In this stage, SS10, competitors re-entered Argentina on their way back to the finish in a few days time in Buenos Aires. With a long road section of 686km and a sprint-like 176km, this relatively short special stage saw the overall standings of each category dramatically change, reports EVAN ROTHMAN.
SS10: Copiapo to Chilecito
Road Section: 686km
Special Stage: 176km
Bikes:
Marc Coma (KTM) extended his lead over Cyril Despres (KTM) to nearly 19min and claim his third stage win. With one hand now firmly on the winners’ trophy it seems, Coma needs only to desperately avoid the pitfalls that have plagued Despres over the last two stages to claim the overall victory.
Despres lost 09min 56sec to Coma in this stage due to two mistakes: Despres chose the wrong line to an approach to a sand dune and lost time as he had to retrace his way back and then find another route over the dune; another was when he became stuck in a river bed only mere metres from the “correct” line. Its these small unfortunate mistakes that will most likely cost Despres his fourth Dakar Rally title.
Cars:
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Volkswagen Race Touareg 3) was handed a boost to his aims of winning the Dakar Rally by his fiercest rival and teammate Carlos Sainz. The Spanish master seemingly struggled in the soft sand of the dunes, becoming stuck after only 13km from the stage start and in the same valley as Despres found the going difficult Sainz took the wrong route too and lost 10min in the process.
However, the fastest driver of the stage was Giniel de Villiers (Volkswagen Race Touareg 3) who fought it out with Krystof Holowycz (BMW X3CC) and Stephane Peterhansel (BMW X3CC).
Trucks:
Ales Loprais dropped off the leaderboard of the Trucks category, allowing the two hard-charging Kamaz teammates of Vladimir Chagin and Firdaus Kabirov room to relax as they chase towards the finish in Buenos Aires.
Chagin is now stamping his authority over the field and now enjoys a 21min lead over his rivals, but this could all evaporate with a puncture or becoming stuck in the soft sand dunes that still awaits the Dakar Rally competitors.
Classification after SS10:
Bikes:
01) M. Coma (KTM)
02) C. Despres (KTM) + 18m 10s
03) F. Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) + 45m 16s
04) H. Rodrigues (Yamaha) + 01hr 29m 37s
05) R. Faria (KTM) + 01hr 34m 42s
06) J. Pedrero Garcia (KTM) + 02hr 29m 24s
07) P-A. Ullevalseter (KTM) + 02hr 36m 39s
08) J. Azevedo (KTM) + 03hr 11m 06s
09) H. Knulman (KTM) + 04hr 00m 20s
10) Q. Cody (Honda) + 04hr 10m 20s
Cars:
01) N. Al-Attiyah (VW)
02) C. Sainz (VW) + 12m 37s
03) G. De Villiers (VW) + 46m 57s
04) S. Peterhansel (BMW) + 01hr 39m 32s
05) M. Miller (VW) + 03hr 40m 43s
06) K. Holowycz (BMW) + 03hr 49m 37s
07) R. Dos Santos (BMW) + 05hr 48m 25s
08) C. Lavielle (Nissan) + 06hr 27m 23s
09) G. Spinelli (Mitsubishi) + 07hr 25m 57s
10) E. Van Loon (Mitsubishi) + 13hr 38m 12s
Trucks:
01) V. Chagin (Kamaz)
02) F. Kabirov (Kamaz) + 17m 27s
03) E. Nikolaev (Kamaz) + 02hr 44m 06s
04) F. Echter (MAN) + 04hr 56m 26s
05) I, Mardeev (Kamaz) + 05hr 06m 10s
06) P. Vila (Iveco) + 06hr 54m 32s
07) M. Van Vliet (MAN) + 10hr 11m 33s
08) A. Ardavichus (Kamaz) + 10hr 20m 05s
09) T. Sugawara (Hino) + 12hr 56m 16s
10) M. Van Den Brink (GINAF) + 15hr 50m 09s