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

DAKAR RALLY 2013

Argentina/Chile -stage 14

15:02 - car
302 - Finish: Peter's eleventh!

Stéphane Peterhansel took his eleventh Dakar to go with those he'd already won in the motorcycle and car categories at the end of an edition which he led almost from the beginning to the end.


Another former Dakar winner, Giniel de Villiers, drove his Toyota to second place, ahead of Leonid Novitskiy and Nani Roma's Minis.


Orlando Terranova made it four out of five in the Top 5 for the X-Raid team, while Carlos Sousa finished sixth at the wheel of his Haval Great Wall.



14:55 - car
305 - Finish 2: Roma fastest!

Nani Roma has pipped Orlando Terranova by 13" at the end of the special. The Spaniard crossed the finish line just a few seconds after Stéphane Peterhansel, who was 3'43" slower than his teammate.



14:39 - car
Finish 2: Changes in the Top 5

Lucio Álvarez (+18") and Giniel de Villiers (+1'14") have driven their Toyotas to second and third place, respectively, behind Orlando Terranova. Leonid Novitskiy and his Mini are currently sitting in sixth place, 2'21" back.



14:34 - car
Finish 2: First time splits

Orlando Terranova has clocked the best time so far (1 h 44'23"). Guerlain Chicherit (+1'52") and Robby Gordon (+2'04") are the only other drivers who've already finished.



11:40 - car
350 - Alcaraz in trouble

The T3 classification leader William Alcaraz, driving solo in his Polaris, stopped next to the road at km 39 for 20 minutes.


It looks like he's up and running again. Alcaraz has over eight hours on another Frenchman, Nicolas Duclos.



11:34 - car
305 - Finish 1: Roma grabs the special!

Nani Roma takes it by 1'24" over Orlando Terranova and 1'31" over Lucio Álvarez. Stéphane Peterhansel drove cautiously and finished 3'55" behind his teammate.


Now, the drivers will have to tackle a 220 km link section before the final 15 timed kilometres.




11:27 - car
313 - Finish 1: Terranova ahead of Álvarez

The results will probably change, but right now Orlando Terranova leads the car special with 7" on Lucio Álvarez, 33" on Giniel de Villiers, 51" on fourth-placed Guerlain Chicherit, 1'24" on Robby Gordon and 1'41" on Leonid Novitskiy.

Carlos Sousa crossed the finish line 2'59" down after having to stop during the special.


11:06 - car
305 - Km 86: Roma firing on all cylinders!

Nani Roma's still in the lead in the car race. He's expanded his lead to 1'46" over Orlando Terranova and Giniel de Villiers.



11:02 - car
352 - Coffaro hit by a mechanical

Venezuela's Nunzio Coffaro has stopped 42 km into today's special with a broken suspension component. He's trying to repair it while he waits for his assistance truck.


10:59 - car
Terranova leads De Villiers after 86 km

Argentinean Orlando Terranova has a slim lead of 2" over South African Giniel de Villiers and his Toyota. Guerlain Chicherit (+31") holds the provisional third place ahead of Leonid Novitskiy (+1'03") and Robby Gordon (+1'07"). Spaniard Nani Roma is still missing from this classification.




10:49 - car
308 - Sousa at a standstill

The Great Wall driver Carlos Sousa has come to a stop in a hilly zone shortly before km 74 of today's special, in what looks like a run-off area. Is it a flat? Or a mechanical, perhaps?



10:46 - car
313 - Terranova fastest at km 86

The BMW driver has moved into the lead at the second checkpoint of today's special, ahead of Guerlain Chicherit and Robby Gordon. We're now waiting for Nani Roma in order to get a clearer picture of the gaps.



10:29 - car
302 - Peterhansel tenth after 41 km

With a comfortable lead in the overall, Peterhansel does just enough to post the provisional tenth best time at km 41, 1'42" behind teammate Nani Roma.



10:25 - car
305 - Roma faster than Gordon at km 41!

The Spaniard has just taken the lead from American Robby Gordon, who held the previous best time, by 34".



10:13 - car
308 - Carlos Sousa in third place

Portugal's Carlos Sousa and his Great Wall have just clocked the provisional third best time, 12" down on Robby Gordon's reference and tied on time with Guerlain Chicherit.



10:12 - car
500 - Gordon ahead of De Villiers after 41 km

American Robby Gordon is in command just before the halfway point, with a time of 30'30" for the first 41 kilometres. He leads Giniel de Villiers by 8", Guerlain Chicherit by 12", Lucio Álvarez and Orlando Terranova by 25", and Leonid Novitskiy by 44".



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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