2017 Dakar / SS10: Orlando Terranova now sixth in the overall standings

· Yazeed Al-Rajhi finishes fourth, today 

· Mikko Hirvonen loses time due to an accident

 Following the cancellation of yesterday’s stage, the drivers looked forward to today’s stage from Chilecito to San Juan. At the end of today’s 449-kilometre special stage, Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA) / Timo Gottschalk (GER) and their MINI John Cooper Works Rally crossed the line in fourth position, right ahead of their team-mates Orlando Terranova (ARG) / Andreas Schulz (GER). As the third MINI John Cooper Works Rally pairing, Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) and Michel Périn (FRA), was hampered by several problems, Terranova moved up to sixth position overall, just 2.5 minutes behind Toyota’s Giniel de Viliers.

  “In the first part we unfortunately had a puncture that cost us several minutes,” reveals Al-Rajhi. “I talked to Orly in the neutralisation who followed 40 seconds behind me. He announced that he was going to push, now but I said to myself: ‘You definitely won’t steal my 40-second lead.’ And indeed, we stayed ahead. Finishing fourth was really good and we didn’t have to take any major risks to do so. Today’s track was extremely bumpy and difficult to drive.”

  “The special stage was challenging for the navigators. In the first riverbed we lost some time while looking for the right way,” said Terranova. “Afterwards, however, things went really well for us and we were able to push. It was a true Dakar stage – difficult and hot – and the MINI worked perfectly. Now we will try to work our way up to fourth position in the overall standings.” 

“What an eventful day,” said Hirvonen who finished 30th. “We had punctures, lost our way several times and in addition, a car jack and the reverse gear broke. Then we got stuck in the Fech Fech and as we hadn’t our reverse gear this incident cost us more than an hour. Later we followed two trucks that passed one another. One went off the road and although I drove as careful as possible I hit its rear. And to make things even worse, he didn’t see us, backed up – and destroyed our radiator while doing so. This cost us even more time than an hour.” 

Boris Garafulic (CHI) and Filipe Palmeiro (POR) took their MINI ALL4 Racing to 11th place. They temporarily were extremely fast and even held third position, at waypoint two. Meanwhile, MINI ALL4 Racing pairing Mohamed Abu Issa (QAT) and Xavier Panseri (FRA) came 15th, today, with Stephan Schott (GER) and Paulo Fiúza (POR) finishing two positions behind them, in 17th.

  “It was a really gruelling special stage for both man and material,” said Garafulic. “The temperatures out there rose up to 42 C° and we were out there for about 11 hours. Filipe did a really great job, today. His contribution to our result was massive.” 

“I overdid it in the early stages,” Abu Issa admitted in the bivouac. We had a puncture, lost our way, had another damaged tyre – and all this in the dust of the trucks. This of course cost us a lot of time. The second half of the special stage was really fast and we made good progress.” Meanwhile, Przygonski and Colsoul had to cope with a major dose of bad luck. 

“In a riverbed we fell for about a metre and on our left side,” the Pole said in the bivouac “We had to get out of the car on Tom’s side as the MINI was lying on mine. Then, we began to struggle with our car. After all, there was nobody else around and we had to get it on its wheels. At the end of the day we lost about 90 minutes but we succeeded in getting the car back on its wheels with our own hands.”

 Tomorrow’s special stage will represent another real challenge for the competitors: the first 50 kilometres of the 288-kilometre special stage will take the field across the dunes of San Juan. Afterwards it will turn into one of the typical WRC-like stages around Cordoba. In addition, the stage features a 466-kilometre liaison section.

