Stage nine of the 2014 Dakar Rally has seen two competitors extend their class lead while two had their leads significantly.
Marc Coma won stage nine by a minute and forty-one seconds over Joan Barreda Bort with Cyril Despres rounding out the podium five minutes and twenty-eight seconds back. Coma leads Barreda Bort by forty minutes and nineteen seconds in the overall standings with Jordi Viladoms making it an all-Spainish podium, a hour thirty-eight minutes and forty-five seconds back. Despres moved up to eighth into the standings just under two and a half hours back of Coma.
American Mike Johnson finished two hours eleven minutes and nineteen seconds back of Coma on stage nine it fifty-eighth place. Johnson is seventy-eighth, over thirty-three seconds back.
Sebastian Husseini ended Ignacio Casale's three stage winning streak by defeating the Chilean in his home country by twenty-four minutes and fifty-eight seconds. Rafał Sonik finished third, thirty-two seconds back of Casale with Sergio Lafuente twenty-seven seconds back of the Pole in fourth.
Casale remains the leader in the quad class, twenty-two minutes and thirty-nine seconds ahead of Lafuente. Sonik is forty-six minutes and twenty-eight seconds back in third with Husseini fourth, still over three hours back of Casale.
Stéphane Peterhansel won his third stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally by two minutes and seventeen seconds over Mini teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah. Nani Roma finished eleven minutes and thirty-six seconds back in third with Orlando Terranova and Giniel de Villiers rounding out the top five.
Roma's lead over Peterhansel is down to twelve minutes and ten seconds with four stages to go. Terranova is third, fifty-four minutes and thirty-three seconds back with Al-Attiyah and de Villiers tied for fourth at fifty-nine minutes and forty-six minutes back.
Carlos Sainz had a dreadful stage finishing in twenty-sixth nearly two hours back of Peterhansel. He has fallen back to eighth nearly three and a half hours back of Roma.
BJ Baldwin finished nineteenth, an hour thirteen minutes and twenty-eights seconds back of Peterhansel. Robby Gordon came home in twenty-eighth, nearly two hours back. Gordon is twenty-third, nine hours and forty minutes back. Baldwin is thirty-first, over fourteen hours behind Roma.
Andrey Karginov won his second consecutive stage today by nineteen minutes and seven seconds over Gérard de Rooy, cutting the Dutchman's lead in class down to thirteen minutes and twenty-eight seconds. Eduard Nikolaev finished twenty-eight minutes and forty-seven seconds back. He is an hour twenty-one minutes and forty-one seconds of de Rooy in the overall truck standings.
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Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Chili Bowl Begins Tonight
Tulsa, Oklahoma in the middle of January has been the home for one of the kickoff events of the United States motorsports schedule for twenty-eight years now and tomorrow kicks off the highlight event of the year for midget car racing: The Chili Bowl.
The Tulsa Expo Center has once again been transformed into quarter-mile dirt oval with a plethora of names entered for a chance at the Golden Driller. Kevin Swindell became the first driver to win the event back-to-back years in 2011 but back-to-back wasn't enough. The Tennessee-native has won four consecutive Chili Bowls and a win this weekend would not only be an unprecedented five consecutive but would tie his father Sammy for the most Chili Bowl victories at five, something that took Sammy over twenty years to accomplish.
The Swindell family has held Tulsa hostage for the last five years with Sammy winning in 2009, a year prior to Kevin going on his four-year binge but that hasn't stop the best drivers from showing up and giving it their all to perform a coup.
Four other past Chili Bowl winners are entered along with the Swindells. Damion Gardner is the most recent driver not named Swindell event and he returns looking for his second. Gardner won the USAC/CRA Sprint Car title last year. Tim McCreadie won in 2006 but then suffered a massive accident in 2009 that left him with a broken vertebra. He finished fourth last year. Gardner and McCreadie will be teammates with Gardner driving the #47 and McCreadie in the #47X for Andy Bondio. The other past winners are Cory Kruseman and Tracy Hines. Kruseman is a two-time winner of the event.
The list of other potential suitors to knock the Swindell's off their throne include Kyle Larson, Chad Boat and Brady Bacon, three drivers who were running up front before mechanical failures ended their attempts to dethrone the Swindells. Boat looks to join his father Billy as a Chili Bowl winner and join the Swindells as the only father-son pairing to win the event. Billy Boat won in 1997.
Dave Darland has accomplished a lot over his career but winning the Chili Bowl is one thing left on his to-do list. Christopher Bell is coming off winning the USAC National Midget championship in his rookie season in 2013. Bell's 2013 Chili Bowl saw him advance from the C-Main but fall shot in the B-Main. Bryan Clauson had to advance from the B-Main to get any crack at the Swindells last year. This year the defending Sprint Car champion Clauson returns as well as Jerry Coons, Jr.
Kasey Kahne will drive the #71, a car that the late-Jason Leffler had been working on at the time of his death last June. Leffler was the winning car owner when Damion Gardner won in 2008. The 2013 World of Outlaws champion and Darryn Pittman returns to Tulsa to compete against his WoO car owner Kahne.
Other drivers entered for this year's Chili Bowl include two-time USAC Silver Crown champion Bobby East, USAC Triple Crown winner JJ Yeley, 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 2013 USAC National Midget Pavement champion Darren Hagen, PJ Jones, Chris Windom, Rico Abreu, Kyle O'Gara, AJ Fike, Dillon Welch and Jon Stanbrough.
