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DAKAR RALLY STAGES 4-8 NAZCA(PE) - SAN MIGUEL (RA), JANUARY 6-13
Peterhansel and Al-Attiyah pull clear of rivals
THE 2013 DAKAR RALLY HAD
developed into a two-horse
race by the time the 106
remaining cars reached
the San Miguel rest halt
in Argentina with eight
stages behind them.
X-raid Mini driver
Stephane Peterhansel, who
is chasing his 11th victory
on the event – and a record
fifth in the car category
– held a slender advantage
of 3m14s over Nasser Al-
Attiyah’s Red Bull Buggy as
the pair pulled 45 minutes
clear of the depleted field.
“It is certainly looking
more and more like the two
of us racing for the win,”
said last year’s winner
Peterhansel. “But I have done
the Dakar enough times to
know from experience that
anything can happen right
up to the final kilometre.”
Al-Attiyah’s V8-engined
buggy had been a revelation.
He and Spanish team-mate
Carlos Sainz had won five
of the eight stages in a car
that was only briefly tested
before the event in the
United States and was
taking part in its first Dakar.
Sainz retired with
46 autosport.com January 17 2013
INTERNATIONAL
RACES & RESULTS
DAKAR RALLY SS4-8
Nazca (PE)-
San Miguel (RA)
terminal engine problems
last Thursday, by which
point he had at least gone
fastest on two stages.
“It was disappointing to
end this way, but I am proud
to have been a part of this
exciting new project,” he said.
Peterhansel had been
the model of consistency
in his Mini and only one
navigational mistake blotted
his copybook, ironically on
the eighth stage, which was
eventually shortened and
neutralised by event
organiser the ASO because
of freak rainfall in northwest
Argentina.
QUICK RESULTS
→ Cars Stephane Peterhansel
→ Trucks Gerard de Rooy
→ Quads Marcos Patronelli
→ Bikes David Casteu
Peterhansel was fastest on
the stage between Calama
and Salta to stay in front of
Al-Attiyah and the Imperial
Toyota of Giniel de Villiers.
The South African, who won
the event in 2009, was
44m03s behind the leader.
Peterhansel’s team-mate
Nani Roma was fastest as
the teams crossed into Chile
from Peru, but he lost time
in a tricky sand hole earlier
in the week and was down
in seventh, behind X-raid’s
fourth-placed Leonid
Novitskiy and the fifth-andsixth-placed
SMG Buggies
of Guerlain Chicherit and
RACE RATING
★★★✩✩
The SS8 weather
thwarted many
Ronan Chabot. After being
relieved of his duties within
the X-raid team for wrecking
the prototype Mini on a rest
day two years earlier, it was
satisfying for Chicherit to
win the eighth stage and
to match the times of his
former BMW colleagues.
Robby Gordon’s challenge
had failed to materialise in
his Hummer. The American
was plagued with technical
issues for several of the
early stages and also rolled.
Individual top-three stage
performances have been the
highlight of his Dakar.
The week was marred by a
You only need
two cars to
make a race
of things
Peterhansel was
relentless all week
fatal road crash involving a
British service crew from the
Race2Recovery Team and
two local taxis. The incident
claimed the lives of two
Peruvians in one of the taxis.
The Dakar was also rocked
by the death of French biker
Thomas Bourgin in a
collision with a police car
on a road liaison section
in Chile on day seven.
Competitors re-cross the
Andes into Chile today, two
remaining stages taking the
survivors to the finish in the
Chilean capital on Sunday.
l Neil Perkins
POSITIONS AFTER STAGE 8
1 Stephane Peterhansel/
Jean-Paul Cottret (Mini All4
Racing), 18h31m04s; 2 Nasser
Al-Attiyah/Lucas Cruz (Demon
Jefferies Buggy), +3m14s; 3 Giniel
de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (Toyota
Hilux Pickup); 4 Leonid Novitskiy/
Konstantin Zhiltsov (Mini); 5 Guerlain
Chicherit/Jean-Pierre Garcin (SMG
Buggy); 6 Ronan Chabot/Gilles Pillot
(Buggy); 7 Nani Roma/Michel Perin
(Mini); 8 Orlando Terranova/Paulo
Fiuza (BMW X3 CC); 9 Bernard
Errandonea/Arnaud Debron (SMG);
10 Carlos Sousa/Miguel Ramalho
(Great Wall Haval).
PICS: BOTTERILL/GETTY