 Dakar 2017 Result SS10:

1. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / J.-P. Cottret Peugeot – 4h 47m 00s
2. S. Loeb (FRA) / D. Elena (MNC) Peugeot – 4h 54m 28s
3. C. Despres (FRA) / D. Castera (FRA) Peugeot – 4h 57m 01s
4. Y. Al-Rajhi (KSA) / T. Gottschalk (GER) MINI John Cooper Works Rally – 5h 06m 03s
5. O. Terranova (ARG) / A. Schulz (GER) MINI John Cooper Works Rally – 5h 07m 12s
... 11. B. Garafulic (CHI) / F. Palmeiro (POR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 32m 15s
... 15. M. Abu Issa (QAT) / X. Panseri (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 46m 20s
16. S. Schott (GER) / P. Fiúza (POR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 6h 06m 25s
... 27. J. Przygonski (POL) / T. Colsoul (BEL) MINI ALL4 Racing – 7h 00m 00s
... 30. S. Barros (BRA) / R. Capoani (BRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 7h 34m 43s
... 37. M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI John Cooper Works Rally – 9h 31m 30s

 Dakar 2017 Overall standing after SS10:

1. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / J.-P. Cottret Peugeot – 24h 58m 43s
2. S. Loeb (FRA) / D. Elena (MNC) Peugeot – 25h 04m 33s
3. C. Despres (FRA) / D. Castera (FRA) Peugeot – 25h 24m 23s
4. N. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) Toyota – 25h 59m 38s
5. De Villiers (RSA) / D. Von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota - 26h 41m 37s
6. O. Terranova (ARG) / A. Schulz (GER) MINI John Cooper Works Rally – 26h 44m 04s
7. B. Garafulic (CHI) / F. Palmeiro (POR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 28h 25m 17s
8. J. Przygonski (POL) / T. Colsoul (BEL) MINI ALL4 Racing – 28h 52m 23s
... 12. M. Abu Issa (QAT) / X. Panseri (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 29h 30m 57s
... 15. M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI John Cooper Works Rally – 30h 35m 16s
... 17. S. Schott (GER) / P. Fiúza (POR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 31h 26m 06s
... 20. S. Barros (BRA) / R. Capoani (BRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 32h 36m 51s
... 31. Y. Al-Rajhi (KSA) / T. Gottschalk (GER) MINI John Cooper Works Rally – 39h 51m 52s

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A third victory for Joan Barreda. Monster Energy Honda Team has now won half the stages of the Dakar 2017

The natural disasters of two days ago in Jujuy and the cancelation of the ninth stage yesterday are now history and today the Dakar Rally was back on its scheduled route. In the suffocating regions of La Rioja and San Juan, the Monster Energy Honda Team grabbed the glory with a stage win.

 The Dakar got back to relative ‘normality’ with a full-length stage, free from diversions or detours. The 449 kilometres against the clock on the route from Chilecito-San Juan turned out to be the longest one disputed so far in the 2017 edition of the race. With baking 45-degree temperatures – even reaching 50 in the saddle – riders had to endure one of the most physically gruelling stages, as well as having to deal with highly demanding navigation over the opening stretches of the stage. The second section – finishing in San Juan – was a speedier affair, albeit with technical complications. Riders will try and rest tonight in the heat of the El Zonda racing circuit.

 Joan Barreda opened the track throughout the day with near-flawless navigation except for a very slight deviation at kilometre 53. Luckily, team-mate Michael Metge was on hand to confirm the correct direction. Both, with the Honda CRF450 RALLY, were soon spearheading the field towards the destination in San Juan. Metge scored the day’s best time, clinching his first Dakar stage win in the process; although later he was sanctioned for having missed a waypoint. The French rider’s route is currently being subjected to scrutiny.

 The penalty means that the day’s top honours fall on Joan Barreda, who consequently collects a third Dakar 2017 stage victory and the second in succession. The Monster Energy Honda Team rider is fifth in the general standings, less than an hour behind the overall race leader.

 Paulo Gonçalves dropped precious time whilst searching for one of the more elusive waypoints in this Dakar. Once verified, the Portuguese put pedal to the metal in an attempt to make up the lost time. By the end of the special he had finished some eight minutes adrift of the winner on the day. 

Ricky Brabec was unable to finish in the way he had hoped. After starting the day out from behind and immediately pulling pack several positions, the American maintained a scorching pace and at one time even led the race. An apparent radiator problem put an end to his intentions and the Californian was forced to slow the pace down and eventually made it back to the bivouac with a tow from another rider.

 Barreda’s third win, together with the triumph of Brabec in the seventh stage, means the Monster Energy Honda Team tally rises to four victories – half of the stages disputed so far.

