With a massive km special stage, the Dakar Rally’s SS11 proved that another step toward the finish line brought not only relief for the leaders of the various categories but also more pressure to remain atop their rivals and in command of their rally machines, reports EVAN ROTHMAN.
SS11: Chilecito to San Juan
Road Section: 164km
Special Stage: 370km (MODIFIED SPECIAL STAGE ROUTE)
Bikes:
For Marc Coma (KTM), this stage saw his lead over Cyril Despres (KTM) eroded by some 02m 12sec as the Frenchman charged hard to reel in the Catalan leader. His determined ride saw him close his gap to Coma to 15min 59sec after this stage, and claim his third stage victory of this year’s event.
Francisco Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) was the star of this stage, setting the fastest times at the way-points throughout the stage. However, a navigational error in the last section of the stage saw him lose valuable time as he retraced his way back to the race route and saw his lead in the stage vanish. The brave Lopez Contardo is now 49min behind the leader in third position and over 40min ahead of fourth-placed Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha).
Cars:
The intense and gripping battle that has brewed since SS1 of this event between Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al-Attiyah (both Volkswagen Race Touareg 3s), has ended prematurely. Sainz was fastest in the way-points leading up to the half-way point’s neutral zone, and even had a 01min 24sec lead over Al-Attiyah at this point, but it all evaporated when Sainz came unstuck. He hit a boulder while blinded in Al-Attiyah’s dust and the rock ripped his car’s right front wheel off. Sainz spent an hour repairing the damaging (with the aid of teammates Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford). Sainz is now third overall in the standings, some 30min behind teammate Giniel de Villiers and only 13min ahead of Stephane Peterhansel (BMW X3CC). For Al-Attiyah, he now enjoys an overall lead of 52min.
Trucks:
Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) was once again the stage winner and is now most certainly driving to the finish line with a win in his mind. He is now 30min ahead of Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) who in turn is over 02hr 30min ahead of third placed Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz).
Classification after SS11:
Bikes:
01) M. Coma (KTM)
02) C. Despres (KTM) + 15m 59s
03) F. Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) + 49m 24s
04) H. Rodrigues (Yamaha) + 01hr 35m 10s
05) J. Pedrero Garcia (KTM) + 02hr 42m 55s
06) P-A. Ullevalseter (KTM) + 02hr 57m 45s
07) J. Azevedo (KTM) + 03hr 24m 31s
08) R. Faria (KTM) + 03hr 49m 46s
09) Q. Cody (Honda) + 04hr 23m 26s
10) H. Knulman (KTM) + 04hr 23m 56s
Cars:
01) N. Al-Attiyah (VW)
02) G. De Villiers (VW) + 51m 49s
03) C. Sainz (VW) + 01hr 27m 27s
04) S. Peterhansel (BMW) + 01hr 40m 45s
05) K. Holowycz (BMW) + 04hr 02m 54s
06) M. Miller (VW) + 04hr 42m 38s
07) R. Leal Dos Santos (BMW) + 06hr 15m 38s
08) C. Lavielle (Nissan) + 07hr 02m 56s
09) G. Spinelli (Mitsubishi) + 08hr 00m 52s
10) M. Kahle (SMG Buggy) + 14hr 18m 14s
Trucks:
01) V. Chagin (Kamaz)
02) F. Kabirov (Kamaz) + 30m 31s
03) E. Nikolaev (Kamaz)+ 02hr 58m 43s
04) I. Mardeev (Kamaz) + 05hr 34m 06s
05) F. Echter (MAN) + 07hr 05m 36s
06) P. Vila (Iveco) + 10hr 30m 41s
07) M. Van Vliet (MAN) + 10hr 45m 05s
08) A. Ardavichus (Kamaz) + 13hr 37m 20s
09) T. Sugawara (Hino) + 17hr 16m 23s
10) M. Behringer (MAN) + 18hr 51m 00s