The top three finishers of each nights A-Main will qualify automatically for Saturday night's feature event with the remaining drivers filling out Saturday night qualifiers to race their way into the 55-lap. Last year, enough drivers were entered that the qualifying races had to start with a K-Main. The top six drivers from each B-Main on Saturday will fill out the A-Main.
Stay tuned to find out who qualifies directly for the Chili Bowl final and who will have to work to do come Saturday.
The Tulsa Expo Center has once again been transformed into quarter-mile dirt oval with a plethora of names entered for a chance at the Golden Driller. Kevin Swindell became the first driver to win the event back-to-back years in 2011 but back-to-back wasn't enough. The Tennessee-native has won four consecutive Chili Bowls and a win this weekend would not only be an unprecedented five consecutive but would tie his father Sammy for the most Chili Bowl victories at five, something that took Sammy over twenty years to accomplish.
The Swindell family has held Tulsa hostage for the last five years with Sammy winning in 2009, a year prior to Kevin going on his four-year binge but that hasn't stop the best drivers from showing up and giving it their all to perform a coup.
Four other past Chili Bowl winners are entered along with the Swindells. Damion Gardner is the most recent driver not named Swindell event and he returns looking for his second. Gardner won the USAC/CRA Sprint Car title last year. Tim McCreadie won in 2006 but then suffered a massive accident in 2009 that left him with a broken vertebra. He finished fourth last year. Gardner and McCreadie will be teammates with Gardner driving the #47 and McCreadie in the #47X for Andy Bondio. The other past winners are Cory Kruseman and Tracy Hines. Kruseman is a two-time winner of the event.
The list of other potential suitors to knock the Swindell's off their throne include Kyle Larson, Chad Boat and Brady Bacon, three drivers who were running up front before mechanical failures ended their attempts to dethrone the Swindells. Boat looks to join his father Billy as a Chili Bowl winner and join the Swindells as the only father-son pairing to win the event. Billy Boat won in 1997.
Dave Darland has accomplished a lot over his career but winning the Chili Bowl is one thing left on his to-do list. Christopher Bell is coming off winning the USAC National Midget championship in his rookie season in 2013. Bell's 2013 Chili Bowl saw him advance from the C-Main but fall shot in the B-Main. Bryan Clauson had to advance from the B-Main to get any crack at the Swindells last year. This year the defending Sprint Car champion Clauson returns as well as Jerry Coons, Jr.
Kasey Kahne will drive the #71, a car that the late-Jason Leffler had been working on at the time of his death last June. Leffler was the winning car owner when Damion Gardner won in 2008. The 2013 World of Outlaws champion and Darryn Pittman returns to Tulsa to compete against his WoO car owner Kahne.
Other drivers entered for this year's Chili Bowl include two-time USAC Silver Crown champion Bobby East, USAC Triple Crown winner JJ Yeley, 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 2013 USAC National Midget Pavement champion Darren Hagen, PJ Jones, Chris Windom, Rico Abreu, Kyle O'Gara, AJ Fike, Dillon Welch and Jon Stanbrough.
The top three finishers of each nights A-Main will qualify automatically for Saturday night's feature event with the remaining drivers filling out Saturday night qualifiers to race their way into the 55-lap. Last year, enough drivers were entered that the qualifying races had to start with a K-Main. The top six drivers from each B-Main on Saturday will fill out the A-Main.
Stay tuned to find out who qualifies directly for the Chili Bowl final and who will have to work to do come Saturday.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Stage Eight of the Dakar Rally
The eighth stage of the Dakar Rally saw two past Dakar winners winning their first stages in this year's race.
Nasser Al-Attiyah won his first stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally today by a minute and twelve seconds over his Mini teammate Stéphane Peterhansel. Carlos Sainz finished two minutes and thirty-six seconds back in third. Orlando Terranova finished fourth, six minutes and forty-seconds back with Krzysztof Holowczyc another a minute and nine seconds back. Nani Roma finished sixth, nine minutes and nineteen seconds back with Giniel de Villiers two seconds behind him.
BJ Baldwin had his best stage of this year's Dakar by finishing eighteen minutes and forty-nine seconds back of Al-Attiyah in fourteenth place. Baldwin is over twelve hours back in the overall standings in thirty-third place. Robby Gordon finished fifty-seventh on the day, an hour fifteen minutes and fifty-four seconds back. Gordon has dropped to twenty-sixth place overall, eight hours forty-nine minutes and fifty seconds back.
Roma holds a twenty-three minutes and forty-six lead over Peterhansel with de Villiers third, forty-eight minutes and twenty-five seconds back. Terranova is fourth, fifty-one minutes and fifty-five seconds back after a fifteen minute penalty. Al-Attiyah and Sainz remain fourth and fifth, both over an hour back of Roma.
Cyril Despres won his first stage by two minutes and nine seconds over three-time stage winner in this year's race Joan Barreda Bort. Six seconds back of Barreda Bort was the class leader Marc Coma. Coma has a thirty-eight minute and eight second lead over Barreda Bort. Jordi Viladoms is third in class, making it all-Spanish top three. Viladoms is an hour twenty-seven minutes and twenty-two minutes. Despres moves up to ninth but is still two hours twenty-three minutes and fifty-eight seconds off Coma.
