The Buenos Aires Formula E race might have been the craziest in the series minuscule history. Twice the leader retired from the race after contact with the barrier and once the leader was penalized. Sébastien Buemi led from pole position and through the pit stops but hit the barriers on lap 23, handing the lead to championship leader Lucas di Grassi. The Brazilian however would hit the wall in the same spot Buemi hit just three laps later, giving the lead to Nick Heidfeld.
The German appeared to be cruising to victory but was handed a penalty for speeding in the pit lane with less than five laps to go. Heidfeld served the penalty, giving the lead to Aguri driver António Félix da Costa, who held on for his first victory in the series. Nicolas Prost came home second after a late pass on Jean-Éric Vergne. Nelson Piquet, Jr. charged for his second consecutive third place finished. Jaime Alguersuari finished fourth despite being ran into by Daniel Abt with two laps to go. Bruno Senna rounded out the top five with Vergne finishing sixth despite going off course.
Sam Bird finished seventh after over coming a penalty for exiting the pit lane when the light was red. Bird would score fastest lap and pick up two bonus points. Salvador Durán finished eighth in his second Formula E start, scoring the Mexican his first career points. Heidfeld would drop to ninth after serving the speeding penalty. Oriol Servià rounded out the points in tenth.
Stéphane Sarrazin finished 11th with Ho-Pin Tung in 12th. Marco Andretti finished 13th on debut with Abt ending up 14th. Jérôme d'Ambrosio rounded out the top fifteen with Jarno Trulli finishing 16th.
Di Grassi retains the points lead with 58 points but the gap has shrunk to 10 points with Bird in second. Buemi is 15 points back after scoring three points for pole position. Prost is 16 points behind the Brazilian with Piquet, Jr. 21 points behind of his fellow Brazilian.
Da Costa jumps up to sixth in the championship with his victory as he is 29 points behind di Grassi. Alguersuari is three points behind da Costa with d'Ambrosio four points behind the Spaniard. Karun Chandhok, Franck Montagny and Bruno Senna all have 18 points with Servià on 15 points, rounding out the top ten.
The next round of the Formula E championship will take places on the street of Miami on March 14th.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Black Falcon Obliterates Field in 2015 Dubai 24 Hour
The 10th anniversary Dubai 24 Hour was no contest as the #2 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 of Yelmer Buurman, Oliver Webb, Hubert Haupt and Abdulaziz Al-Faisal led 550 of 604 on their way to victory, a record-setting third Dubai 24 Hour victory for the team. The #2 Mercedes led the final 329 laps as the German manufacture picked up their third Dubai 24 Hour victory, matching BMW and trailing only Porsche, which has won the Middle East endurance race four times.
Ram Racing made it a Mercedes 1-2 with the #30 Mercedes of Adam Christoudoulou, Tom Onslow-Cole, Thomas Jäger and Cheerag Ayra after completing 600 laps. The #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 of Jordan Grogor, Matt Griffin, Rob Barff and Mohammad Jawa rounded out the podium, finishing nearly a minute and ten seconds behind the Ram Racing Mercedes.
The #28 KPM Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Paul White, Stefan Mücke and Jonathan Adam ran at the front all race, including leading 18 laps and finished fourth, eight laps down. Mücke set the fastest lap running a 1:59.545 on lap 419. The Nissan GT Academy Team RJN #23 Nissan GTR GT3 rounded out the top five, 13 laps down with Florian Strauss, Ricardo Sanchez, Ahmed Bin Khanen, Gaetien Paletou and Nick Hanmmann, the only American in the A6 class.
The #4 Scuderia Praha Ferrari of Jírí Písarík, Jaromír Jarik, Matteo Malucelli and Peter Kox finished 18 laps down in sixth with the #99 Attempto Racing Porsche 997 GT3 R of Philipp Wlazik, Bernd Kleinbach, Andreas Liehm, Bill Barazetti and Arkin Aka finishing two laps behind them in seventh and the #69 Gulf Racing Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 of Stuart Hall, Jamie Campbell-Walter and Frederic Fatien finishing two laps behind the Porsche in eighth.