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Albufeira Racing Team: Azinhais voa para ser sétimo, Frederico segura posição

Em dia de 10ª etapa na Africa Race a equipa da Albufeira Racing Team voltou a estar hoje em destaque por força das prestações conseguidas por Alexandre Azinhais e Didier Frederico. Num dia com 423 quilómetros de especial e com as dunas a ficarem cada vez mais para trás a especial de hoje revelou-se rápida e com paisagens espectaculares como o Vale Branco ou a famosa passagem por Amoudjar na sua fase inicial, seguindo-se depois pistas com mais pedra e no final uma zona de dunas num verdadeiro 'misto' de pisos e estilos de condução.

 Os dois pilotos da Albufeira Racing Team estiveram de novo em conjunto na especial e saindo na causa do pelotão Alexandre Azinhais atacou desde o primeiro quilómetro para passar muitos adversários e ser sétimo no fecho da especial, assinando assim mais um resultado entre os dez melhores.

  "Por causa do abandono na oitava etapa fui penalizado em 36 horas e para mim a classificação final está completamente fora de questão. Por isso os objectivos passam por conseguir os melhores resultados possíveis até ao final da prova. Hoje parti no final do grupo e ataquei forte ao longo de toda a especial e ser sétimo é muito positivo. O Didier esteve novamente muito bom e manteve a nona posição da geral que quer segurar até chegarmos a Dakar."

 Comentário de Alexandre Azinhais no final de um dia longo mas muito saboroso para ambos os pilotos que continuam a mostrar rapidez e consistência nesta nona edição da prova que liga o Mónaco a Dakar.

 Didier Frederico geriu muito bem a sua corrida e ao cruzar a linha de chegada na 14ª posição mantém a nona posição da geral e aproximou-se de forma substancial do oitavo posto que está agora a apenas 18 minutos que podem ser recuperados nos 208 quilómetros daquela que é a derradeira especial a sério da prova e que ligará amanhã Akjoujt a Saint Louis já em território do Senegal.

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A 1-2-3 finish for the PEUGEOT 3008DKRs after a turbulent day

Thursday’s stage, made hazardous for competitors by some particularly tricky navigation, saw the three PEUGEOT 3008DKRs lock out the podium for the fourth time since the start of the 2017 Dakar Rally. The result has taken the three crews even further clear at the top of the leaderboard. Peterhansel/Cottret notched up their third stage victory of the event and are back in the lead, although the day’s sporting news was marred by the accidental injury sustained by biker Simon Marcic.

 • Stage 10 of the 2017 Dakar Rally provided crews with more complex navigation which caused many of them to squander chunks of time as they endeavoured to trigger the Passage Control waypoints. Meanwhile, Peterhansel/Cottret collided with a motorcycle competitor travelling in the opposite direction along a narrow trail. The 2016 winners stopped to provide the biker with assistance. Deeply affected by the incident, they stayed with him until the arrival at the scene of the medical helicopter approximately a quarter-of-an-hour after the accident. Once the minutes spent attending to the motorcyclist were subtracted from the French pair’s time, they were accredited with their third fastest time of this year’s event and they currently top the provisional standings by a margin of 5m50s. The rider, Simon Marcic, suffered an open tibia-fibula fracture.

 • Like the majority of their fellow competitors, Loeb/Elena fell foul to the day’s challenging navigation. They got lost on several occasions and dropped time triggering certain Passage Control waypoints. They recovered brilliantly during the latter part of the stage, however, to post the day’s second-fastest effort.

 • Despres/Castera did a solid job on the navigational front to round out Team Peugeot Total’s one-two-three finish. No team orders have yet been issued.