After retroactively being named the winner of stage six after a time deduction, Ignacio Casale has won three consecutive stages after defeating Sebastian Husseini by eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds. Sergio Lafuente was third, fifteen minutes and twenty-five seconds back with Rafal Sonik thirty-nine seconds off the Uruguayan. Casale extends his overall lead in class to twenty-one minutes and forty-seconds over Lafuente with Sonik forty-five minutes and fifty-six seconds back. Husseini is over three and a half hours back in fourth.
Andrey Karginov picked up his second stage victory of this Dakar Rally by five minutes and fifteen seconds over Gérard de Rooy. Dmitry Sotnikov finished third six minutes and fifty-five seconds back. De Rooy maintains the lead in the truck class by thirty-two minutes and thirty-five seconds over Karginov. Ednuard Nikolaev is third, over an hour back with Sotnikov just over eleven minutes back of him in fourth.
Nasser Al-Attiyah won his first stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally today by a minute and twelve seconds over his Mini teammate Stéphane Peterhansel. Carlos Sainz finished two minutes and thirty-six seconds back in third. Orlando Terranova finished fourth, six minutes and forty-seconds back with Krzysztof Holowczyc another a minute and nine seconds back. Nani Roma finished sixth, nine minutes and nineteen seconds back with Giniel de Villiers two seconds behind him.
BJ Baldwin had his best stage of this year's Dakar by finishing eighteen minutes and forty-nine seconds back of Al-Attiyah in fourteenth place. Baldwin is over twelve hours back in the overall standings in thirty-third place. Robby Gordon finished fifty-seventh on the day, an hour fifteen minutes and fifty-four seconds back. Gordon has dropped to twenty-sixth place overall, eight hours forty-nine minutes and fifty seconds back.
Roma holds a twenty-three minutes and forty-six lead over Peterhansel with de Villiers third, forty-eight minutes and twenty-five seconds back. Terranova is fourth, fifty-one minutes and fifty-five seconds back after a fifteen minute penalty. Al-Attiyah and Sainz remain fourth and fifth, both over an hour back of Roma.
Cyril Despres won his first stage by two minutes and nine seconds over three-time stage winner in this year's race Joan Barreda Bort. Six seconds back of Barreda Bort was the class leader Marc Coma. Coma has a thirty-eight minute and eight second lead over Barreda Bort. Jordi Viladoms is third in class, making it all-Spanish top three. Viladoms is an hour twenty-seven minutes and twenty-two minutes. Despres moves up to ninth but is still two hours twenty-three minutes and fifty-eight seconds off Coma.
After retroactively being named the winner of stage six after a time deduction, Ignacio Casale has won three consecutive stages after defeating Sebastian Husseini by eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds. Sergio Lafuente was third, fifteen minutes and twenty-five seconds back with Rafal Sonik thirty-nine seconds off the Uruguayan. Casale extends his overall lead in class to twenty-one minutes and forty-seconds over Lafuente with Sonik forty-five minutes and fifty-six seconds back. Husseini is over three and a half hours back in fourth.
Andrey Karginov picked up his second stage victory of this Dakar Rally by five minutes and fifteen seconds over Gérard de Rooy. Dmitry Sotnikov finished third six minutes and fifty-five seconds back. De Rooy maintains the lead in the truck class by thirty-two minutes and thirty-five seconds over Karginov. Ednuard Nikolaev is third, over an hour back with Sotnikov just over eleven minutes back of him in fourth.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Stage Seven of the Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally resumed today after a rest day and saw two Spaniards pick up stage victories.
Carlos Sainz won his second stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally and he did so by four minutes and forty-five seconds over Nasser Al-Attiyah. Stéphane Peterhansel rounded out the podium, seven minutes and twenty-six seconds back. Nani Roma finished eight minutes and fifty-seconds back of Sainz in fourth but remains in the overall lead of the car class.
Roma leads Peterhansel in the overall standings by thirty-one minutes and fifty-three seconds. Giniel de Villiers is third, forty-eight minutes and twenty-three seconds back with Orlando Terranova fifty-four minutes and thirty-four seconds back in fourth. Al-Attiyah and Sainz are fifth and sixth, both over an hour back of Roma.
The day did not go well for Robby Gordon. He was stopped on course and finished fifty-sixth on the day, nearly two hours back of Sainz. He finds himself twenty-seventh, nearly seven and three-quarter hours back of Roma. American BJ Baldwin finished twenty-eighth on stage seven, fifty minutes and fifty-two seconds back of Sainz. Baldwin trails Roma in the overall standings by eleven hours fifty-eight minutes and thirteen seconds in thirty-first place.
Joan Barreda Bort won his third stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally today by four minutes and three seconds over the leader of the bike class Marc Coma. Cyril Despres finished third five minutes and thirty-five seconds back. Coma leads Barreda Bort by thirty-eight minutes and fourteen seconds in the overall standings with the next closest rider, Jordi Viladoms, an hour sixteen minutes and and three seconds back. Despres is nearly two and a half hours back of Coma in tenth position.
American Mike Johnson finished stage seventh in fifty-ninth place, fifty-one minutes and fifteen seconds off Barreda Bort. Johnson is eighty-first in class, thirty hours back of Coma.
Ignacio Casale won his second stage of this Dakar Rally and first since the opening stage. By winning today, the Chilean was able to retake the overall lead in the quad class. Casale defeated Dutchman Sebastian Husseini by seven minutes and forty seconds with previous class leader Sergio Lafuente finishing eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds back in third. Rafał Sonik finished fourth, nine minutes and fifty-seven seconds back.