Black Falcon had two victories as their #26 Porsche 911 Cup of Andreas Fjordbach, Keita Sawa, Andreas Weishaupt and Saud Al Faisal won the 997 class, completing 580 laps and finishing ninth overall. The #25 Black Flacon Porsche driven by Christian Raubach, Manuel Metzger, Burked Kaiser and Gerwin Schuring finished second in the 997 class, ten overall and ten seconds behind the their teammates. Finishing 11th overall and rounding out the 997 class podium was the #7 Lechner Racing Middle East Porsche of Jaap Van Lagen, Klaus Blacher, Clemens Schmidt and Fahad Algosaibi.
Other class winners:
The #163 Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G55 GT4 of Salih Yoluc, Bradley Ellis, Euan Alers-Hankey and Adrian Barwick finishing 20th overall, winning the SP3 class.
The #76 Racingdivas by Las Moras BMW M235i Racing Cup of Lisette Braams, Sandra Van Der Sloot, Gaby Uljee and Maximilian Partl finished 23rd overall and won the CUP1 class.
Two positions behind the Racingdivas BMW was the A2 class winning #117 VDS Racing Adventures Honda Civic Type-R EP3 of José Close, Raphael van der Straten, Gregory Paisse and Michaël Divoy.
In 27th position was the A3T class winning #95 Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing Seat León Supercopa LR of Phil Quaife, Sami Moutran, Nabi Moutran and Ramzi Moutran.
The #91 MARC Cars Australia MARC Focus V8 of Keith Kassuike, Tony Alford, Leehmhuis Australia, Duvashen Padayachee and Tarek Elgammal won the SP2 class, finishing 33rd overall.
Finally, the #75 Hofor Kuepperracing BMW E46 M3 Coupe of Martin Kroll, Chantal Kroll, Sarah Toniutti, Bernd Küpper and American Hal Prewitt won the A5 class, finishing 34th overall.
This year's Dubai 24 Hour featured 12 lead changes with the #12 FACH Auto Tech Porsche of Martin Ragginger, Otto Klohs, Jens Richter and Sven Müller leading 35 laps but finishing 88th overall. The #3 Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon Mercedes of Khaled Al Qubaisi, Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Andreas Simonsen led one lap and finished 85th, completing only 88 laps. The race featured 13 code 60s but zero full course cautions. Three hours, 19 minutes and 15 seconds of the 24 hours were run under code 60 conditions. The 89 starters completed a grand total 39,362 laps.
Ram Racing made it a Mercedes 1-2 with the #30 Mercedes of Adam Christoudoulou, Tom Onslow-Cole, Thomas Jäger and Cheerag Ayra after completing 600 laps. The #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 of Jordan Grogor, Matt Griffin, Rob Barff and Mohammad Jawa rounded out the podium, finishing nearly a minute and ten seconds behind the Ram Racing Mercedes.
The #28 KPM Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Paul White, Stefan Mücke and Jonathan Adam ran at the front all race, including leading 18 laps and finished fourth, eight laps down. Mücke set the fastest lap running a 1:59.545 on lap 419. The Nissan GT Academy Team RJN #23 Nissan GTR GT3 rounded out the top five, 13 laps down with Florian Strauss, Ricardo Sanchez, Ahmed Bin Khanen, Gaetien Paletou and Nick Hanmmann, the only American in the A6 class.
The #4 Scuderia Praha Ferrari of Jírí Písarík, Jaromír Jarik, Matteo Malucelli and Peter Kox finished 18 laps down in sixth with the #99 Attempto Racing Porsche 997 GT3 R of Philipp Wlazik, Bernd Kleinbach, Andreas Liehm, Bill Barazetti and Arkin Aka finishing two laps behind them in seventh and the #69 Gulf Racing Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 of Stuart Hall, Jamie Campbell-Walter and Frederic Fatien finishing two laps behind the Porsche in eighth.
Black Falcon had two victories as their #26 Porsche 911 Cup of Andreas Fjordbach, Keita Sawa, Andreas Weishaupt and Saud Al Faisal won the 997 class, completing 580 laps and finishing ninth overall. The #25 Black Flacon Porsche driven by Christian Raubach, Manuel Metzger, Burked Kaiser and Gerwin Schuring finished second in the 997 class, ten overall and ten seconds behind the their teammates. Finishing 11th overall and rounding out the 997 class podium was the #7 Lechner Racing Middle East Porsche of Jaap Van Lagen, Klaus Blacher, Clemens Schmidt and Fahad Algosaibi.
