TRUCKS News from stage 14 ... unfolded 19.01.2013: DAKAR RALLY 2013 Argentina/Chile -stage 14

DAKAR RALLY 2013

Argentina/Chile -stage 14

15:47 - truck
Finish: The Kamazs make it a 1-2-3!


Eduard Nikolaev, Ayrat Mardeev and Andrey Karginov. A podium with a deep hue of Kamaz Master's colours. Just under 38 minutes separate the Top 3 at the end of the 2013 Dakar.


Gerard de Rooy was the best Team Iveco driver, missing the podium by less than four minutes. Martin Kolomy and Ales Loprais (Tatra) finished fifth and sixth, ahead of Pieter Versluis and Marcel van Vliet (Man).


Les Tatra sont cinquième et sixième, Martin Kolomy devant Ales Loprais, précédant les Man de Pieter Versluis et Marcel Van Vliet

15:40 - truck
Finish 2: Changes and more changes!

Pieter Versluis and his Man have clocked the best time so far, 2'04" quicker than Gerard de Rooy's.


Fourth-placed Ayrat Mardeev (+2'39") produced the strongest performance of any Kamaz driver to finish ahead of Martin Kolomy (Tatra, +3'12") and teammates Eduard Nikolaev (+5'56") and Andrey Karginov (+7'29").



15:37 - truck
Finish 2: The Ivecos in the lead

Gerard de Rooy holds a provisional best time of 2 h 04'44", with teammate Miki Biasion 13" back. Czech Ales Loprais (Tatra) lies in third place, 15" down.

Andrey Karginov is 5'25" behind at the wheel of the first Kamaz.

12:01 - truck
509 - Finish 1: Mardeev finishes second to defend podium spot

With a time of 1 h 43'38", Pieter Versluis was the fastest driver in today's 111 km special. Russian Ayrat Mardeev put the pedal on the metal from the very beginning and posted the second best time, 45" down on the winner but 12" ahead of Gerard de Rooy.


He's now certain of taking third spot on the podium, just behind his two Kamaz teammates. At 1'14", Martin Kolomy was the third fastest driver today, followed by Miki Biasion at 1'53".



11:29 - truck
511 - Van den Brink turns over

Dutchman Martin van de Brink's Ginaf turned over at km 63 of today's special. Several truck drivers are helping him put it upright, it'll just take a few minutes. None of the crew members were hurt.

10:54 - truck
Km 41: Behind De Rooy

Gerard de Rooy is still in command, but the gaps are getting smaller behind him.

His main rival for third place and current holder of this position, Ayrat Mardeev, is second at 21", followed by Ales Loprais at 40" and Miki Biasion at 1'14".

Overall leader Eduard Nikolaev is fifth at 1'41".


10:44 - truck
500 - De Rooy in command after 41 km

Dutchman Gerard de Rooy has a 2'37" lead on Russian Andrey Karginov. The Iveco driver must make up a deficit of just over 4'30" on Ayrat Mardeev, another Kamaz driver, if he is to take the bottom step of the podium.



09:57 - truck
The truck race is on

Andrey Karginov and Gerard de Rooy's trucks are opening today's special, which will decide whether the Iveco driver takes the bottom step of the podium or, on the contrary, the Kamazs make it a 1-2-3 in Santiago.

Karginov started at 11:48 am local time.



06:53 - car
The cars and trucks hit the road

The 93 cars still in the race have been in transit towards the start of today's special for half an hour. As for the 61 trucks left, they've been moving towards the competitor gathering point for several minutes now.



05:44
Start delayed

The cloud cover is very low (roughly 200 m) over the start of today's special, which means helicopters can't take off at the moment.

Therefore, the start of the motorcycle race has been delayed by an hour for safety reasons. It's also raining on the course of today's stage.




17:39
La Serena - Santiago: the “final straight”

With 111 km of special stage remaining, a long neutralised zone and then 15 km of "Super Special", the last stage of the Dakar 2013 should not be taken lightly. To reach the Chilean capital, the rally's heroes must still stay concentrated on fast tracks where driving pleasure will be combined with the outlook of accomplishing their mission.


After a section of road, the riders and drivers will then tackle a short showcase style route on which they can delight the spectators with skids and jumps. This will be a foretaste of the thrills the competitors will experience during the grand finishing ceremony organised the day after in front of the La Moneda palace, on Constitution Square, or ‘Plaza de la Constitución' in the local lingo.


Nevertheless, the competitors will have to avoid getting carried away tomorrow, because whilst the gaps in the quad and car general standings are pointing towards a calmer finish, in the bike and truck categories the results are not yet engraved in stone. After all, the Dakar has built its legend on last minute surprises…



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