Image via @XraidTeam
Dakar: Peterhansel holds off Al-Attiyah, Sainz’s lead slashed
Tuesday’s run in the desert marked the longest day with a liaison run of 476km and a the timed special of 410km.
Image via @XraidTeam
Tuesday’s ninth stage of the 42nd Dakar Rally saw Stéphane Peterhansel take a narrow 15 second win over defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Rally leader Carlos Sainz dropped more than six minutes on the 476km special to sit just 24 seconds ahead of Al-Attiyah in the overall classification.
Peterhansel, Al-Attiyah slash Sainz’s lead
Sainz took on Al-Attiyah and Peterhansel for the victory from Wadi Al Dawasir to Haradh.
Tuesday’s run in the desert marked the longest day with a liaison run of 476km and a the timed special of 410km.
Taking on sand surrounded by canyons with some of the most incredible sights of the Saudi Arabian desert, the leading trio were separated by a mere 16s after the first 100km.
Sainz, though, began to lose time.
The rally leader fell further and further off the pace while Peterhansel began to eek out an advantage over Al-Attiyah.
Although Sainz recovered his lost pace in the final 100km, he crossed the line 6m31 minutes behind stage winner Peterhansel with defending Dakar champ Al-Attiyah in second place.
Sainz holds a slim 24s lead over Al-Attiyah in the overall standings with Peterhansel a further 6m14 off the pace.
“It was good because the buggy is fast,” Al-Attiyah told the Dakar website. “We tried to do our best and today I think we did a really good stage. I’m quite happy to close the gap with Carlos. I’m really quite happy today, Mathieu did a good job.”
South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers was P8 on the stage while punctures were once again part of the day’s game with Fernando Alonso losing time due to a tyre change.
The double F1 World Champion was 13m off the pace on the stage with the ninth fastest time.
De Villiers, chasing a second Dakar victory, slipped 57m57 off the overall pace.
Peter Van Merksteijn went from the highs to lows of the Dakar as, P13 on Monday’s stage, he crashed on Tuesday.
The Dutchman struggled to repair his Toyota and leeched time to the leaders.
Isidre Esteve Pujol didn’t take the start while Ronan Chabot rolled his Toyota.
First stage win for Quintanilla
Husqvarna rider Pablo Quintanilla put in his best performance of the 42nd Dakar as he took the bike victory ahead of Toby Price.
The Chilean rider built up a small advantage over classification lead Ricky Brabec midway through the stage and continued to add to it.
Brabec was third on Tuesday, some four minutes down. As such his lead has been cut to 20m53.
Lorenzo Santolino was forced to call it quits on his Dakar as the rider, who was 16th overall, was suffering with pain and was advised not to ride on Tuesday.
Daniel Albero Puig is also out of the rally after breaking his Husqvarna’s engine 131km in Special Stage 9.
Three South Africans remain in the bike classification with Taye Perry still flying the flag high despite her slight 5ft frame.
She was 51st on Stage 9 while Kirsten Landman was P63. Stuart Gregory is struggling to keep pace with the ladies, dropping to 74th.
Quads, SSVs and trucks
Ignacio Casale set the pace on Tuesday’s stage as the quads returned to the action after a day of mourning.
Casale won the day while Giovanni Enrico came through to finish second. He, however, is competing under the Dakar Experience formula and is not eligible for the overall classification.
Alexandre Giroud was third with the top three separated by 11s!
Blade Hildebrand, another rider under the Dakar Experience formula, was the one to beat in the SSV classification.
He won Stage 9 by 58s ahead of Mitchell Guthrie with standings leader Casey Currie third fastest.
In the trucks it was yet another win for Andrey Karginov with the Kamaz driver beating Siarhei Viazovich by 3m19.
General classification top ten
1 Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz – Mini – 35h11m54s
2 Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel – Toyota – 35h12m18s – 24s
3 Stephane Peterhansel and Portugal Paulo Fiuza – Mini – 35h18m32s – 6m38s
4 Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Konstantin Zhiltsov – Toyota – 35h46m10s – 34m16s
5 Orlando Terranova and Bernardo Graue – Mini – 36h1m35s – 49m41s
6 Giniel de Villiers and Alex Haro – Toyota – 36h9m51s – 57m57s
7 Bernhard ten Brinke and Tom Colsoul – Toyota – 36h20m53s – 1h8m59s
8 Mathieu Serradori and Fabian Lurquin – Century – 36h36m14s – 1h24m20s
9 Yasir Seaidan and Alexy Kuzmich – Mini – 37h47m29s – 2h35m35s
10 Fernando Alonso and Spain Marc Coma – Toyota – 38h29m17s – 3h17m23s
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