631km marathon to a 273km-long stage. This, however, did not reduce the number of incidents any of the categories, reports EVAN ROTHMAN.

SS7: Arica to Antofagasta
Road Section: 208km
Special Stage: 273km (MODIFIED STAGE DISTANCE)

Bikes:
After having his first stage win of 2011 being handed to Paulo Goncalves last week after a correction of stage times, the Aprilia team rider Francisco Lopez Contardo showed his confidence in his navigational skills and the reliability of his Italian machine to outpace his KTM, BMW and Yamaha rivals. Lopez Contardo finished the stage 02min 21sec ahead of his rivals, and he now moves closer to Marc Coma’s lead which is now 18min 27sec ahead of Lopez Contardo who lies in third place. Marc Coma (KTM) still holds the lead of the Bikes category ahead of Cyril Despres (KTM), but the margin is now 07min 24sec.

Now breaking into the top ten is Pal-Anders Ullevalseter (KTM), but this has seen Jonah Street (Yamaha) drop out of the running after suffering an engine failure. This same fate has befallen David Casteu (Sherco), battling with gearbox problems amongst others.

Cars:
Guerlain Chicherit thrilled media and invited guests on the rest day as he showed off his MINI Countryman, but it ended in tears… Chicherit rolled the MINI, and totally destroyed the car and ruled him out of the Dakar Rally 2011. His X-Raid teammates of Stephane Peterhansel has been unfortunate in picking up a host of punctures over the recent stages, and SS7 started off with a puncture too. Peterhansel drove more cautiously through the stage, and this was reflected in the stage times: he now stands 21min off the pace of the flying Carlos Sainz (Volkswagen Race Touareg 3) in the overall Cars standings. What is more for the X-Raid team is that Orlando Terranova crashed out of the event too, leaving X-Raid’s team boss Sven Quandt with more than just a slight headache after SS7.

The might of the Volkswagen entries are now pushing for a 1-2-3 flying finish, with Giniel de Villiers upping his pace and closing in on Peterhansel (who is only 11min ahead of the charging South African driver). In this stage, the Race Touareg’s scored another impressive 1-2-3 stage win, and none of their crews suffered punctures. The stage win went the way of Nasser Al-Attiyah, who is trying to reel in Sainz and claim the overall lead of the race, although the 01min 22sec separating them will not be an easy margin to overcome.

Trucks:
Ales Loprias (Tatra) is taking on the seemingly unbeatable Kamaz crews head-on, winning two stages on the trot. Loprais is showing confidence in his truck, and his skill in the dunes in undeniable. He is now sandwiched between the Kamaz crews, only 16min 22sec behind leader Firdaus Kabirov and about the same gap ahead of Vladimir Chagin.

Classification after SS7:
Bikes:
01) M. Coma (KTM)
02) C. Despres (KTM) + 07m 24s
03) F. Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) + 18m 27s
04) H. Rodrigues (Yamaha) + 33m 04s
05) R. Faria (KTM) + 40m 53s
06) F. Verhoeven (BMW) + 01hr 14m 10s
07) S. Svitko (KTM) + 01hr 16m 54s
08) J. Viladoms (Yamaha) + 01hr 20m 11s
09) J. Pedrero Garcia (KTM) + 01hr 20m 33s
10) P-A. Ullevalseter (KTM) + 01hr 37m 23s

Cars:
01) C. Sainz/L. Cruz (VW) – 23hr 21m 58s
02) N. Al-Attiyah/T. Gottschalk (VW) + 01m 22s
03) S. Peterhansel/J-P. Cottret (BMW) + 21m 11s
04) G. De Villiers/D. Von Zitzewitz (VW) + 32m 45s
05) K. Holowycz/J-M. Fortin (BMW) + 01hr 28m 59s
06) M. Miller/R. Pitchford (VW) + 02hr 13m 44s
07) G. Spinelli/Y. Haddad (Mitsubishi) + 02h 38m 50s
08) C. Lavielle/J-P. Forthomme (Nissan) + 03hr 26m 41s
09) R. Leal Dos Santos/P. Fiuza (BMW) + 03hr 30m 40s
10) M. Kahle/T. Schunemann (SMG Buggy) + 05hr 45m 10s

Trucks:
01) F. Kabirov (Kamaz)
02) A. Loprais (Tatra) + 16m 22s
03) V. Chagin (Kamaz) + 28m 22s
04) E. Nikolaev (Kamaz) + 01hr 43m 55s
05) F. Echter (MAN) + 02hr 25m 47s
06) I. Mardeev (Kamaz) + 03hr 04m 22s
07) P. Vila (Iveco) + 04hr 46m 07s
08) M. Van Vliet (MAN) + 06hr 21m 34s
09) M. Behringer (MAN) + 06hr 52m 06s
10) A. Ardavichus (Kamaz) + 07hr 28, 44s