Other class winners:
The #163 Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G55 GT4 of Salih Yoluc, Bradley Ellis, Euan Alers-Hankey and Adrian Barwick finishing 20th overall, winning the SP3 class.
The #76 Racingdivas by Las Moras BMW M235i Racing Cup of Lisette Braams, Sandra Van Der Sloot, Gaby Uljee and Maximilian Partl finished 23rd overall and won the CUP1 class.
Two positions behind the Racingdivas BMW was the A2 class winning #117 VDS Racing Adventures Honda Civic Type-R EP3 of José Close, Raphael van der Straten, Gregory Paisse and Michaël Divoy.
In 27th position was the A3T class winning #95 Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing Seat León Supercopa LR of Phil Quaife, Sami Moutran, Nabi Moutran and Ramzi Moutran.
The #91 MARC Cars Australia MARC Focus V8 of Keith Kassuike, Tony Alford, Leehmhuis Australia, Duvashen Padayachee and Tarek Elgammal won the SP2 class, finishing 33rd overall.
Finally, the #75 Hofor Kuepperracing BMW E46 M3 Coupe of Martin Kroll, Chantal Kroll, Sarah Toniutti, Bernd Küpper and American Hal Prewitt won the A5 class, finishing 34th overall.
This year's Dubai 24 Hour featured 12 lead changes with the #12 FACH Auto Tech Porsche of Martin Ragginger, Otto Klohs, Jens Richter and Sven Müller leading 35 laps but finishing 88th overall. The #3 Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon Mercedes of Khaled Al Qubaisi, Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Andreas Simonsen led one lap and finished 85th, completing only 88 laps. The race featured 13 code 60s but zero full course cautions. Three hours, 19 minutes and 15 seconds of the 24 hours were run under code 60 conditions. The 89 starters completed a grand total 39,362 laps.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Black Falcon Mercedes Leads at 12 Hour Mark of Dubai 24 Hour
Having completed 298 laps, the #2 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 of Hubert Haupt leads overall by two laps over Paul White in KPM Racing's #28 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The #2 Mercedes has lead 244 of 298 laps as the #28 Aston Martin has led 18 laps in the first half of the race. There were 12 lead changes in the first 12 hours.
Patrick Assenheimer is third having completed 295 laps in the #33 SPS Automotive-Performance Mercedes with Matt Griffin the #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 17.744 seconds back of Assenheimer in fourth position. The #30 Ram Racing Mercedes rounds out the top five, four laps down with Adam Christodoulou behind the wheel.
The #23 Nissan GT Academy Team RJN Nissan GTR GT3 is seven laps down with Gaetan Paletou in sixth with Johannes Waimer just over 17 seconds back in the #67 GDL Racing Mercedes. The top 997 class entry is the #26 Black Falcon Porsche 991 Cup of Keita Sawa in eighth position, eight laps down. Two laps back of the Porsche is Stuart Hall in the #69 Gulf Racing Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3. Rounding out the top ten overall is Bernd Kleinbach in the #99 Attempto Racing Porsche 997 GT3 R.
There were a few notable retirements before the first 100 laps had been completed. The #3 Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon Mercedes with 2013 race winners Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Quaisi and Andreas Simonsen retired after 88 laps while the defending Dubai 24 Hour winning #1 Stadler Motorsport Porsche was knocked out after 61 laps due to suspension failure.
Class leaders at the halfway mark of the Dubai 24 Hours:
The SP3 class leading #163 Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G55 GT4 of Bradley Ellis is 25th overall, having completed 267 laps.
Two laps back of the Ginetta, 26th overall is the SP2 class leading # 92 MARC Cars Australia Focus V8 of Tony Karanfilovski.
Sandra Van Der Sloot leads the CUP1 class in the #76 Racingdivas by Las Moras BMW M235i Racing Cup. The BMW is 30th overall, having completed 262 laps.
Two laps behind the CUP1 leading BMW is the A3T class leading #95 Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing Seat León Supercopa LR of Sami Moutran, 32nd overall.
Gregory Paisse is 34th overall in the A2 class leading #117 VDS Racing Honda Civic Type-R EP3 having completed 259 laps.
