Showing posts with label dakar stage 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dakar stage 2. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Stage 2 - Driver Quotes
Stephane Peterhansel
The start of the special was fast, so it wasn't possible to steal a march on any of the other drivers, but we felt better at the end when it started to bump around a bit and get trickier around the dunes. We managed to gain some time back on Holowczyc, but especially we had fun at the end.
Robby Gordon
It was a good run for our Hummer, the speed of the car ran good. The tyres were good but I clobbered one rock following De Villers and got a puncture. So without the puncture I think we could have won. But the most important thing is that we kept the car on the race track all the time and that we haven't had any issues – we've been cruising very comfortably the whole time.
Nasser AlAttiyah
We started in 38th position and we passed a lot of cars. We broke the window and it was very, difficult because we took a lot of time to pass many cars. But I said we just had to keep a good strategy and had to show that we are still here. I don't know how much time we took, but I hope we have a good time tomorrow. We must be more clever.
Krzysztof Holowczyc
Stephane beat me, but I accept that, because he is the best driver on this rally in my opinion, like I accept Nasser's victory in a different car. In my opinion this stage was not so easy. There was some bumpy stuff and, for me, the suspension is not correctly prepared for me. It was too stiff, I was moving a lot and my back is not strong enough so I had to slow down.
Nani Roma
In truth, it was difficult for us. We started in 13th place and after 30 km we caught up with other cars and started to suffer due to the dust. It was like that for at least 30 to 50 km! So, to get a good time at the finishing line shows just what a good day we had. Yesterday, we didn't drive well but today we're really happy. We're on the right track and it's perfect for the mountain tracks we'll see tomorrow.
Jakub Przygonski
The beginning was very, very fast. I think it was too fast and closed off on the gas. I was scared about the rear mousse, but it was not a good idea as I was riding too slowly. Then, after refuelling it was sand and it was a nice stage with the dunes. This part was very good for me and I'm happy that I'm here now.
Joan Barreda
It's an incredible experience to be riding amongst the leaders and following guys like Coma, Chaleco or Jakub, because you have to ride fast and you learn a lot. I'm overjoyed. At the end, I eased off a bit, because my aim is to finish the Dakar and I didn't want to have a crash on just the 2nd day, but I'm really happy with how I rode today.
Cyril Despres
The first special was a good warm-up and this second special has done my confidence good... It was a good day overall. There was a bit of dust this morning overtaking, but most of the riders gave me enough room to pass, so I'd like to thank them. As for the second part of the special, it wasn't as easy on sand that was quite soft. All in all though, it was a pretty good day”.
Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez
I opened the road until the 240 km point, with Marc following me, but then when we got to the dunes, he overtook me. I found it a bit difficult to follow, because I had a problem with my GPS aerial and I'm also quite tired. But these first two days of racing were important for me, to see how I am physically. I'm happy to have reached the finishing line. For the moment, I'm not thinking about the general standings, but I think there was a lot to lose today, because the special was very long and tricky.
Marc Coma
The start of the special was very fast today. Chaleco and me were riding at top speed and let me tell you, the Aprilia is very, very quick. After that, we arrived at the second part of the special with sand and dunes. It was a lot more technical, with some navigation to do as well. I took the lead and kept riding at a good pace. I'm happy because I didn't get lost. So, it's been a good day for me!Watch Dakar Rally and F1 races live here:
TheFastCastorVideo: The stage summary - Stage 2 (Santa Rosa de la Pampa - San Rafael)
Coma Sets the tone, Al Attiyah bounces back
The Coma rocket has taken off. Second yesterday, the title holder has put some distance between himself and his main rivals for victory, starting with Cyril Despres, who is 2'52” behind in the general standings. In the care race, Nasser Al Attiyah put on a show to win the day's special stage and claw himself to within 8'47” of Stephane Peterhansel, the new general standings leader.It is almost a different sport. With 295 kilometres covered in the special stage for the bikes, the gaps recorded are starting to be counted in minutes. Marc Coma, who already fired a warning shot over his rivals' bows by putting in the second best time yesterday, did not take long to seize the opportunity to put some distance between his bike and the chasing pack. Having set of in second place behind Francisco Lopez, yesterday's winner, the title holder won the 17th stage of his career on the Dakar, opening the road during the entire final part of the route.
Some way behind the Spaniard, a traditional confrontation with Cyril Despres fell into place. After a gentle start to the competition yesterday, he was obliged to start in 13th place. On the tracks, he overtook Olivier Pain, then Pal Anders Ullevalseter and Quinn Cody, picking up the best time at the half-way point. However, in the final sandy section over the last 50 kilometres, Coma made up for time lost and even built up a lead of 1'18” over Despres. In the general standings, he takes command with a lead of 2'30” over Francisco Lopez. The provisional podium is completed by Despres, who nonetheless lags behind Coma by 2'52”. On this Dakar, third place on the stages seems to be reserved for surprise packages. After Pizzolito yesterday, it was the turn of Joan Barreda to do combat with the masters in the discipline, finishing 2'33” behind Coma on the stage. The Spaniard, who in particular won two stages on the recent Rally of Morocco, is perhaps following in the tyre-tracks of his elder countryman. In fact, the Husqvarna rider was born in Castellon, a town that has welcomed stages of the Dakar three times.