Casale leads Lafuente by six minutes and fifteen seconds with Sonik twenty-nine minutes and fifty-two seconds back in third. Husseini is fourth, nearly three and a half hours back.
Eduard Nikolaev won his first stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally by three minutes and forty-five seconds over fellow Kamaz driver Dmitry Sotnikov. Gérard de Rooy retains the truck class lead by finishing third, four minutes and thirty-four seconds back. De Rooy leads by thirty-seven minutes and fifty seconds over Andrey Karginov who finished seven on stage seven. Nikolaev is over an hour back in third position.
Carlos Sainz won his second stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally and he did so by four minutes and forty-five seconds over Nasser Al-Attiyah. Stéphane Peterhansel rounded out the podium, seven minutes and twenty-six seconds back. Nani Roma finished eight minutes and fifty-seconds back of Sainz in fourth but remains in the overall lead of the car class.
Roma leads Peterhansel in the overall standings by thirty-one minutes and fifty-three seconds. Giniel de Villiers is third, forty-eight minutes and twenty-three seconds back with Orlando Terranova fifty-four minutes and thirty-four seconds back in fourth. Al-Attiyah and Sainz are fifth and sixth, both over an hour back of Roma.
The day did not go well for Robby Gordon. He was stopped on course and finished fifty-sixth on the day, nearly two hours back of Sainz. He finds himself twenty-seventh, nearly seven and three-quarter hours back of Roma. American BJ Baldwin finished twenty-eighth on stage seven, fifty minutes and fifty-two seconds back of Sainz. Baldwin trails Roma in the overall standings by eleven hours fifty-eight minutes and thirteen seconds in thirty-first place.
Joan Barreda Bort won his third stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally today by four minutes and three seconds over the leader of the bike class Marc Coma. Cyril Despres finished third five minutes and thirty-five seconds back. Coma leads Barreda Bort by thirty-eight minutes and fourteen seconds in the overall standings with the next closest rider, Jordi Viladoms, an hour sixteen minutes and and three seconds back. Despres is nearly two and a half hours back of Coma in tenth position.
American Mike Johnson finished stage seventh in fifty-ninth place, fifty-one minutes and fifteen seconds off Barreda Bort. Johnson is eighty-first in class, thirty hours back of Coma.
Ignacio Casale won his second stage of this Dakar Rally and first since the opening stage. By winning today, the Chilean was able to retake the overall lead in the quad class. Casale defeated Dutchman Sebastian Husseini by seven minutes and forty seconds with previous class leader Sergio Lafuente finishing eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds back in third. Rafał Sonik finished fourth, nine minutes and fifty-seven seconds back.
Casale leads Lafuente by six minutes and fifteen seconds with Sonik twenty-nine minutes and fifty-two seconds back in third. Husseini is fourth, nearly three and a half hours back.
Eduard Nikolaev won his first stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally by three minutes and forty-five seconds over fellow Kamaz driver Dmitry Sotnikov. Gérard de Rooy retains the truck class lead by finishing third, four minutes and thirty-four seconds back. De Rooy leads by thirty-seven minutes and fifty seconds over Andrey Karginov who finished seven on stage seven. Nikolaev is over an hour back in third position.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Stadler Motorsport Wins Dubai
The streak continues for German manufactures as the #20 Porsche 997 GT3 R of Stadler Motorsport won the 2014 Dubai 24 Hours by three laps over the #38 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Münnich Motorsport and six laps over the #2 Black Falcon Mercedes. A German manufacture has won all nine editions of the Persian Gulf endurance race.
The Porsche driven by German Christian Engelhart and Swiss drivers Mark Ineichen, Rolf Ineichen, Marcel Matter and Adrian Amstutz took the lead on lap 432 from the #4 Fach Auto Tech Porsche with over six hours to go and would never cede the position for the rest of the race, completing 603 laps over the 24 hours.
The #4 Fach Auto Tech Porsche was one of many to suffered mechanical issues while leading. They suffered a driveshaft problem which cost Connor de Phillippi, Sebastian Asch, Martin Ragginger and Otto Klohs a shot at victory. They would complete 565 laps and finish sixteenth.
The Münnich Motorsport and Black Falcon Mercedes had a nice battle for second before the Münnich Mercedes driven by René Münnich, Marc Basseng and Rob Huff pulled away. Black Falcon had won the last two editions of the Dubai 24 Hours with the sister Team Abu Dhabi entry. Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi settle for third after entering looking for their third straight victories in the event. Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal, Hubert Haupt and Adam Christodoulou round out the drivers line-up for the #2 Black Falcon entry.
The top non-German car was the #458 GT Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 driven by Pierre Kaffer, Pierre Ehret, Alexander Mattschull, Marco Seefried and Vadium Kogay. The pole-sitting #21 Corvette of V8 Racing driven by Nicky Pastorelli, Wolf Nathan, Danny Werkman, Rick Abresch, Alex van 't Hoff rounded out the top five.
The other class winners are as follows:
A6-Am: #888 Dragon Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 driven by Jordan Grogor, Khaled Al Mudhaf, Mohammed Jawa and Frederic Fatien.
997: #42 Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport Porsche 997 Cup driven by Robert Lukas, Christofer Berckhan Ramirez, Andrzej Lewandowski and Stefan Bilinski.