Chantal Kroll leads the A5 class, 38th overall in the #75 Hofor-Kuepperracing BMW E46 M3 Coupe having completed 257 laps.
Patrick Assenheimer is third having completed 295 laps in the #33 SPS Automotive-Performance Mercedes with Matt Griffin the #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 17.744 seconds back of Assenheimer in fourth position. The #30 Ram Racing Mercedes rounds out the top five, four laps down with Adam Christodoulou behind the wheel.
The #23 Nissan GT Academy Team RJN Nissan GTR GT3 is seven laps down with Gaetan Paletou in sixth with Johannes Waimer just over 17 seconds back in the #67 GDL Racing Mercedes. The top 997 class entry is the #26 Black Falcon Porsche 991 Cup of Keita Sawa in eighth position, eight laps down. Two laps back of the Porsche is Stuart Hall in the #69 Gulf Racing Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3. Rounding out the top ten overall is Bernd Kleinbach in the #99 Attempto Racing Porsche 997 GT3 R.
There were a few notable retirements before the first 100 laps had been completed. The #3 Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon Mercedes with 2013 race winners Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Quaisi and Andreas Simonsen retired after 88 laps while the defending Dubai 24 Hour winning #1 Stadler Motorsport Porsche was knocked out after 61 laps due to suspension failure.
Class leaders at the halfway mark of the Dubai 24 Hours:
The SP3 class leading #163 Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G55 GT4 of Bradley Ellis is 25th overall, having completed 267 laps.
Two laps back of the Ginetta, 26th overall is the SP2 class leading # 92 MARC Cars Australia Focus V8 of Tony Karanfilovski.
Sandra Van Der Sloot leads the CUP1 class in the #76 Racingdivas by Las Moras BMW M235i Racing Cup. The BMW is 30th overall, having completed 262 laps.
Two laps behind the CUP1 leading BMW is the A3T class leading #95 Memac Ogilvy Duel Racing Seat León Supercopa LR of Sami Moutran, 32nd overall.
Gregory Paisse is 34th overall in the A2 class leading #117 VDS Racing Honda Civic Type-R EP3 having completed 259 laps.
Chantal Kroll leads the A5 class, 38th overall in the #75 Hofor-Kuepperracing BMW E46 M3 Coupe having completed 257 laps.
Leaders Remain Same After Stage Six
There were no lead changes on stage six of the Dakar Rally as two class leaders extended their leads with stage victories.
Nasser Al-Attiyah won his third stage in the car class. The Qatari has won every even-numbered stage so far. Thirty-seven seconds back in second position on the stage and still second overall is Giniel de Villiers as Nani Roma finished a minute and 24 seconds back in third. Robby Gordon finished fourth, 21 seconds behind the Spaniard. Orlando Terranova rounded out the five, five minutes and 48 seconds back of his fellow Mini driver.
Toyota driver Berhard Ten Brinke and Yazeed Alrahji finished sixth and seventh on the stage, eight minutes and four seconds and eight minutes and 15 seconds back respectively. Krzysztof Holowczyc came home in eighth, 11 minutes and 58 seconds back. Erik Van Loon finished ninth, 13 minutes and 18 seconds behind Al-Attiyah while Frenchman Christian Lavieille rounding out the top ten, five seconds behind the Dutchman.
Al-Attiyah's overall lead is now 11 minutes and 12 seconds over de Villiers. Alrahji is 28 minutes and 44 seconds back while Holowczyc trails by an hour and 53 seconds. Ten Brinke is an hour and four minutes back in fifth. Van Loon follows his fellow Dutchman, just over another two minutes back. Lavieille jumped to seventh, an hour and 27 minutes back. Carlos Sousa is an hour and 47 seconds back in eighth with Ronan Chabot just over six minutes behind Sousa. Stéphane Peterhansel is tenth, 14 seconds back of Chabot after finishing 20th on stage six.
Gordon is 25th, five hours and 47 minutes back with Terranova 29th, nearly an hour back of the American. Roma is 39th, nearly nine and a half hours behind Al-Attiyah.
Hélder Rodrigues won his first stage of the 2015 Dakar by a minute and ten seconds over KTM's Toby Price. Paulo Gonçalves bookended the podium for Portugal and Honda finishing 32 seconds behind the Australian. Chilean Pablo Quintanilla came home in fourth, six minutes and 11 seconds back with Slovakian Stefan Svitko finishing 31 seconds back of Quintanilla.
