Author: Pat W

Dakar 2012 – Stage 8

Stage 8

Copiapo > Antofagasta

Route

After two days in the Copiapo region including the Rest Day, it is time for the rally to press on, Northwards! Today we leave the dunes and return to the mud and rocks for a 477km special which at one point climbs to 3000m. This is the longest stage of the rally, but it is expected to be fast.

Magazine (3min):

At the halfway stage of the Dakar 2012, let’s look at what’s new to the rally. First a visit to the new opening city Mara del Plata in Argentina, before looking ahead to the Peruvian stages coming later in the week which are new to this year’s event.

Stage 8 Summary:

Trouble for Despres and Goncalves..

“Fesh Fesh” is my new favourite term just for how it sounds, but the racers hate it. Fine dusty sand which gets everywhere.

Standings

Today – Bikes

Sadly, Lopez withdrew before this stage due to a fall on stage 7.

After the first seven motorcycles went through and were getting stuck, the organisers modified the course and sent the others around the area. Because of this they have decided to modify the times of those first seven riders to give them back some of the time lost, however Despres still lost time to the rest.

1. Coma (KTM)
2. Ullevalseter (KTM) +1m55s
3. Faria (KTM) +7m00s
4. Rodrigues (Yamaha) +7m10s
5. Barreda Bort (Husqvarna) +8m44s

Overall – Bikes

1. Coma (KTM)
2. Despres (KTM) +1m26s
3. Rodrigues (Yamaha) +49m01s
4. Casteu (Yamaha) +1h09m52s
5. Goncalves (Husqvarna) +1h12m11s

Coma to the lead! Goncalves also got stuck and drops a place to 5th, moving Casteu up to 4th.

Today – Cars

1. Roma (MINI)
2. Gordon (Hummer) +5s
3. Holowczyc (MINI) +2m04s
4. Peterhansel (MINI) +5m38s
5. Al-Attiyah (Hummer) +8m09s

Wow, a stage win by just 5 seconds!

Overall – Cars

1. Peterhansel (MINI)
2. Gordon (Hummer) +7m36s
3. Holowczyc (MINI) +7m48s
4. Roma (MINI) +12m27s
5. De Villiers (Toyota) +37m45s

Gordon took 5 minutes from Peterhansel, he’s up to second place and closing in.

Dakar 2012 – Stage 7

Stage 7

Copiapo > Copiapo

Route

Today’s stage is a 419km loop starting and finishing in Copiapo, running through the Atacama desert. It starts with a 154km road section before the competitors hit the soft sand of the desert, with a brief untimed neutralised section roughly halfway through before hitting the dunes.

Magazine (3min):

Tensions are rising for some! (Note – the sound mix is pretty bad here at times, the overly-dramatic music is louder than the guy talking).

Stage 7 Summary:

Incredible footage, some of those dunes are huge!

Standings

Today – Bikes

1. Coma (KTM)
2. Despres (KTM) +2m03s
3. Goncalves (Husqvarna) +2m49s
4. Rodrigues (Yamaha) +3m46s
5. Farres Guell (KTM) +6m50s

Overall – Bikes

1. Despres (KTM)
2. Coma (KTM) +7m48s
3. Rodrigues (Yamaha) +49m39s
4. Goncalves (Husqvarna) +55m33s
5. Casteu (Yamaha) +1h05m38s

Coma took a couple of minutes out of the lead. Goncalves is up a position and Casteu enters the top five with Lopez having dropped to 9th.

Today – Cars

1. Al-Attiyah (Hummer)
2. Gordon (Hummer) +7m30s
3. Peterhansel (MINI) +7m3s
4. Holowczyc (MINI) +14m572s
5. Roma (MINI) +15m191s

A 1-2 for the Hummers, and Al-Attiyah was on a real charge! A stage win by over seven minutes.