A5: #62 JR Motorsport BMW E46 GTR driven by Harry Hilders, Roger Grouwels, Gijs Bessem, Koen Bogaerts and Dziugas Tovilavi.
SP3: #164 Speedworks Motorsport Ginetta G50 driven by Tony Hughes, Christian Dick, Ross Warburton and Will Scully.
SP2: #123 Nissan Academy Team JRN Nissan 370Z driven by Lucas Ordóñez, Miguel Faisca, Florian Strauss, Stanislav and Nickolas McMillen
A2: #106 AD Racing/ K-Rejser Renault Clio Sport driven by Jacob Kristensen, Martin Clausen, Jan Engelbrecht and Jan Seerup.
A3T: #90 Racingdivas Team Schubert BMW 320D driven by Natasja Smit-Sø, Gaby Uljee, Sandra van der Sloot, Paulien Zwat and Shirley van der Lof.
D1: #125 Recy Racing Team BMW 120D driven by Jan De Vocht, Johan Van Loo, Steffen Schlichenmeier, Wim Meuldens and Thomas Piessens.
Other teams who said mechanical issues cost them at shot at victory was the #76 BMW Z4 GT3 of SX Team Schubert. The car driven by Paul Dalla Lana, Bill Auberlen, Dane Cameron, Dirk Werner and Claudia Hürtgen suffered a tire puncture which led to further rear suspension damage. They would recover for a top ten but twenty laps back of the winning Stadler Porsche.
The #30 Ram Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 driven by Jan Magnussen, Johnny Mowlem, Matt Griffin and Cheerag Arya made contact with another car which dropped them for the front. The would settle for seventeenth, one lap back of the #4 Fach Auto Tech Porsche.
The two-time defending race winning #1 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon had a four lap lead early in the race before electrical issues ended any chance of the hat trick for the team, Bleekemolen and Al Qubaisi, a second consecutive win in the race for Bernd Schneider and the first for Andreas Simonsen.
Some of these drivers such as Paul Dalla Lane, Bill Auberlen, Dane Cameron, Jan Magnussen, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Emmanuel Collard, Connor de Phillippi, Patrick Huisman, Christian Engelhart, Rolf Ineichen, Toni Vilander, Marc Basseng, Dirk Werne, Isaac Tutumlu, Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke will be making their way to Daytona for the 24 Hours of Daytona in a fortnight.
The 2015 Dubai 24 Hours has been scheduled for January 8-10th.
The Porsche driven by German Christian Engelhart and Swiss drivers Mark Ineichen, Rolf Ineichen, Marcel Matter and Adrian Amstutz took the lead on lap 432 from the #4 Fach Auto Tech Porsche with over six hours to go and would never cede the position for the rest of the race, completing 603 laps over the 24 hours.
The #4 Fach Auto Tech Porsche was one of many to suffered mechanical issues while leading. They suffered a driveshaft problem which cost Connor de Phillippi, Sebastian Asch, Martin Ragginger and Otto Klohs a shot at victory. They would complete 565 laps and finish sixteenth.
The Münnich Motorsport and Black Falcon Mercedes had a nice battle for second before the Münnich Mercedes driven by René Münnich, Marc Basseng and Rob Huff pulled away. Black Falcon had won the last two editions of the Dubai 24 Hours with the sister Team Abu Dhabi entry. Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi settle for third after entering looking for their third straight victories in the event. Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal, Hubert Haupt and Adam Christodoulou round out the drivers line-up for the #2 Black Falcon entry.
The top non-German car was the #458 GT Corse Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 driven by Pierre Kaffer, Pierre Ehret, Alexander Mattschull, Marco Seefried and Vadium Kogay. The pole-sitting #21 Corvette of V8 Racing driven by Nicky Pastorelli, Wolf Nathan, Danny Werkman, Rick Abresch, Alex van 't Hoff rounded out the top five.
The other class winners are as follows:
A6-Am: #888 Dragon Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 driven by Jordan Grogor, Khaled Al Mudhaf, Mohammed Jawa and Frederic Fatien.
997: #42 Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport Porsche 997 Cup driven by Robert Lukas, Christofer Berckhan Ramirez, Andrzej Lewandowski and Stefan Bilinski.
A5: #62 JR Motorsport BMW E46 GTR driven by Harry Hilders, Roger Grouwels, Gijs Bessem, Koen Bogaerts and Dziugas Tovilavi.
SP3: #164 Speedworks Motorsport Ginetta G50 driven by Tony Hughes, Christian Dick, Ross Warburton and Will Scully.
SP2: #123 Nissan Academy Team JRN Nissan 370Z driven by Lucas Ordóñez, Miguel Faisca, Florian Strauss, Stanislav and Nickolas McMillen
A2: #106 AD Racing/ K-Rejser Renault Clio Sport driven by Jacob Kristensen, Martin Clausen, Jan Engelbrecht and Jan Seerup.
A3T: #90 Racingdivas Team Schubert BMW 320D driven by Natasja Smit-Sø, Gaby Uljee, Sandra van der Sloot, Paulien Zwat and Shirley van der Lof.
D1: #125 Recy Racing Team BMW 120D driven by Jan De Vocht, Johan Van Loo, Steffen Schlichenmeier, Wim Meuldens and Thomas Piessens.
Other teams who said mechanical issues cost them at shot at victory was the #76 BMW Z4 GT3 of SX Team Schubert. The car driven by Paul Dalla Lana, Bill Auberlen, Dane Cameron, Dirk Werner and Claudia Hürtgen suffered a tire puncture which led to further rear suspension damage. They would recover for a top ten but twenty laps back of the winning Stadler Porsche.
