• Nani Roma in the MINI ALL4 Racing the overall leader
• Terranova and Roma secure special-stage wins
X-raid drivers prove to be unstoppable, in Argentina. Nani Roma (ESP)/Michel Périn (FRA) who finished runner-up in the 2012 Dakar Rally hold the overall lead, with their MINI ALL4 Racing, Orlando Terranova (ARG)/Paulo Fiúza (POR) and Boris Garafulic (CHI)/Gilles Picard (FRA) following in second and third positions, respectively. Both pairings race the event with BMW X3 CC vehicles.
Terranova started into the Dakar Series event held in Argentina with a special-stage win. The Argentinean lost several minutes at the beginning of the special stage but succeeded in making up for the lost ground later. In the end, he crossed the finish line just 10 seconds ahead of Roma who was hampered by a puncture. Garafulic finished third.
In the second special stage, Roma struck back and set the fastest time. Due to torrential rain, the special stage had to be shortened to 195 kilometres on Tuesday. These 195 kilometres that originally were supposed to only be the first section of the special stage featured hard ground and took the drivers through pinewoods and grasses. Terranova finished second, followed by Garafulic.
Overall standings after two special stages:
1st N. Roma (ESP)/M. Périn (FRA) MINI - ALL4 Racing – 6h 40m 37s
2nd O. Terranova (ARG)/P. Fiúza (POR) - BMW X3 CC – 6h 42m 11s
3rd B. Garafulic (CHI)/ G. Picard (FRA) -BMW X3 CC – 7h 43m 45s
4th Omar Gandara / Mauricio Jeromin – Toyota – 8h 15m 55s
5th Roberto Recalde / Carlos Zarza – Toyota – 8h 38m 39s