 TYPE OF TERRAIN: trial-like portions, tracks, water crossings.
CONDITIONS: frequent difficult navigation.
TEMPERATURE : between 23°C and 43°
C AVERAGE SPEED: 108 kph
TOP SPEED: 186kph

 CLASSIFICATION – LEG 10:

1. PETERHANSEL Stéphane (FRA) / COTTRET J-P. (FRA), PEUGEOT 3008DKR, 4 h 47 min 00s
2. LOEB Sébastien (FRA) / ELENA Daniel (MON), PEUGEOT 3008DKR, + 7 min 28s
3. DESPRES Cyril (FRA) / David CASTERA (FRA), PEUGEOT 3008DKR, + 10 min 01s
4. AL RAHJI Yazeed (SAU) / GOTTSCHALK Timo (GER), Mini, + 19 min 03s
5. TERRANOVA Orlando (ARG) / SCHULZ Andreas, Mini, + 20 min 12s

 PROVISIONAL STANDINGS AFTER LEG 10:

1. PETERHANSEL Stéphane (FRA) / COTTRET J-P. (FRA), PEUGEOT 3008DKR , 24h 58 min 43s
2. LOEB Sébastien (FRA) / ELENA Daniel (MON), PEUGEOT 3008DKR, + 5 min 50s
3. DESPRES Cyril (FRA) / David CASTERA (FRA), PEUGEOT 3008DKR, + 25 min 40s
4. ROMA Nani (ESP) / HARO Bravo (ESP), Toyota Hilux, + 1 h 00 min 55s
5. DE VILLIERS Giniel (ZAF) / VON ZITZEWITZ Dirk (ZAF), Toyota Hilux, + 1 h 42 min 54s 

“QUOTE, UNQUOTE…”

 Bruno Famin “The day turned out to be as complex as we had feared. We ended up securing another one-two-three finish but it was exactly the sort of run that could have tipped the other way. The stage was particularly long and hard and took the cars over some pretty improbable terrain. It was dangerous, as we saw when Stéphane Peterhansel collided with the biker Simon Marcic. I think the people behind the route went a little too far in their bid to locate the waypoints in some unlikely spots. It resulted in some dangerous situations and Stéphane and Jean-Paul were both deeply affected by what happened today. Thankfully, Simon Marcic’s life is not in danger but I believe some thought needs to go into ensuring this sort of situation happens as rarely as possible. As far as the fight for the win is concerned, Stéphane is now six minutes clear of Sébastien. They were both really very fast today, with Stéphane especially quick to begin with, and Sébastien setting the pace towards the end. The early part of Friday’s stage looks like it could be complicated as well. With a couple of hundred kilometres still to come, I think we can let the two of them get on with their battle. They’ve been having fun, although their pleasure was obviously spoiled by today’s accident.” 

 Stéphane Peterhansel (PEUGEOT 3008DKR #300) Leg 10: 1st / Overall: 1st “It was tough today. The navigation was very difficult and everyone kept getting lost in the maze of dry river beds. At one point, we were lost, and so was a biker who we came across travelling in the opposite direction. He just appeared from behind a bush and I instantly braked as hard as I could. He did too but, in doing so, he fell and we collided with him and he ended up underneath the car. We got out and saw that he was conscious but he appeared to have a broken leg. We stayed with him until the arrival of the medical helicopter. Once we got going again, we had trouble focusing and finding a decent pace. Happily, we didn’t lose our way as much as the others and we ended up having a good run. The time we spent with the motorcyclist was taken into account at the finish and we were eventually accredited with the fastest time. We’re back in the lead now, so that’s a welcome development with just two more days to go.” 

 Sébastien Loeb (PEUGEOT 3008DKR #309) Leg 10: 2nd / Overall: 2nd “We got lost three or four times. We dropped into a small valley but then realised it wasn’t the right route. We lost time in several places. It was quite hazardous and not much fun. Certain waypoints forced us to drive over terrain that wasn’t really suited to this type of car. It was even impossible in places. We went much better over the second part of the stage. We’re still in the fight and anything can still happen. Unless Stéphane hits trouble, though, it won’t be easy, especially as tomorrow’s stage kicks off with some more off-road driving.” 

 Cyril Despres (PEUGEOT 3008DKR #307) Leg 10: 3rd / Overall: 3rd “The cancellation of Wednesday’s stage upset our recent rhythm a little bit. Even so, we still managed to push reasonably hard to begin with today. We had a feeling it would be a complex job finding the right headings and spotting the correct places to climb out of certain dry river beds. David did a first-class job on the early part of the stage. After that, I didn’t push as hard as my team-mates and we ended up dropping a little ground to them.”

