Mini chinês trava Nissan BAMP

Dupla luso-brasileira chegou a estar em 17º lugar na etapa 

Quando o Dakar Argentina Chile 2015 caminha a passos largos para o final, a dupla Ricardo Leal dos Santos e Carlos Du Sachs, aos comandos de uma Nissan Navara V8, insiste em lutar pela melhoria da sua classificação e na etapa que hoje ligou Salta a Termas Rio Hondo a formação da equipa BAMP (Brasil Angola Moçambique Portugal) esteve prestes a alcançar mais um excelente lugar no Top 20. Todavia a sua prestação acabaria por ser travada na fase final do troço cronemetrado pelo andamento lento do Mini pilotado pelo chinês Yong Zhou.

 A equipa que ocupa uma magnífico 2º lugar na classificação destinada a equipa privadas gastou 1h58m48s a percorrer o sector selectivo, mais 5m38s que o vencedor da etapa Nasser Al-Attiyah, tendo com este resultado subido uma posição na classificação geral.

  "Estávamos a imprimir um bom ritmo embora tenha a perfeita noção de que de futuro poderemos tirar muito mais desta máquina. Levamos desta participação uma noção muita mais definida das alterações que pretendemos fazer mas a sua maioria era impossível introduzi-las a meio desta corrida. Sinto que poderíamos ter feito nesta etapa um resultado muito melhor mas devemos ter perdido cerca de minuto e meio na traseira do Mini do Zhou, que apanhámos numa zona da prova em que fazer ultrapassagens era muito arriscado", salientou Ricardo Leal dos Santos no final da etapa.

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Paulo Gonçalves a 17 segundos da vitória na 11.ª etapa do Dakar 2015

Piloto português cumpriu etapa maratona na segunda posição, ganhando mais 2min23s a Marc Coma, e mantém luta pela vitória 

Paulo Gonçalves foi hoje o segundo mais rápido na “especial” cronometrada entre Salta e Termas de Rio Hondo, na Argentina, tendo ficado a somente 17 segundos de alcançar a sua segunda vitória em etapas no Dakar 2015. A vitória foi para Joan Barreda, que ontem cedeu o seu motor a Paulo Gonçalves.

 O piloto português, Campeão do Mundo em 2013 e Vice-Campeão em 2014, partiu para a segunda metade da etapa maratona decidido a recuperar tempo para a liderança da prova, mas consciente em segurar, principalmente, o segundo lugar do pódio final na chegada a Buenos Aires, no próximo Sábado.

  “Hoje foi uma boa etapa, limpa, não podia arriscar demasiado pois era o segundo dia da etapa maratona e ainda para mais estamos a dois dias do final do Dakar e com um lugar no pódio”, disse Paulo Gonçalves.

 Ainda no dia anterior, nos últimos quilómetros de ligação, Paulo Gonçalves sentiu alguns contratempos na sua Honda CRF 450 Rally e no bivouac de Cachi acabaria por efetuar a troca de motor com Joan Barreda, este por sua vez a trocar com Jeremias Israel, por forma a assegurarem a melhor continuidade da etapa maratona até Termas de Rio Hondo. Posto isto, Paulo Gonçalves verá hoje ser-lhe acrescido o tempo de 15 minutos de penalização, punição imposta à primeira troca de motor nas motos, que aumentará para 20min12s a diferença que o separa da liderança do espanhol Marc Coma.

“Preferimos fazer esta troca a deitar tudo por terra. Tive um problema com o meu motor, não tínhamos assistência mecânica, era uma etapa maratona, não podíamos correr riscos. Só tenho a agradecer o esforço do Barreda, do Israel e do Hélder, cuja experiência foi fundamental. Trabalhámos de forma incrível, mudámos três motores, estou muito orgulhoso dos meus companheiros”, explicou o piloto português.

 Amanhã cumprem-se mais cerca de mil quilómetros, dos quais 298 a relógio.

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Carlos Sousa e Paulo Fiuza sobem ao 8º lugar da geral na antepenúltima etapa do Dakar

Dupla portuguesa da Mitsubishi Petrobras realizou hoje a sua melhor etapa neste Dakar, garantindo o 8º melhor tempo do dia e subindo mais um lugar na classificação 

A apenas dois dias da chegada a Buenos Aires, Carlos Sousa e Paulo Fiuza mantêm-se em alta, garantindo hoje o seu melhor resultado em etapas desta edição, concluindo os 194 km da tirada entre Calma e Termas Rio Hondo no 8º lugar, cedendo apenas 2m27s para Nasser Al-Attiyah, vencedor da especial e líder destacado da classificação.