Overall – Cars

1. Peterhansel (MINI)
2. Holowczyc (MINI) +11m22s
3. Gordon (Hummer) +13m09s
4. Roma (MINI) +18m05s
5. De Villiers (Toyota) +34m07s

Peterhansel put 6 minutes on Holowczyc today, more than doubling his lead. Gordon gained a small amount of time to the rally leader and moved up to 3rd. Al-Attiyah lies 6th at +42m54s.

In the meantime, the quads are led by Alejandro Patronelli by about an hour, his brother is 3rd sandwiching Maffei.
The trucks are led by De Rooy’s Iveco, who is ahead of the Tatra of Loprais by 17 minutes with De Rooy’s teammate Stacey in 3rd before a trio of Kamaz machines.

The following day was Sunday January 8th, the Rest Day. The rally stays in the Copiaco bivouac to allow everyone to recover from the opening week’s exertions (and to allow late arrivals stuck in the sand on Stage 6 a chance to get in) before hitting the challenges of the rest of Chile and the new stages of Peru. I’ll jump straight into Monday’s Stage 8 with my next post.

A New Home for the TMR Game!

Do you like motorsport predictions games? A fan of F1, IndyCar, NASCAR, sportscars, WRC, MotoGP? Or perhaps you would like to find a way to learn the personalities involved in those series? Play the TMR Game!

The last two season have seen this blog host the ‘Too Much Racing Game’, a.k.a. ‘TMR Game’, a prediction competition in which players weekly choose up to ten drivers from a variety of major series. Players are awarded points based on finishing positions of their picks and by the last major race of the season, the player with the most points wins. The game was based on The Speedgeek’s own All-Racing Fantasy League, a private league run via email.

The TMR Game will not be continuing on this blog this season, just I said at the end of last season I’d like to use my energies writing more frequently and working on another project I have in mind. Thankfully the game will be back in 2012, at a new home!

Sebastian has generously volunteered to run what is now ‘The Motor Racing Game‘ and it now has a dedicated site: http://themotorracinggame.wordpress.com/

You think you know racing? Sebastian has a 100% record after winning both competitions held so far. Head over to the new site from Sunday if you think you can challenge him!

The rules are the same, the format is the same, there are just a few minor alterations but nothing more than the changes between 2010 and 2011.

The best part? The WRC is back! That means the game restarts THIS WEEKEND in order to accept entries for the Monte-Carlo Rally!

And don’t worry if you miss the Tuesday night deadline enforced by the Monte-Carlo schedule, there’s a one-time opportunity to join in time for the Rolex 24 at Daytona without losing points to the competition.

I really do hope that the game attracts both new and existing players and continues to grow, so if you think you know racing or you’d like a great way to learn about series you don’t follow right now, take yourself along to the TMRG site and join in!

Thanks again to Sebastian for his help over the last two years and stepping in now, to Andy for allowing me to rip off his game, and to all of the players who have entered. It’s been fun! It’s also been a bit tiring to run and I really am looking forward to enjoying this game as a player!

Dakar 2012 – Stage 6

Stage 6 (cancelled)

Fiambala > Copiapo

Route

Today the rally was supposed to have left Argentina, crossed the Andes mountains by road and then contested a short 247km special just over the Chilean border. However, the weather got the better of the ASO who were forced to cancel the crossing because the advance organisation vehicles (who precede the main event) were unable to cross the mountains the previous day. As a result the special stage was not contested and the competitors crossed the mountain in convoy.

Magazine (2min):

Why do the Dutch love Dakar trucks?

Stage 6 Summary:

No stage = no summary!

 

Standings

No change since yesterday.

Overall – Bikes

1. Despres (KTM)
2. Coma (KTM) +9m51s
3. Rodrigues (Yamaha) +47m56s
4. Lopez (Aprilia) +49m00s
5. Goncalves (Husqvarna) +54m47s

Overall – Cars

1. Peterhansel (MINI)
2. Holowcyc (MINI) +4m18s
3. Roma (MINI) +10m39s
4. Gordon (Hummer) +13m32s
5. De Villiers (Toyota) +21m01s