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Hélder Rodrigues em 5ª na etapa

Hélder Rodrigues cumpriu hoje a décima etapa do Dakar 2017 que levou os concorrentes de Chilecito a San Juan na Argentina. Uma etapa que teve um total de 751 quilómetros com um troço cronometrado de 449 km. Uma etapa muito exigente no capitulo da navegação que permitiu ao piloto oficial da Yamaha ser o 5º mais rápido do dia e subir cinco posições na classificação geral.

  “Gostei muito da etapa de hoje que era mesmo ao meu estilo. Apesar de estar muito calor consegui manter-me focado na navegação para evitar cometer erros. Era uma etapa muito exigente que obrigou a uma preparação muito cuidada do road book que segui de forma rigorosa para me manter sempre na pista certa. Com isso consegui ter uma boa prestação e alcançar o meu melhor resultado neste rali. Gostava de ter tido mais etapa destas”, salientou o piloto à chegada a San Juan.

 A 11ª etapa do Rally Dakar, que amanhã se disputa, vai ter um total de 754 quilómetros entre San Juan e Rio Cuarto com um troço cronometrado de 288 km.

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ROMA CONSOLIDATES FOURTH AND DE VILLIERS CLIMBS TO FIFTH ON DAKAR STAGE BETWEEN CHILECITO AND SAN JUAN

Overdrive Racing’s Joan Roma and Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers kept in the hunt for Toyota’s customary podium finish on the Dakar Rally by holding fourth and fifth positions in the overall standings after the 449km special stage between Chilecito and San Juan in Argentina.

 Roma and navigator Alex Haro began the day behind the French trio of Sébastien Loeb, Stéphane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres. They dropped further time to their three rivals through the first section of the stage after navigational issues, although the Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux maintained fourth of the 63 cars that started the special. Roma eventually crossed the finish line in a time of 5hr 25min 57sec, which enabled him to consolidate his position in the rankings.

 Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz enjoyed a strong stage and took advantage of the problems that befell Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen on section one of the special to move up from sixth to fifth in the overall rankings with the sixth quickest time on the day.

  Dakar rookie Rautenbach moves up from 13th to 11th 

Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach and his South African co-driver Robert Howie were once again running strongly inside the top 10 through the technical first part of the special in the second of the Toyota Gazoo Hiluxes. The Dakar rookie belied his lack of experience to record the seventh quickest time and move up from 13th to 11th in the rankings after problems befell Mikko Hirvonen and he managed to move in front of Mohammed Abu Issa.

 The Dutch crew of Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar recorded the 12th quickest time of 5hr 36min 04sec in the second of the Overdrive Toyotas, while several of their rivals hit trouble, and reached San Juan in an unofficial 15th position, having started the day in 17th.

 Alejandro Yacopini and Daniel Merlo began the day in 22nd and were unofficially placed in 19th in the results in San Juan with two of their main rivals still out in the stage.

 The Chinese crew of He Zhitao and Kai Zhao survived the rigours of the previous 48 hours in the Boundless Yong Racing Toyota run by Overdrive Racing and began the 10th stage in 37th overall. Additional support for Overdrive Racing comes from Power Electronics and Kappa clothing.

  TODAY AND TOMORROW 

Following the cancellation of the ninth stage between Salta and Chilecito, which would have been the longest day of the entire rally, action resumed with a special stage of 449km and 302km of liaison between Chilecito and San Juan. The stage began to the west of the bivouac and was split into two sections. Warmer temperatures at the bivouac in San Juan were a far cry from the miserable weather conditions that had affected the event for several days in Bolivia and northern Argentina.

 The penultimate stage of the Dakar on Friday (tomorrow) features a competitive section of 292km, split into two sections and starting to the south-east of San Juan, and around 467km of liaison between the bivouac and Río Cuarte. The day includes a run through the San Juan dunes, near the start, and is then characterised by more WRC-style flowing tracks in the Córdoba region, before the liaison to the overnight halt.