 Num dia em que voltou a ganhar tempo Erik Van Loon e Christian Lavieille, respetivamente 4º e 5º da geral, a dupla portuguesa da Mitsubishi Petrobras acabou por beneficiar do abandono de Yazeed Alrajhi (3º classificado à partida desta especial), devidos a problemas mecânicos na sua Toyota, para subir ao 8º lugar da geral, a 2m40s do 7º posto de Bernhard Ten Brinke.

  “Pelo segundo dia consecutivo, fizemos uma etapa limpa, sem registo de qualquer problema. Entrámos bem e conseguimos imprimir um ritmo forte até final da especial. O carro esteve perfeito e só foi pena o percurso não ser mais extenso, porque as diferenças finais acabam por ser curtas… Mas numa prova como o Dakar, nunca podemos relaxar e pensar que este ou aquele resultado já está garantido só porque estamos a poucos dias da chegada. Hoje, por infortúnio do Alrajhi – que estava a realizar uma excelente prova –, subimos mais um lugar na classificação. Confesso que a minha ambição é ainda tentar chegar ao 7º lugar, porque foi esse o objetivo que definimos para esta edição. Fácil não vai ser, até pelo maior potencial competitivo dos MINI. Mas vamos acreditar até ao fim e dar a luta possível ao Ten Brinke nestas duas especiais que faltam até Buenos Aires”, prometeu Carlos Sousa.

 CLASSIFICAÇÃO - ETAPA 11

1º Al-Attiyah/Baumel (MINI), 1h53m10s
2º Terranova/Graue (MINI), + 27s
3º De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota), + 39s
4º Vanagas/Rudnitski (Toyota), + 40s
5º Vasilyev/Zhiltsov (MINI), + 1m16s
(…)
8º SOUSA/FIUZA (Mitsubishi), + 2m27s

 GERAL - APÓS ETAPA 11

1º Al-Attiyah/Baumel (MINI), 37h12m47s
2º De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota), + 29m01s
3º Holowczyc/Panseri (MINI), + 1h28m49s
4º Van Loon/Rosegaar (Toyota), + 2h54m09s
5º Lavieille/Maimon (Toyota), +3h04m21s
 (…)
8º SOUSA/FIUZA (Mitsubishi) + 3h44m20s

 A ETAPA DE AMANHÃ

Etapa 12: Termas de Rio Hondo - Rosario
Total: 1.094 km
Especial: 174 km

A meta está próxima, mas falta ainda uma longa travessia da Argentina nesta penúltima etapa do Dakar. Uma condução mais agressiva pode alterar as posições na tabela classificativa. E os mais distraídos podem deixar-se surpreender pela vegetação.

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RUBEN FARIA DE REGRESSO AO SEXTO LUGAR

Com o Dakar a aproximar-se do seu final – a acontecer já no Sábado em Buenos Aires - realizou –se hoje mais uma etapa da competição que levou a caravana até Termas de Rio Hondo. Um dia mais uma vez marcado por intensas lutas pelas primeiras posições e onde Ruben Faria esteve em lugar de protagonismo como tinha acontecido no dia anterior. Os percursos montanhosos deste regresso à Argentina favoreceram o piloto da KTM que depois de ontem ter sido terceiro hoje fechou a especial na quarta posição e desta forma regresso ao sexto posto da classificação geral.

‘Foram dois dias de pistas de serra que gostei bastante. O Chile foi muito complicado para mim em termos fisicos e senti que estava mesmo no meu limite. Com a entrada na Argentina o terreno mudou e para mim este tipo de percurso é mais ‘amigo’ do meu pulso, com o qual tenho sentido mais dificuldades, mesmo do que a clavicula que felizmente até ao momento não me deu problemas. Está a ser um Dakar muito duro mas muito giro e faltam apenas dois dias para chegar a Buenos Aires.’