The title holder also made his rivals sit up and take notice in the car category, and from a long way back too! Following a day when he came close to catastrophe, Nasser Al Attiyah began in 38th position on the starting line. It would appear that the mishaps and tiredness of the day before did not diminish the appetite or health of last year's rally winner. On the route to San Rafael, he overtook no less than 17 cars within the space of 290 kilometres! At the half-way point, he already boasted the 12th best time, but his festival was far from finished.
Ahead of him, the situation appeared to be pointing in favour of Stephane Peterhansel, even though Robby Gordon made an excellent account of himself, showing at CP1 that his Hummer could dominate the Minis. After 140 km of racing, he had a lead of approximately forty seconds over Holowczyc. However, in the dunes the situation changed, handing the advantage to “Peter”, who grabbed the fastest time to take hold of the lead in the general standings as well. But Nasser was hurtling towards the finishing line, with the dunes as an ally at the end of the day's route. On the line, he beat the time of Stephane Peterhansel by 54 seconds. The Hummer clan had little to smile about yesterday. With two cars on the podium today, there is plenty to smile about now.
In the quad race, Uruguayan Sergio Lafuente won a second special stage following 295 km of time racing that were significantly more meaningful than the victory of the day before in Santa Rosa. With this win, Sergio Lafuente has made a noteworthy emergence amongst the challengers for the title in Lima and obviously keeps hold of his place on top of the general standings for the category, leading Alejandro Patronelli by 6'34” and Tomas Maffei by 9'42”. Marcos Patronelli, two times winner in 2009 and 2010, is 9'48” ahead of the surprising rookie and youngest competitor in the event, Lucas Bonetto.
At the wheel of his Iveco truck, Gerard De Rooy bathed himself in happy memories on the day's stage. The team leader had not won a stage since the 2009 edition, on a route that also started from Santa Rosa de la Pampa. The Dutchman has done it again this year, with the satisfaction of seeing his team-mate and cousin Hans Stacey put another Iveco on the day's podium. As leader of the general standings, De Rooy may still cast a nervous glance towards the performances of the young drivers on the Kamaz team: Nikolaev finished on the 2nd step of the podium, whilst Ayrat Mardeev finished in 4th position.
Photos of all the stages:
Index of Photos
More Videos:
Index of Videos
Watch Dakar Rally and F1 races live here:
TheFastCastorDeRooy wins stage 2
Seven trucks amongst the elite drivers in the category have crossed the finishing line in Nihuil, and Dutchman Gerard De Rooy (Iveco) is still the quickest over the 295-km timed section, with a total time of 3 hours and 10 minutes. Following him are Russian Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz), 3'21” behind, De Rooy's countryman Hans Stacey (Iveco), 4'56” behind, in third, Russian Ayrat Mardeev (Kamaz), 4'58” behind in provisional fourth place and, rounding off the Top 5, the Tatra of Ales Loprais, 6'07” behind.
The five leading drivers of the day are followed by Kazakh Artur Ardavichus (Kamaz), 6'30” behind, Italian Miki Biasion (Iveco), 9'40e behind, and Dutchman Marcel Van Vliet (Man), who lags behind by 9'56” and losses the lead in the truck general standings as a result.
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TheFastCastorNasser Al attiyah wins stage 2
Peterhansel was expected to triumph over the day's 290 kilometres, but it was another former Dakar winner who was victorious at the wheel of his new machine. Nasser Al-Attiyah was the quickest today by 54 seconds. Behind him, after Stephane Peterhansel, the Qatari's team-mate Robby Gordon confirmed that the imposing American 4x4s were reliable in these types of conditions. Holowczyc and Roma complete the Top 5, shared between the Maxi Hummers and the Mini All4.
The result of this second stage means that Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel has taken control of the general standings with a lead of 2'28” over American Robby Gordon (Hummer), who only leads the Mini of Polish driver Holowczyc by 5 seconds. Giniel De Villiers (SAF) in his Toyota is fourth, 3'49” behind, and Nani Roma is in fifth place, 5'32” behind, whilst currently leading Nasser Al-Attiyah who, by shear force of will, picked up sixth place today.
Watch Dakar Rally and F1 races live here:
TheFastCastorThe Trucks are on the road to Mendoza
Dutchman Marcel Van Vliet set off in his Man truck to San Rafael from Santa Maria de la Pampa this morning at 9.02 AM local time, to tackle the second Argentine stage of the Dakar 2012. He was followed by the Iveco of his countryman Gérard De Rooy, second on the first day's special stage between Mar del Plata and Santa Maria. Afterwards, German Franz Echter (Man) and former two times world rally champion Miki Biasion (ITA) in his Iveco truck set off on the 487 kilometre link stage leading to today's special stage.
Watch Dakar Rally and F1 races live here:
TheFastCastor
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