 WHAT THEY SAID:

 JOAN ROMA – Car 305 “It was the worst stage of our race but, hey, it’s part of the rally-raid game and that’s what we are playing. We knew this stage was all or nothing and it was going great until we got lost. Both Alex and I have confused ourselves. We both thought we had to turn left and it was like putting us against a wall we couldn’t cross. I think Alex is doing a great job, we had done everything very well. It also came after everything else that has happened in recent days. We have seen that after the rest day the engine had something wrong on the electronics side. At least we know now why we lacked some power. There were moments where I did not know if it was me. Today, Cyril (Despres) did very well and we did badly, so we have distanced ourselves a lot. It is difficult to aspire to the podium, because the gap is 35 minutes and the last two stages are very short. But, the race is not finished until you cross the finish line. We will see what we can do.” 

2017 Dakar Rally –SS10 result (top 7 only):

1. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) Peugeot 3008 DKR 4hr 47min 00sec
2. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Daniel Elena (MCO) Peugeot 3008 DKR 4hr 54min 28sec
3. Cyril Despres (FRA)/David Castera (FRA) Peugeot 3008 DKR 4hr 57min 01sec
4. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) John Cooper Works Rally Mini 5hr 06min 03sec
5. Orlando Terranova (ARG)/Andreas Schulz (DEU) John Cooper Works Rally Mini 5hr 07min 12sec
6. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Gazoo Hilux 5hr 09min 48sec
7. Conrad Rautenbach (ZWE)/Robert Howie (ZAF) Toyota Gazoo Hilux 5hr 21min 23sec

 2017 Dakar Rally – overall standings after SS10 (unofficial @ 23.00 CET):

1. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) Peugeot 3008 DKR 24hr 58min 43sec
2. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Daniel Elena (MCO) Peugeot 3008 DKR 25hr 04min 33sec
3. Cyril Despres (FRA)/David Castera (FRA) Peugeot 3008 DKR 25hr 24min 23sec
4. Joan Roma (ESP)/Alex Haro (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 25hr 59min 38sec
5. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Gazoo Hilux 26hr 41min 37sec
6. Orlando Terranova (ARG)/Andreas Schulz (DEU) John Cooper Works Rally Mini 26hr 44min 04sec
7. Boris Garafulic (CHL)/Filipe Palmeiro (PRT) John Cooper Works Rally Mini 28hr 25min 17sec
8. Jakub Przygonski (POL)/Tom Colsoul (BEL) John Cooper Works Rally Mini 28hr 52min 23sec
9. Romain Dumas (FRA)/Alain Guehennec (FRA) Peugeot 3008 DKR 28hr 56min 26sec
10. Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Pascal Maimon (FRA) Peugeot 2008 DKR 29hr 23min 00sec
11. Conrad Rautenbach (ZWE)/Robert Howie (ZAF) Toyota Gazoo Hilux 29hr 24min 01sec
15. Erik van Loon (NED)/Wouter Rosegaar (NED) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 30hr 49min 56sec
19. Alejandro Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Merlo (ARG) Toyota Hliux Overdrive 32hr 44min 37sec
TBA. He Zhitao (CHN)/Kai Zhao (CHN) Toyota Hilux Overdrive TBA

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SOLID PERFORMANCE BY SOUTH RACING’S FORD RANGER DRIVER BULACIA ON TRICKY DAKAR STAGE INTO SAN JUAN

Marco Bulacia and Claudio Bustos overcame one of the trickiest stages of this year’s Dakar Rally to remain firmly on course for a second successive finish with South Racing and a first in a South African-built Ford Ranger.

 The Bolivian and his Argentinean navigator set the 16th quickest time on the 449km special stage between Chilecito and San Juan in north-western Argentina and should have headed into the final two days of what has been a gruelling edition of the world’s most famous cross-country rally in an unofficial 18th overall. But the team incurred a one-hour time penalty after the special for missing a waypoint and that put them down to 25th on the day and 20th overall.

 When all the crews had reached Salta on Tuesday evening and the results were updated before the liaison section to bypass the cancelled stage into Chilecito, Eric Bernard was put back into the rankings after his indiscretion on the stage and that meant Bulacia moved back to 21st overall at the start of the stage into San Juan that was split into two sections of very differing character by a neutralised liaison.

 Several of the leading motorcyclists lost their way on the early kilometres of the special and that was a warning of what the 63 remaining car crews could expect in terms of difficult navigation. Bulacia reached the end of the first section in an excellent 15th position, as both Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen and Poland’s Jakub Przygonski had their fair share of problems.