 Ao longo deste dia o algarvio esteve sempre entre o quarto e o terceiro posto da classificação na etapa, para atingir Termas de Rio Hondo na quarta posição, com o regresso ao sexto posto a mostrar claramente que sem a penalização de 40 minutos sofrida ainda no Chile Ruben Faria poderia estar mesmo na luta por um lugar entre os três primeiros. Amanhã realiza-se a penúltima especial deste Dakar 2015 e após dois dias de etapa maratona as motos serão esta noite alvo de intensa dedicação por parte dos mecânicos para estarem aptas a enfrentarem os dois últimos dias. O de amanhã levará os pilotos até Rosario com uma especial com 298 quilómetros precedida de uma longa ligação com 726 quilómetros. A especial pode ainda trazer algumas surpresas e os mais fortes fisicamente podem ainda tentar posições num dia que promete novamente muita animação num Dakar que até ao momento se revela um dos mais competitivos dos últimos anos.

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De Villiers, Ten Brinke e Lavieille perto de terminarem o Dakar no Top 7 com as Toyota Hilux

· Cruel Dakar retirement for Yazeed Al-Rajhi with technical issues before stage 

· Overdrive Racing’s Issabayev, Vanagas and Dabrowski hold 16th, 22nd and 24th 

· Toyota Imperial’s Poulter fourth on SS10; Bensadoun 32nd; Jerie near top 40 

· Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah claims fifth stage win and leads event by 29min 01sec 

Overdrive Racing and Hallspeed-prepared Toyota Hiluxes suffered the disappointment of losing one of their star performers, but maintained second, fifth and seventh overall after the 11th special stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally, between Salta and Termas de Rio Hondo in northern Argentina, on Thursday.

 The route had re-crossed the Andes on Wednesday and reached altitudes of 4,972 metres above sea level at Abra del Acay on Argentina’s National Route 40 before the 10th special stage towards Cachi. The leading four Toyotas had reached the end of that special in second, third, sixth and eighth in the general classification.

 The surviving 69 cars then took a liaison on Thursday morning to the start of the 194km special stage. A second link section of 142km brought them into Termas de Rio Hondo via the famous Argentine rally town of San Miguel de Tucumán.

 South African Giniel De Villiers and co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz have settled into a safe and secure pace to ensure they take no risks and reach the finish in Buenos Aires on Saturday in second position. The duo finished the 11th stage in fourth position and head into the penultimate special of the rally trailing leader Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah by 29min 01sec.

  “We had a rather calm day on Wednesday,” admitted De Villiers. “We didn’t push hard after we saw what happened to Joan Roma (accident). It made us realise you can be caught unawares. Nasser’s too far ahead. It makes no sense to take risks. We won’t be able to catch him unless he makes mistakes. It ain’t over yet.”

 Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Timo Gottschalk had produced one of the performances of the entire event for the first 10 stages. “Everything is fine with me. I haven’t made any mistakes,” said the impressive Saudi after Wednesday’s stage. “I think it would be very difficult to try and push and take second place from Giniel. Finishing my first Dakar on the podium was beyond my wildest dreams.”

 But the Saudi’s dream was soon to end in bitter disappointment. The team reportedly noticed a problem with the Toyota at the bivouac in Salta and the Saudi had not left the service area when the first cars started the day’s stage. Further mechanical problems intervened on the link section and the devastated Saudi driver decided to withdraw just kilometres from the start of the special. It was a sorry end to a superb all-round team performance.

 Frenchman Christian Lavieille and his 2002 Dakar Rally-winning co-driver Pascal Maimon were duly promoted to fifth overall in the leading Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux at the start of stage 11 and maintained that position to the finish. They now have a 9min 05sec cushion to the sixth-placed Russian Vladimir Vasilyev.

 Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke and Belgian co-driver Tom Colsoul climbed from ninth to eighth on the 10th stage into Salta at the expense of Portugal’s Carlos Sousa. But 2min 25sec separated the duo at the start of stage 11 and Ten Brinke inherited seventh after Al-Rajhi’s demise. He missed out on the 11th stage win by just 2min 12sec and maintained seventh in Termas de Rio Hondo.

 A fourth fastest time for Leeroy Poulter and fellow South African co-driver Robert Howie on stage 10 lifted the Toyota Imperial South African pairing within striking distance of their Overdrive Racing colleagues, Kazakh Bauyrzhan Issabayev and Russian team-mate Vladimir Demyanenko, at the start of the run into Termas de Rio Hondo.

 The two drivers began the special in 18th and 17th overall. Poulter recorded the 16th quickest time and was only four minutes behind the stage winner. He now holds 17th, while Issabayev is 16th. 