Bike leader Joan Barreda finished sixth, seven minutes and 20 seconds off the stage winner. Jeremias Israel Esquerre came home in seventh, eight minutes and 58 seconds back. Marc Coma finished nine minutes and 14 seconds off Barreda in eighth. Ruben Faria finished 30 seconds behind Coma in ninth. Ivan Jakes finished tenth on stage six, 13 minutes and 59 seconds back.
Barreda leads overall by 12 minutes and 27 seconds over Coma. Gonçalves is 17 minutes and 12 seconds back in third with Quintanilla 29 minutes and 59 seconds behind in fourth. Trailing by 33 minutes and 44 seconds is Price. Rodrigues is 36 minutes and four seconds back after his stage victory. Faria is seventh, trailing Barreda by 40 minutes and 27 seconds with Svitko a minute behind Faria in eighth. Alain Duclos is ninth after finishing 13th on the stage. The Frenchman 52 minutes and 56 seconds back. Israel Esquerre rounds out the top ten, an hour and 48 seconds off Barreda.
Ignacio Casale won his third stage of the 2015 Dakar and took eight minutes and 58 seconds out of Rafał Sonik's lead as the Pole finished second on stage six. Sergio Lafunete finished third, 23 minutes and eight seconds back of Casale. Argentines Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli and Sebastian Halpern rounded out the top five with Gonzalez Ferioli finishing 27 minutes and 35 seconds after Casales and Halpern finishing nearly 20 minutes after his fellow Argentine.
Despite losing such a large amount of time on stage six, Sonik still leads Casale by 16 minutes and eight seconds. Lafuente is 41 minutes and 31 seconds behind Sonik with Gonzalez Ferioli an hour and 49 seconds back. Bolivian Walter Nosilglia is fifth in the quad class, nearly three hours behind Sonik with Halpern in sixth, three hours and three seconds back.
Eduard Nikolaev won his third consecutive stage as the Kamaz driver extended his lead by five minutes and 37 seconds over Airat Mardeev. Andrey Karginov made it an Kamaz sweep of the podium, ten minutes and 40 seconds back in third. Gérard de Rooy finished 31 seconds off the podium in fourth with Dmitry Sotnikov rounding out the top five, a minute and 13 seconds after de Rooy.
Siarhei Viazovich finished 25 minutes and 16 seconds off Nikolaev in sixth as Aleš Loprais finished nearly two minutes after the Belarusian in sixth. Hans Stacey finished eighth, 30 minutes and 28 seconds back.
Nikolaev's overall lead is 13 minutes and 38 seconds over Mardeev with Karginov nearly a half hour off Mardeev in third. Sotnikov makes it four Russians in the top four 58 minutes and 41 seconds back of Nikolaev. Viazovich rounds out the top five, an hour and 16 seconds back with Loprais an hour and 33 minutes off the lead. Stacey is just over ten minutes back of Loprais.
The bikes and quad will rest on Saturday as the cars leave Chile for Uyuni, Bolivia. The trucks will head remain in Chile and head to Atacama for stage seven. The bikes and quads will head to Uyuni on Saturday.
Nasser Al-Attiyah won his third stage in the car class. The Qatari has won every even-numbered stage so far. Thirty-seven seconds back in second position on the stage and still second overall is Giniel de Villiers as Nani Roma finished a minute and 24 seconds back in third. Robby Gordon finished fourth, 21 seconds behind the Spaniard. Orlando Terranova rounded out the five, five minutes and 48 seconds back of his fellow Mini driver.
Toyota driver Berhard Ten Brinke and Yazeed Alrahji finished sixth and seventh on the stage, eight minutes and four seconds and eight minutes and 15 seconds back respectively. Krzysztof Holowczyc came home in eighth, 11 minutes and 58 seconds back. Erik Van Loon finished ninth, 13 minutes and 18 seconds behind Al-Attiyah while Frenchman Christian Lavieille rounding out the top ten, five seconds behind the Dutchman.