 The Bolivian continued in his consistent pace through the second section and headed to the heat of the San Juan sunshine after setting a stage time of 5hr 50min 12sec before the penalty was imposed. Hirvonen was still making his way through the stage and would potentially knock Bulacia down a place to 21st without any further technical issues.

  “Well, we have arrived at the penultimate bivouac of the Dakar in San Juan. It certainly has been a Dakar of extremes from navigation to accidents to the weather,” said South Racing’s managing director Scott Abraham. “We came from sub-zero temperatures in Bolivia to 42°C today in San Juan. 

 “Marco had a very solid stage today. Like a lot of the competitors, he had issues with the navigation at the start and, once he had picked up the waypoints, he was running inside the top 10. Now we can look forward to the stage tomorrow.”

 Bulacia’s latest generation South Racing Ford Ranger was prepared by Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) with collaboration from South Racing. Bulacia has additional backing from YPFB, Vialco, Hard Rock Santa Cruz, BOA and Ende for his second Dakar with South Racing.

 Tomorrow (Friday), is the penultimate day of this year’s Dakar and features a stage of 292km in a route of 759km between San Juan and Río Cuarto. The special includes a run though the notorious dunes near the start and more traditional WRC-like tracks in the Córdoba region.

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Dakar 2017: 9ª Etapa anulada, Camiões seguiram directamente para o bivouac

O Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO seguiu directamente para o bivouac em Chilecito, depois da suspensão da 9ª Etapa devido a complicações e atrasos resultantes da avalanche de terça-feira no troço de ligação.

 O rali mais duro do mundo está a sofrer as consequências das tempestades de Verão que assolam as montanhas da América do Sul. Noutras edições a organização já se vira forçada a anular pelo menos uma parte de uma Etapa, mas no Dakar deste ano contabilizam-se já 1.395 km perdidos em 5 das 9 Etapas já disputadas, sendo que duas foram anuladas na sua totalidade.

 Uma avalanche na Estrada Nº 9, no troço de ligação da Caravana na província de Jujuy, bloqueou totalmente o caminho, motivo pelo qual os veículos de competição e respectivas assistências não puderam prosseguir para o bivouac instalado em Salta. A organização do Dakar não teve outra opção senão anular a Especial do dia seguinte de forma a que pilotos e equipas pudessem seguir em segurança para o acampamento montado em Chilecito, onde a Etapa de ontem deveria ter terminado. 

Com apenas 57% da prova cumpridos, o IVECO Powerstar de Gerard de Rooy mantém-se na luta pela liderança, ocupando o 3º lugar à partida da Etapa de hoje, estando a apenas 2m20s do comandante da prova, Dmitry Sotnikov, diferença que se pode alterar de um momento para outro durante uma especial, o que leva o vencedor do Dakar do ano passado a acreditar que, este ano, a vitória continua ao seu alcance. Com referiu o próprio De Rooy à chegada da especial encurtada da 8ª Etapa, “Estou no 3º lugar a dois minutos do líder. É uma diferença quase nula.” 

Os IVECO Trakker de Ton van Genugten e Wuf van Ginkel estão fortemente empenhados em subir na classificação para o top 20, depois de, em Etapas anteriores, terem perdido mais de seis horas para libertar os seus camiões da lama. No entanto, têm os camiões ideais para conseguir alcançar os seus objectivos à chegada a Buenos Aires.

 Por seu turno, Federico Villagra, ao volante do segundo IVECO Powerstar, mantém-se entre os cinco melhores pilotos do Dakar, mas o argentino continua empenhado em vencer uma Etapa e terminar o rali na melhor posição possível.

 Se a organização conseguir manter o percurso normal, a 10ª Etapa ligará Chilecito a San Juan. 

Classificação Geral – Dakar 2017

 1. Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz) 17h52m20s
2. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) +1m46s
3. Gerard de Rooy (IVECO) +2m20s
4. Federico Villagra (IVECO) +29m06s
5. Pascal de Baar (Renault) +45m34s
----------- 20. Ton van Genugten (IVECO) +6h04m25s
----------- 22. Wuf van Ginkel (IVECO) +7h18m17s

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