Dakar Rally 2011: SS9 Stage Report and Overall Results

It was a group start for the Bikes, changing up the traditional stage start for the Dakar competitors on this stage. It was a surprise stage victory for a Yamaha rider, and the Spanish master has pushed his Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 to its limits to catch his Qatari rival and teammate, while the Trucks category has seen a change of the overall lead once again. All this in 235km of racing, reports EVAN ROTHMAN.

SS9: Copiapo to Copiapo
Road Section: 35km
Special Stage: 235km

Bikes:
A group start, riders leaving in waves of ten bikes, saw the first group race off into the distance and lose concentration on their navigation. Of the ten bikes, only Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha) paid attention to his route notes. Unfortunately, on his way to a sure stage win, at 225 (ten short of the stage finish), her ran out of fuel. It was Jonah Street (Yamaha) who started in the third wave that claimed the stage victory in fine style by winning with a margin of 03min 36s over Frans Verhoeven (BMW).

With both the lead KTM riders losing their way, the overall lead remained constant. Marc Coma (KTM) still leads Cyril Despres (KTM) by 08min 14sec and is now 23min 33sec ahead of the determined Francisco Lopez Contardo (Aprilia).

Cars:
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Volkswagen Race Touareg 3) still holds a slim advantage over teammate Carlos Sainz in the overall lead, with third teammate Giniel de Villiers in the final podium position rather comfortably now.

All eyes are on the duel up front, waiting for either Al-Attiyah or Sainz to attempt a daring attack in the final days of the Dakar Rally 2011. It’ll take only a small mistake by either to see the lead change. The dunes and soft sand of SS9 were no match for the Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 on this stage, unlike the woes experienced by Stephane Peterhansel and his BMW X3CC. Peterhansel has now lost his opportunity to claim the final podium position, now almost an hour behind De Villiers.

Trucks:
Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) lost his lead once again, to find himself 04min 11sec behind teammate Firdaus Kabirov. Kabirov was simply too quick for the master of the Dakar, and an interesting battle is now becoming more intense and thrilling as the days to the finish draw ever closer.

Classification after SS9:
Bikes:
01) M. Coma (KTM)
02) C. Despres (KTM) + 08m 14s
03) F. Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) + 23m 33s
04) H. Rodrigues (Yamaha) + 01hr 01m 51s
05) R. Faria (KTM) + 01hr 21m 20s
06) P-A. Ullevalseter (KTM) + 02hr 02m 17s
07) J. Pedrero Garcia (KTM) + 02hr 04m 44s
08) Q. Cody (Honda) + 02hr 39m 40s
09) De Azevedo (KTM) + 02hr 42m 55s
10) Jakes (Yamaha) + 02hr 57m 32s

Cars:
01) N. Al-Attiyah/T. Gottschalk (VW)
02) C. Sainz/L. Cruz (VW) + 03m 18s
03) G. De Villiers/D. Von Zitzewitz (VW) + 55m 51s
04) S. Peterhansel/J-P. Cottret (BMW) + 01hr 42m 48s
05) M. Miller/R. Pitchford (VW) + 02hr 45m 29s
06) K. Holowycz/J-M. Fortin (BMW) + 03hr 54m 08s
07) J. Leal Dos Santos/P. Fiuza (BMW) + 05hr 26m 28s
08) C. Lavielle/Polato (Nissan) + 05hr 52m 54s
09) G. Spinelli/Y. Haddad (Mitsubishi) + 06hr 01m 24s
10) Kahle/Schuneman (SMG Buggy) + 07hr 43m 06s

Trucks:
01) F. Kabirov (Kamaz)
02) V. Chagin (Kamaz) + 04m 11s
03) E. Nikolaev (Kamaz) + 02hr 03m 11s
04) A. Loprais (Tatra) + 03hr 14m 58s
05) F. Echter (MAN) + 03hr 55m 40s
06) I. Mardeev (Kamaz) + 04hr 30m 26s
07) P. Vila (Iveco) + 06hr 19m 59s
08) A. Ardavichus (Kamaz) + 08hr 58m 21s
09) M. Van Vliet (MAN) + 09hr 41m 07s
10) Behringer (MAN) + 09m 41m 07s