Al-Attiyah's overall lead is now 11 minutes and 12 seconds over de Villiers. Alrahji is 28 minutes and 44 seconds back while Holowczyc trails by an hour and 53 seconds. Ten Brinke is an hour and four minutes back in fifth. Van Loon follows his fellow Dutchman, just over another two minutes back. Lavieille jumped to seventh, an hour and 27 minutes back. Carlos Sousa is an hour and 47 seconds back in eighth with Ronan Chabot just over six minutes behind Sousa. Stéphane Peterhansel is tenth, 14 seconds back of Chabot after finishing 20th on stage six.
Gordon is 25th, five hours and 47 minutes back with Terranova 29th, nearly an hour back of the American. Roma is 39th, nearly nine and a half hours behind Al-Attiyah.
Hélder Rodrigues won his first stage of the 2015 Dakar by a minute and ten seconds over KTM's Toby Price. Paulo Gonçalves bookended the podium for Portugal and Honda finishing 32 seconds behind the Australian. Chilean Pablo Quintanilla came home in fourth, six minutes and 11 seconds back with Slovakian Stefan Svitko finishing 31 seconds back of Quintanilla.
Bike leader Joan Barreda finished sixth, seven minutes and 20 seconds off the stage winner. Jeremias Israel Esquerre came home in seventh, eight minutes and 58 seconds back. Marc Coma finished nine minutes and 14 seconds off Barreda in eighth. Ruben Faria finished 30 seconds behind Coma in ninth. Ivan Jakes finished tenth on stage six, 13 minutes and 59 seconds back.
Barreda leads overall by 12 minutes and 27 seconds over Coma. Gonçalves is 17 minutes and 12 seconds back in third with Quintanilla 29 minutes and 59 seconds behind in fourth. Trailing by 33 minutes and 44 seconds is Price. Rodrigues is 36 minutes and four seconds back after his stage victory. Faria is seventh, trailing Barreda by 40 minutes and 27 seconds with Svitko a minute behind Faria in eighth. Alain Duclos is ninth after finishing 13th on the stage. The Frenchman 52 minutes and 56 seconds back. Israel Esquerre rounds out the top ten, an hour and 48 seconds off Barreda.
Ignacio Casale won his third stage of the 2015 Dakar and took eight minutes and 58 seconds out of Rafał Sonik's lead as the Pole finished second on stage six. Sergio Lafunete finished third, 23 minutes and eight seconds back of Casale. Argentines Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli and Sebastian Halpern rounded out the top five with Gonzalez Ferioli finishing 27 minutes and 35 seconds after Casales and Halpern finishing nearly 20 minutes after his fellow Argentine.
Despite losing such a large amount of time on stage six, Sonik still leads Casale by 16 minutes and eight seconds. Lafuente is 41 minutes and 31 seconds behind Sonik with Gonzalez Ferioli an hour and 49 seconds back. Bolivian Walter Nosilglia is fifth in the quad class, nearly three hours behind Sonik with Halpern in sixth, three hours and three seconds back.
Eduard Nikolaev won his third consecutive stage as the Kamaz driver extended his lead by five minutes and 37 seconds over Airat Mardeev. Andrey Karginov made it an Kamaz sweep of the podium, ten minutes and 40 seconds back in third. Gérard de Rooy finished 31 seconds off the podium in fourth with Dmitry Sotnikov rounding out the top five, a minute and 13 seconds after de Rooy.
Siarhei Viazovich finished 25 minutes and 16 seconds off Nikolaev in sixth as Aleš Loprais finished nearly two minutes after the Belarusian in sixth. Hans Stacey finished eighth, 30 minutes and 28 seconds back.
Nikolaev's overall lead is 13 minutes and 38 seconds over Mardeev with Karginov nearly a half hour off Mardeev in third. Sotnikov makes it four Russians in the top four 58 minutes and 41 seconds back of Nikolaev. Viazovich rounds out the top five, an hour and 16 seconds back with Loprais an hour and 33 minutes off the lead. Stacey is just over ten minutes back of Loprais.
The bikes and quad will rest on Saturday as the cars leave Chile for Uyuni, Bolivia. The trucks will head remain in Chile and head to Atacama for stage seven. The bikes and quads will head to Uyuni on Saturday.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
First Time Winner Highlights Stage Five
While front-runners won in the bike, quad and truck classes, the car class saw an unexpected first time winner.