The #30 Ram Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 driven by Jan Magnussen, Johnny Mowlem, Matt Griffin and Cheerag Arya made contact with another car which dropped them for the front. The would settle for seventeenth, one lap back of the #4 Fach Auto Tech Porsche.
The two-time defending race winning #1 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon had a four lap lead early in the race before electrical issues ended any chance of the hat trick for the team, Bleekemolen and Al Qubaisi, a second consecutive win in the race for Bernd Schneider and the first for Andreas Simonsen.
Some of these drivers such as Paul Dalla Lane, Bill Auberlen, Dane Cameron, Jan Magnussen, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Emmanuel Collard, Connor de Phillippi, Patrick Huisman, Christian Engelhart, Rolf Ineichen, Toni Vilander, Marc Basseng, Dirk Werne, Isaac Tutumlu, Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke will be making their way to Daytona for the 24 Hours of Daytona in a fortnight.
The 2015 Dubai 24 Hours has been scheduled for January 8-10th.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Halfway through the Dubai 24 Hours
The first endurance race of the 2014 motorsports season has reached it's halfway point and has already seen a massive development.
The two-time defending race winning #1 Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz driven by Jeroen Bleekemolen, Bernd Schneider, Khaled Al Qubaisi and Andreas Simonsen has experienced a devastating electrical failure after leading the race by three laps at one point. The team now finds themselves in twenty-first, sixteen laps back.
The #30 Ram Racing Ferrari of Jan Magnussen, Johnny Mowlen, Matt Griffin and Cheerag Ayra lead the #4 Fach Auto Tech Porsche of Sebastian Asch, Martin Ragginger, Connor de Phillippi and Otto Klohs by a little over a lap. The #76 SX Team Schubert BMW of Paul Dalla Lana, Dirk Werner, Claudia Hürtgen, Bill Auberlen and Dane Cameron is third, two laps back.
The #20 Stadler Motorsport Porsche of Christian Engelhart, Mark Ineichen, Rolf Ineichen, Marcel Matter and Adrian Amstutz is fourth with the #2 Black Falcon Mercedes driven by Bleekemolen, Al Qubaisi, Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal, Hubert Haupt and Adam Christodoulou rounding out the top five.
The #38 Münnich Motorsport Mercedes of René Münnich, Marc Basseng and Rob Huff were leading earlier in the race but have dropped down to sixth. The top A6-Am car is the #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari driven by Stuart Hall, Rob Barff, Dan Norris-Jones and Bassam Kronfli in seventh. The pole-sitting V8 Racing Corvette of Nicky Pastorelli, Wolf Nathan, Danny Werkman, Rick Abresch and Alex Van 't Hoff is eighth.
The #458 GT Corse Ferrari is ninth with Pierre Kaffer, Pierre Ehret, Marco Seefried, Alexander Mattschull and Vadim Kogay making up it's driver line-up. Rounding out the top ten is the #27 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW of Henry Walkenhorst, Ralf Oeverhaus, Daniela Schmid, Jens Richter and Claudia Hürtgen.
The top Porsche 997 GT3 Cup car is the #44 Black Falcon entry of Arturo Devigus, Andres Fjordbach, Will Friedrichs, Burkard Kaiser and Vladimir Lunkin.
The #123 Nissan GT Academy 370Z of Lucas Ordóñez, Miguel Faisca, Florian Strauss, Stanislav Aksenov and Nikolas McMillen lead the SP2 class.
Other class leaders are the #154 Nova Race Ginetta G50 (SP3), #62 JR Motorsport BMW (A5), #47 Motorsport Services SEAT (A3T), #57 LAP57 Racing Team Honda (A2) and #125 Recy Racing Team BMW.
Two notable retirements from the A6 class are the #5 Spirit of Race Ferrari driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander, Alexander Talkanitsa, Sr and Alexander Talkanitsa, Jr. and the #7 Craft Racing Aston Martin of Stefan Mücke, Darren Turner, Darryl O'Young, Frank Yu and Tomonobu Fujii.
Coverage of the Dubai 24 Hours can be found here.
The two-time defending race winning #1 Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz driven by Jeroen Bleekemolen, Bernd Schneider, Khaled Al Qubaisi and Andreas Simonsen has experienced a devastating electrical failure after leading the race by three laps at one point. The team now finds themselves in twenty-first, sixteen laps back.
The #30 Ram Racing Ferrari of Jan Magnussen, Johnny Mowlen, Matt Griffin and Cheerag Ayra lead the #4 Fach Auto Tech Porsche of Sebastian Asch, Martin Ragginger, Connor de Phillippi and Otto Klohs by a little over a lap. The #76 SX Team Schubert BMW of Paul Dalla Lana, Dirk Werner, Claudia Hürtgen, Bill Auberlen and Dane Cameron is third, two laps back.
The #20 Stadler Motorsport Porsche of Christian Engelhart, Mark Ineichen, Rolf Ineichen, Marcel Matter and Adrian Amstutz is fourth with the #2 Black Falcon Mercedes driven by Bleekemolen, Al Qubaisi, Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal, Hubert Haupt and Adam Christodoulou rounding out the top five.
