CARS News from stage 12 - updated 17.01.2013: Dakar 2013 - Argentina/Chile stage 12 1st start (GMT-3) : 10:00 AM

Dakar 2013 - Argentina/Chile
stage 12  1st start (GMT-3) : 10:00 AM

15:26 - car
Peterhansel in control

By finishing in the top 5 again today, Stéphane Peterhansel neutralised the ambitions of his closest rivals. He still reigns over the general standings with a lead of 50'21" over the Toyota driven by Giniel de Villiers and 1:31'06" over his Mini team-mate, Spaniard Nani Roma, who won today's stage.


he third Mini in the top 5, driven by Russian Leonid Novitskiy, lies 3'41" behind the Spaniard. In fifth place with his BMW X5, Orlando Terranova rounds off the potential success for the X-Raid team, who could finish with four cars amongst the first five in Santiago.


Carlos Sousa's Great Wall occupies sixth place, 2:39'46" behind the leader, and this represents a very fine performance to celebrate three years of presence on the Dakar for the Chinese constructor.




14:51 - car
319 - Vigouroux back on track

Protruck Chevrolet driver Eric Vigouroux has managed to resume racing on the special and should soon reach the 303-km point.


14:29 - car
305 - Roma wins the special!

With a lead of 4'18", Nani Roma has just sped over the finishing line to win the special, grabbing first place from Robby Gordon right at the end.



14:27 - car
315 - Gordon finishes in first, but is under threat from Nani Roma

Robby Gordon should be the quickest driver of the day, having reached the finishing line with a time of 3:40'52". However, Nani Roma has been very quick on this special and could still win. Behind Gordon, for the moment, Giniel de Villiers is 7" behind in second, Stéphane Peterhansel 1'45” behind in third, followed by Lucio Alvarez and Ronan Chabot, respectively 5'07" and 6'00" behind Gordon.




14:03
Setbacks in the sand…

At the 221 km point, there is a dune that finishes in a peak and on the way up, crossing the peak crest of the dune seems to be causing problems.


Many vehicles are in difficulty, with Bernard Errandonea and Christian Lavieille currently stuck, as well as Dutch biker Martinus Huigevoort and his countryman Caspar Van Heertum.


A little further, after 239 km, Eric Vigouroux's Protruck is experiencing problems, just a few kilometres in front of the struggling quad ridden by Poland's Lukasz Laskawiec… and these are merely just a few examples...

13:21 - car
315 - Gordon is getting away

After 222 km, American Robby Gordon boasts a lead of 2'13" over Stéphane Peterhansel, and 4'17" over Nani Roma.


Fourth placed Giniel de Villiers trails Gordon by 6'10", seventeen seconds ahead of Orlando Terranova. Following them, Carlos Sousa and his Great Wall are in sixth, 8'48" behind the stage leader.



13:05 - car
309 - Transmission problems for Chicherit

Stuck for a long time at the 121-km point, Guerlain Chicherit has resumed racing. He has been experiencing problems with his transmission.



12:37 - car
315 - Gordon confirms after 169 km

At the half-way point, Robby Gordon has the lead again in front of Stéphane Peterhansel by 1'53", Nani Roma by 3'41", Giniel de Villiers by 3'59", Orlando Terranova by 5'50" and Carlos Sousa by 06'01".


Guerlain Chicherit, who achieved an excellent time on the first section, is at a standstill in the sand, shortly after 121 km.

11:24 - car
309 - Chicherit ahead of Gordon after 37 km

14th to start the day, Guerlain Chicherit has taken advantage of the tracks laid by previous vehicles to go flat out and has achieved the best time on the first portion of the special with a lead of 33" over Robby Gordon.


11:04 - car
315 - Gordon quickest after 37 km

The American's Hummer is the first to pass through the first time check point, leading Stéphane Peterhansel by 17", Giniel de Villiers by 20", Bernard Errandonea by 56", Lucio Alvarez by 1'26" and Ronan Chabot by 1'41".



10:19 - car
015 - The cars start the special

Robby Gordon put the pedal to the metal to launch his Hummer into the special at 12.08 PM local time. Ronan Chabot and Lucio Alvarez will be in his rear-view mirror. 94 cars are still in the race.




06:25 - car
445 - Way back in the general standings

94 cars will be taking starter's orders on the day's special. With a time of 57:16'03", the last man out will be British driver Matthew O'Hare, one of the drivers for the Race2Recovery team. A former soldier, he saw his best friend lose a leg during a tour of duty in Afghanistan.


This is also the case for his co-pilot Philip Gillespie, who had to be amputated after being injured in the call of duty.


However, neither of them has abandoned their dream: to take part in the Dakar… They are in last place, but still there, and that is what is most important...



05:56 - car
Behind the leaders in the car category (cont.)

Xavier Foj (22nd in the general standings) leads the T2 category, which groups together the diesel powered production vehicles. He leads Frenchman Nicolas Gibon and Emirati driver Abdulla Alheraiz.


In T3, the two Polaris buggies of William Alcaraz (driving alone and 36th in the general standings) and Nicolas Duclos (accompanied by co-pilot Sebastien Delaunay) lead the Can-Am driven by Chilean Francisco Lopez Balart.




05:32 - car
Behind the leaders in the car category

Yesterday's shortened special put a spotlight on the performances of the buggies on sandy terrain. In the general standings, they are grouped behind the Haval Great Wall driven by Carlos Sousa, who is putting in a first class performance by holding sixth place.


The three SMGs driven by Guerlain Chicherit, Ronan Chabot and Bernard Errandonea, as well as the MD Rallye of Pascal Thomasse occupy seventh to tenth place.



05:27 - car
Gordon hits the road

Yesterday's winner of a special shortened due to flash flooding, Robby Gordon was the first to set off towards the Paso San Francisco to leave Argentina and enter Chile.


He was followed by Ronan Chabot, Lucio Alvarez and Bernard Errandonea. The general standings leader Stéphane Peterhansel will set off in sixth place today.



15:45
Fiambala-Copiapo: the return to Chile

After a 392-km road section, the competitors on the Dakar 2013 will tackle a 319-km timed section. The rally will cross the Andes Mountains from the east to the west this time, via the Paso San Francisco, before dropping down into the Atacama Desert to taste all the types of difficulties that can be faced in the rally-raid discipline.


For the large portions of dunes located in the middle of the special, the riders and crews must climb these “monuments” and avoid getting stuck in hollows that are just as big. On the tracks, the stage will be no easy task, since the rocks and stones, though scattered, could even bring the quickest competitors to a sudden halt.


The participants who managed to reach Copiapó without making mistakes will have scored precious points in the final battle. Following the neutralisation of their special yesterday, the car and truck crews will probably have to tame their frustration, whilst the bikers, still closely grouped behind Cyril Despres, will have to battle to make the difference.


The leading quad riders are relatively safe in terms of position, even if this stage is likely to count among the more decisive on the rally.




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