Russian Vladimir Vasilyev won stage five by 20 seconds over Yazeed Alrajhi. Robby Gordon finished third, a minute and 25 seconds back. Nasser Al-Attiyah held on to his car class lead with a fourth place finish, three minutes and 24 seconds behind his fellow Mini driver Yasilyev. Stéphane Peterhansel rounded out the top five, four minutes and four seconds back.
Giniel de Villiers came home sixth, five minutes and 44 seconds back. Four Minis rounded out the top ten. Pole Krzysztof Holowczyc finished eight minutes and 49 seconds after Vasilyev with Nani Roma finishing eighth, ten minutes and two seconds back. Erik Van Loon and Orlando Terranova finished ninth and tenth with the Dutchman 11 minutes and 35 seconds off of Vasilyev with the Argentine finishing 19 seconds behind Van Loon.
Al-Attiyah leads de Villiers by ten minutes and 35 seconds with Alrahji 20 minutes and 29 seconds back. Holowcyzc is 48 minutes and 55 seconds back in fourth with Van Loon rounding out the top five, 53 minutes and 25 seconds behind Al-Attiyah. Bernhard Ten Brinke is 56 minutes and 19 seconds back in sixth. Vasilyev jumped up to seventh with his stage win but is nearly an hour and ten minutes off the overall lead.
Peterhansel is ninth, an hour and 29 seconds back of the Qatari. Gordon is five fours and 45 minutes minutes back. Terranova lost a lot of time on stage four and is now nearly six hours and 48 minutes off the lead.
Marc Coma won in the bike class, his first of the 2015 race. The KTM rider won by two minutes and 16 seconds over Joan Barreda. Pablo Quintanilla finished third, two minutes and 40 seconds back with Slovakian Stefan Svitko coming home in fourth, three minutes and 54 seconds back. Paulo Gonçalves rounded out the top five, four minutes and 37 seconds after Coma with fellow Portuguese Honda rider Hélder Rodrigues six minutes and 35 seconds back in sixth.
Jeremias Israel Esquerre seven minutes and ten seconds back in seventh with Matthias Walkner finishing 14 seconds after the Chilean. Alain Duclos finished ninth, nine minutes and 57 seconds back. Toby Price finished eight seconds after the Frenchman with Jordi Viladoms finishing 11th, 13 minutes and 48 seconds after Coma.
Barreda retains the bike lead with Coma ten minutes and 33 seconds back. Gonçalves is third, 22 minutes and 50 seconds back. Quintanilla is fourth, 31 minutes and six seconds back. Viladoms is fourth, just over five minutes behind Quintanilla. Ruben Faria is sixth, 38 minutes and 13 seconds behind Barreda after finishing 15th on stage five. Walkner is 23 seconds behind Faria with Price a minute and 18 seconds behind the Austrian. Svitko jumped to ninth, 42 minutes and five seconds behind Barreda and Rodrigues rounds out the top ten, 48 seconds behind the Slovakian.
Duclos and Israel Esquerre are 11th and 12th, the Frenchman 44 minutes and 12 seconds back and the Chilean 59 minutes and ten seconds back.
Rafał Sonik won his second consecutive stage and dominated winning by ten minutes and 51 seconds over Ignacio Casale. Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli finished third, 21 minutes and 41 seconds back. Sergio Lafuente finished fifty seconds behind Gonzalez Ferioli in fourth with Chilean Victor Manuel Gallegos Lozic rounding out the top five, just over a half hour behind Sonik.
Sonik's lead has been extended to 24 minutes and 23 seconds over Casale. Lafunete is 26 minutes and 20 seconds back in third. Gonzalez Ferioli is just over an hour and a half back in fourth. Argentine Pablo Copetti is fifth overall, nearly an hour and 43 minutes back.
Eduard Nikolaev took the truck class lead by winning his second consecutive stage. The Russian defeated class leader entering the stage, Airat Mardeev by nine minutes and 58 seconds. Belarusian Siarhei Viazovich finished third, 15 mounts and 46 seconds back. Aleš Loprais finished 57 seconds back in fourth with Dmitry Sotnikov rounding out the top five, 20 minutes and 45 seconds back. Andrey Karginov finished six minutes and three seconds off Sotnikov.