The #38 Münnich Motorsport Mercedes of René Münnich, Marc Basseng and Rob Huff were leading earlier in the race but have dropped down to sixth. The top A6-Am car is the #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari driven by Stuart Hall, Rob Barff, Dan Norris-Jones and Bassam Kronfli in seventh. The pole-sitting V8 Racing Corvette of Nicky Pastorelli, Wolf Nathan, Danny Werkman, Rick Abresch and Alex Van 't Hoff is eighth.
The #458 GT Corse Ferrari is ninth with Pierre Kaffer, Pierre Ehret, Marco Seefried, Alexander Mattschull and Vadim Kogay making up it's driver line-up. Rounding out the top ten is the #27 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW of Henry Walkenhorst, Ralf Oeverhaus, Daniela Schmid, Jens Richter and Claudia Hürtgen.
The top Porsche 997 GT3 Cup car is the #44 Black Falcon entry of Arturo Devigus, Andres Fjordbach, Will Friedrichs, Burkard Kaiser and Vladimir Lunkin.
The #123 Nissan GT Academy 370Z of Lucas Ordóñez, Miguel Faisca, Florian Strauss, Stanislav Aksenov and Nikolas McMillen lead the SP2 class.
Other class leaders are the #154 Nova Race Ginetta G50 (SP3), #62 JR Motorsport BMW (A5), #47 Motorsport Services SEAT (A3T), #57 LAP57 Racing Team Honda (A2) and #125 Recy Racing Team BMW.
Two notable retirements from the A6 class are the #5 Spirit of Race Ferrari driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander, Alexander Talkanitsa, Sr and Alexander Talkanitsa, Jr. and the #7 Craft Racing Aston Martin of Stefan Mücke, Darren Turner, Darryl O'Young, Frank Yu and Tomonobu Fujii.
Coverage of the Dubai 24 Hours can be found here.
Stage Six of the Dakar Rally
Before covering the events of stage six, we are sad to say that Belgian rider Eric Palante has died aged 51. Palante was competing in his eleventh Dakar Rally. Palante was eighty-eighth in the bike class at the end of stage four. He finished seventy-nineth in both the first and fourth stages.
There were a few time penalties assessed at the end of stage five.
Robby Gordon, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz were all hit with one hour penalties for missing a waypoint during stage five. This drops the three drivers to nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-sixth in the stage five results. Lucio Alvarez, Martin Kaczmarski, Federico Villagra, Emiliano Spataro and Erik Wevers were all given one hour penalties after stage five as well.
After those penalties has Nani Roma led Orlando Terranova, Stéphane Peterhansel and Giniel de Villiers in the overall standings entering stage six. Al-Attiyah dropped from second to fifth, one hour twenty-six minutes and twenty-eight second back and Carlos Sainz dropped from sixth to eight, one hour fifty-nine minutes and forty-three seconds back. Robby Gordon entered stage six five hours thirty-four minutes and twenty-nine seconds back in twenty-fourth position.
In the bike class, Cyril Despres was given a one hour penalty, dropping him to thirty-third in the stage five results and he dropped to twelfth in the overall standings, two hours twenty-three minutes and one second back entering the stage six.
The top two in the quad class, Sergio Lafuente and Ignacio Casale both received one hour penalties but maintain their positions in the stage five results. Rafeł Sonik dropped from third to sixth in the stage results after a one hour penalty. Lafuente led entering stage six by sixteen minutes and fifty-two seconds ahead of Casale, twenty-three minutes and twelve seconds ahead of Sonik and an hour forty-five minutes and forty-five seconds ahead of Sebastian Husseini.
Frenchman Alain Duclos defeated bike leader Marc Coma but a minute and fifteen seconds to take the stage six victory. Fellow Frenchman Michael Metge rounded out the podium a minute and forty-nine seconds back. Joan Barreda Bort finished two minutes and twenty-two seconds back in fourth with Cyril Despres rounding out the top five, two minutes and fifty-five seconds back of Duclos.
Coma remains the overall leader, forty-two minutes and seventeen seconds ahead of Barreda Bort. Duclos moves up to third from fifth and is a hour and fifty-eight seconds back of Coma. Jordi Viladoms remains fourth after stage six an hour eight minutes and nine seconds back.
Rafał Sonik won his second stage of the quad class this Dakar Rally, fifty-four seconds ahead of class leader Sergio Lafuente. Chileans Victor Manuel Gallegos Lozic and Ignacio Casale finish third and fourth respectively. Russian Sergey Karyakin finished fifth, his best career stage finish just ahead of Sebastian Husseini.
Lafuente's overall lead in the class is now twenty-two minutes and eighteen seconds ahead of Sonik with Casale twenty-four minutes and four seconds back in third. Husseini is fourth but a distant three hours three minutes and fifty-four seconds back.
Pieter Versluis won the truck class in stage six, a minute and eleven seconds ahead of Andrey Karginov with Marcel van Vilet another fifteen seconds back in third. Eduard Nikolaev finished fourth, two minutes and seven seconds back with Dutch driver Hans Stacey another forty seconds back. Anton Shibalov finished sixth, three minutes and nine seconds back, fifty-seven seconds ahead of Gérard de Rooy.
De Rooy maintains his lead in the class by twenty-nine minutes and five seconds over Karginov. Nikolaev is an hour seven minutes and forty-two seconds back in third. Hans Stacey moves up to fourth after his finish today, one hour nineteen minutes and forty-four seconds back.