Lithuanian Benediktas Vanagas and his Belarussian navigator Andrei Rudnitski reached Argentina in 24th overall and were running in a superb fourth on the 11th stage after 150km. They eventually recorded a career-best fourth position – just 40 seconds behind stage winner Al-Attiyah - and hold 22nd overall with two days to go.

 Pole Marek Dabrowski and Dubai-based British navigator Mark Powell had continued their climb through the field after first week axle problems and began the Argentinean stages from 26th. They climbed to 25th into Salta and now hold 24th.

 The French-Canadian duo of David Bensadoun and Patrick Beaulé had been penalised for missing waypoints on the run into Calama and began the 10th stage from 34th overall, although they had climbed to 33rd on Thursday morning. On arrival in Termas de Rio Hondo, they were an unofficial 32nd.

 Czech driver Peter Jerie and experienced French co-driver Laurent Lichtleuchter reached Calama in 44th overall and maintained that position into Salta. Jerie is now just outside the top 40.

 Tomorrow (Friday), is the penultimate stage of a punishing 2015 Dakar Rally. Crews leave the camp near the Termes de Rio Hondo circuit and embark upon the longest day of the entire rally made up of just 298km of competition and a mammoth 726km of liaison to the overnight halt on the western banks of the Paraná River in the city of Rosario.

 The final stage of just 174km is included in a route of 393km on the final section from Rosario to the finish in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

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Dupla da Ford Ranger Villagra / Memi a dois dias do objectivo de terminar o Dakar

• Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah wins fifth special stage and extends lead to 29 minutes 

• Dakar caravan reaches race circuit at Termas de Rio Hondo with two days to go 

Federico Villagra and Andrés Memi are now within two days of achieving their original target of bringing the YPC Competicion Ford Ranger to the finish of the gruelling Dakar Rally.

 The pair produced another professional performance through the shorter 11th special stage between Salta and Termas de Rio Hondo in northern Argentina on Thursday afternoon. They recorded the 25th quickest time and hold 29th overall in the unofficial general classification.

 Villagra’s Ford Ranger began the 11th stage in 31st and 45th on the road after losing more than 30 minutes into Salta repairing a damaged rear brake pipe.

  “It was disappointing yesterday, because we started on a good pace and overtook quite a few cars and trucks until we had the brake issue,” admitted the Argentine. “We managed to repair it and continue to run an even more competitive pace, but could not recover that lost time.” 

A liaison of 184km took the surviving 69 cars to the start of the 194km special stage and a second link section of 142km brought teams into Termas de Rio Hondo via the famous Argentine rally town of San Miguel de Tucumán.

 Villagra started well and overtook several cars. He was running in a virtual 26th position through the first of the official waypoint checks and improved to 25th at both WP2 and through WP3 at 130km. Twenty-fourth after 160km, the 45-yearold Argentine reached the finish in 2hrs 01min 24sec and 25th position.

 Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah began the day with a lead of 28min 22sec and a fifth stage win ensured that the Qatari would reach the start of the penultimate special with an outright advantage of 29min 01sec over South African’s Giniel de Villiers.

 South Racing is looking after Villagra’s on-event logistics and day-to-day management under the directorship of Scott Abraham and his team. Villagra’s Ford Ranger was prepared and developed in South Africa by Neil Woolridge Motorsport.

 In addition to Argentine energy company YPF, Villagra’s Dakar programme is being supported by suspension and OEM parts company Fric Rot, Brenson (Dealer Ford), Piamontesa and construction company Natania. OMP, Michelin, Rudy Project and Gold Nutrition have provided technical assistance.

 Tomorrow (Friday, January 16), marks the penultimate day in what has been a difficult and demanding Dakar Rally. The YPF Competicion Ford Ranger will leave the overnight halt in Termas de Rio Hondo and embark upon the longest day of the entire rally in terms of kilometres travelled.

 In a route of 1,024km, only 298 tricky kilometres will be competitive, but two liaison sections make up a tiring 726km run across northern Argentina to the last overnight halt on the western banks of the Paraná River in the city of Rosario.

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Joan Barreda vence etapa 11 nas Termas de Río Hondo

A fourth win for Joan Barreda brings the Honda CRF450 RALLY a seventh triumph in the Dakar 2015. The Spanish athlete, first away this morning after yesterday’s marathon stage win, was also first to cross the finish-line in the Circuit of Termas de Río Hondo.