Stéphane Peterhansel won his second stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally by two minutes and forty-three seconds over teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah and five minutes and twenty seconds over Orlando Terranova. Giniel de Villiers finished fourth, six minutes and six seconds back with Spaniard Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma taking the next two positions. They finished five seconds apart with Sainz finishing six minutes and thirty-one seconds off Peterhansel.
Roma holds a thirty minute and thirty second lead over Terranova with Peterhansel third, thirty-three minutes and twenty-six seconds back. De Villiers is forty minutes and fifty-four seconds off Roma in fourth with Al-Attiyah and Sainz both over an hour back.
Robby Gordon finished twenty-first on the day, twenty-four minutes and twenty-six minutes back and is twenty-first overall, five hours fifty-two minutes and nineteen seconds back of Roma.
The 2014 Dakar Rally has reached it's rest day. The drivers, riders and crews get Saturday off before facing the final seven stages which will see the rally exit Argentina and the cars and truck enter Chile while the bikes and quad will take a detour to Bolivia before enter the Pacific-bordering nation as they all make their way down the coast to Valparaíso.
There were a few time penalties assessed at the end of stage five.
Robby Gordon, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz were all hit with one hour penalties for missing a waypoint during stage five. This drops the three drivers to nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-sixth in the stage five results. Lucio Alvarez, Martin Kaczmarski, Federico Villagra, Emiliano Spataro and Erik Wevers were all given one hour penalties after stage five as well.
After those penalties has Nani Roma led Orlando Terranova, Stéphane Peterhansel and Giniel de Villiers in the overall standings entering stage six. Al-Attiyah dropped from second to fifth, one hour twenty-six minutes and twenty-eight second back and Carlos Sainz dropped from sixth to eight, one hour fifty-nine minutes and forty-three seconds back. Robby Gordon entered stage six five hours thirty-four minutes and twenty-nine seconds back in twenty-fourth position.
In the bike class, Cyril Despres was given a one hour penalty, dropping him to thirty-third in the stage five results and he dropped to twelfth in the overall standings, two hours twenty-three minutes and one second back entering the stage six.
The top two in the quad class, Sergio Lafuente and Ignacio Casale both received one hour penalties but maintain their positions in the stage five results. Rafeł Sonik dropped from third to sixth in the stage results after a one hour penalty. Lafuente led entering stage six by sixteen minutes and fifty-two seconds ahead of Casale, twenty-three minutes and twelve seconds ahead of Sonik and an hour forty-five minutes and forty-five seconds ahead of Sebastian Husseini.
Frenchman Alain Duclos defeated bike leader Marc Coma but a minute and fifteen seconds to take the stage six victory. Fellow Frenchman Michael Metge rounded out the podium a minute and forty-nine seconds back. Joan Barreda Bort finished two minutes and twenty-two seconds back in fourth with Cyril Despres rounding out the top five, two minutes and fifty-five seconds back of Duclos.
Coma remains the overall leader, forty-two minutes and seventeen seconds ahead of Barreda Bort. Duclos moves up to third from fifth and is a hour and fifty-eight seconds back of Coma. Jordi Viladoms remains fourth after stage six an hour eight minutes and nine seconds back.
Rafał Sonik won his second stage of the quad class this Dakar Rally, fifty-four seconds ahead of class leader Sergio Lafuente. Chileans Victor Manuel Gallegos Lozic and Ignacio Casale finish third and fourth respectively. Russian Sergey Karyakin finished fifth, his best career stage finish just ahead of Sebastian Husseini.
Lafuente's overall lead in the class is now twenty-two minutes and eighteen seconds ahead of Sonik with Casale twenty-four minutes and four seconds back in third. Husseini is fourth but a distant three hours three minutes and fifty-four seconds back.
Pieter Versluis won the truck class in stage six, a minute and eleven seconds ahead of Andrey Karginov with Marcel van Vilet another fifteen seconds back in third. Eduard Nikolaev finished fourth, two minutes and seven seconds back with Dutch driver Hans Stacey another forty seconds back. Anton Shibalov finished sixth, three minutes and nine seconds back, fifty-seven seconds ahead of Gérard de Rooy.
De Rooy maintains his lead in the class by twenty-nine minutes and five seconds over Karginov. Nikolaev is an hour seven minutes and forty-two seconds back in third. Hans Stacey moves up to fourth after his finish today, one hour nineteen minutes and forty-four seconds back.
Stéphane Peterhansel won his second stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally by two minutes and forty-three seconds over teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah and five minutes and twenty seconds over Orlando Terranova. Giniel de Villiers finished fourth, six minutes and six seconds back with Spaniard Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma taking the next two positions. They finished five seconds apart with Sainz finishing six minutes and thirty-one seconds off Peterhansel.
Roma holds a thirty minute and thirty second lead over Terranova with Peterhansel third, thirty-three minutes and twenty-six seconds back. De Villiers is forty minutes and fifty-four seconds off Roma in fourth with Al-Attiyah and Sainz both over an hour back.
Robby Gordon finished twenty-first on the day, twenty-four minutes and twenty-six minutes back and is twenty-first overall, five hours fifty-two minutes and nineteen seconds back of Roma.
The 2014 Dakar Rally has reached it's rest day. The drivers, riders and crews get Saturday off before facing the final seven stages which will see the rally exit Argentina and the cars and truck enter Chile while the bikes and quad will take a detour to Bolivia before enter the Pacific-bordering nation as they all make their way down the coast to Valparaíso.
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