 Barreda, who has clearly put his troubles from the Uyuni stage behind him, once again showed a white-knuckle display of speed and agility, picking up his fourth stage win so far in the event.

 Paulo Gonçalves battled hard to keep all options of a final victory wide open in spite of a fifteen-minute penalization for an engine change at the end of the first leg of the marathon stage. The Portuguese ace finished in second place, and will be looking to try and reduce the deficit with his rival Marc Coma over the two final days.

 Hélder Rodrigues made it through in eighth to Termas de Río Hondo, in a problem-free fashion, as the second leg of the marathon stage closed in spite of exhaustion after a sleepless night helping team-mates Paulo, Joan and Jeremías, swap first Paulo’s engine and then Joan’s. Consequently, Jeremías Israel’s generosity in sacrificing his engine saw him unable to start the day’s stage. Spaniard Laia Sanz, one of the revelations of the competition, showed yet another speedy but prudent performance in the Salta region.

 Javier Pizzolito was the best of the supporting Honda South America Rally Team, with a 16th place final finish, which moves the rider one notch up the overall scorecard to 20th. Jean Azevedo, who has shown great consistency throughout the entire event, wound up the stage in 25th place, and continues to hold 22nd overall.

Joan Barreda: Yesterday we had to change Paulo’s engine with mine, which was fresher, and I had to put Jeremías’ one in. We were working until two in the morning and we only rested for a couple of hours. Today the first part of the stage was complicated by the rains of last night, mainly with the swollen rivers. I got to the refuelling fine, and after that I pushed really hard on the mountain paths. Everything went well and I was able to win. We have proved that we can win not only stages, but also the whole race. Right now, the main priority is a win for the team.

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Coma vai para a penúltima etapa do Dakar na frente

Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma finished sixth in the Dakar Rally Stage 11 and now goes into the penultimate stage of the 2015 edition with a five minute 12 lead over Paolo Goncalves. KTM rookie Toby Price of Australia on Thursday moved into potential podium territory and is now third overall. 

Coma, the consummate tactician and a four-times Dakar winner has said in the past that it is only where you are in the rankings on the final day that count, was satisfied after the second stage of the second marathon session of this year’s rally. With the finish line in Buenos Aires now looming large on Saturday and riders and teams worn down from the rigors of a very hard edition, riders tackled a total of 512 km, of which 351 km were timed special on the way to Termas Rio Honda.

 Marc Coma: “We come from a marathon stage that is always more stressful and always with mechanical work. Our time is good but we still have a difficult day tomorrow and also the last day. I am still not able to see the end to this rally but I am happy with how things are going so far. If you look at how far we have already come, it is an eternity. So far we can say we are still very happy.” Overnight riders were not permitted any mechanical support from teams although they may do the work themselves. Engine changes do incur time penalties, even if riders carry out the work themselves.

 Price, of Australia moved into third overall for the first time and now has a marginal time advantage over KTM rider Pablo Quintanilla of Chile. He stands a fair chance of a podium finish in his first Dakar, provided he manages to hold onto the advantage over two more stages. Quintanilla has also been having an excellent Dakar and will not want to give up on going for the minor podium place. 

Toby Price: "Two days is still a long way to go. We're just trying to do the best we can, stay fit and healthy, keep the bike in good shape and that's been my plan the whole way. Today was not so bad. It wasn't extremely fast but you couldn't afford to run wide on turns. It was just a good clean day." Price, new to this type of navigation and the road book said this aspect had also started to come together for him over the past couple of days.

 KTM riders delivered a solid result in the stage with Ivan Jakes of Slovakia, Red Bull KTM factory rider Ruben Faria of Portugal, Price, Coma and Quintanilla finishing the stage in places 3-7. At the end of the stage there were also seven KTM riders in the top 10 overall positions.

 KTM Factory Team Manager Alex Doringer said conditions had been very tough for the entire team who had endured temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius on Thursday as well as dust storms and even flooding in past days.

“We are in good shape,” Doringer said. “Marc is happy and smiling ahead of tomorrow’s stage and no one believed that we would see Toby up here fighting for third place on his first time out at the Dakar.” Doringer said the team was in a strong position for Friday’s stage with Faria, Price and Coma starting at places four, five and six.

 On Friday riders travel from Termas Rio Honda to Rosario, another 1024 km with 298 km of timed special. Teams would be permitted to transport the bikes for part of the long liaison section, Doringer said.Stage Eleven Dakar 2015

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