Nikolaev holds an eight minute and one second lead over Mardeev with Loprais 27 minutes and 28 seconds back in third. Karginov is fourth, eight seconds behind the Czech. Stoking rounds out the top five, 45 minutes and 57 seconds back. Viazovich is sixth, 51 seconds and 28 seconds back. Hans Stacey dropped to seventh, an hour and 13 minutes back after finishing over 57 minutes back in fifteenth on stage five.
Stage six heads up the Pacific Coast from Antofagasta and Iquique.
Russian Vladimir Vasilyev won stage five by 20 seconds over Yazeed Alrajhi. Robby Gordon finished third, a minute and 25 seconds back. Nasser Al-Attiyah held on to his car class lead with a fourth place finish, three minutes and 24 seconds behind his fellow Mini driver Yasilyev. Stéphane Peterhansel rounded out the top five, four minutes and four seconds back.
Giniel de Villiers came home sixth, five minutes and 44 seconds back. Four Minis rounded out the top ten. Pole Krzysztof Holowczyc finished eight minutes and 49 seconds after Vasilyev with Nani Roma finishing eighth, ten minutes and two seconds back. Erik Van Loon and Orlando Terranova finished ninth and tenth with the Dutchman 11 minutes and 35 seconds off of Vasilyev with the Argentine finishing 19 seconds behind Van Loon.
Al-Attiyah leads de Villiers by ten minutes and 35 seconds with Alrahji 20 minutes and 29 seconds back. Holowcyzc is 48 minutes and 55 seconds back in fourth with Van Loon rounding out the top five, 53 minutes and 25 seconds behind Al-Attiyah. Bernhard Ten Brinke is 56 minutes and 19 seconds back in sixth. Vasilyev jumped up to seventh with his stage win but is nearly an hour and ten minutes off the overall lead.
Peterhansel is ninth, an hour and 29 seconds back of the Qatari. Gordon is five fours and 45 minutes minutes back. Terranova lost a lot of time on stage four and is now nearly six hours and 48 minutes off the lead.
Marc Coma won in the bike class, his first of the 2015 race. The KTM rider won by two minutes and 16 seconds over Joan Barreda. Pablo Quintanilla finished third, two minutes and 40 seconds back with Slovakian Stefan Svitko coming home in fourth, three minutes and 54 seconds back. Paulo Gonçalves rounded out the top five, four minutes and 37 seconds after Coma with fellow Portuguese Honda rider Hélder Rodrigues six minutes and 35 seconds back in sixth.
Jeremias Israel Esquerre seven minutes and ten seconds back in seventh with Matthias Walkner finishing 14 seconds after the Chilean. Alain Duclos finished ninth, nine minutes and 57 seconds back. Toby Price finished eight seconds after the Frenchman with Jordi Viladoms finishing 11th, 13 minutes and 48 seconds after Coma.
Barreda retains the bike lead with Coma ten minutes and 33 seconds back. Gonçalves is third, 22 minutes and 50 seconds back. Quintanilla is fourth, 31 minutes and six seconds back. Viladoms is fourth, just over five minutes behind Quintanilla. Ruben Faria is sixth, 38 minutes and 13 seconds behind Barreda after finishing 15th on stage five. Walkner is 23 seconds behind Faria with Price a minute and 18 seconds behind the Austrian. Svitko jumped to ninth, 42 minutes and five seconds behind Barreda and Rodrigues rounds out the top ten, 48 seconds behind the Slovakian.
Duclos and Israel Esquerre are 11th and 12th, the Frenchman 44 minutes and 12 seconds back and the Chilean 59 minutes and ten seconds back.
Rafał Sonik won his second consecutive stage and dominated winning by ten minutes and 51 seconds over Ignacio Casale. Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli finished third, 21 minutes and 41 seconds back. Sergio Lafuente finished fifty seconds behind Gonzalez Ferioli in fourth with Chilean Victor Manuel Gallegos Lozic rounding out the top five, just over a half hour behind Sonik.
Sonik's lead has been extended to 24 minutes and 23 seconds over Casale. Lafunete is 26 minutes and 20 seconds back in third. Gonzalez Ferioli is just over an hour and a half back in fourth. Argentine Pablo Copetti is fifth overall, nearly an hour and 43 minutes back.
Eduard Nikolaev took the truck class lead by winning his second consecutive stage. The Russian defeated class leader entering the stage, Airat Mardeev by nine minutes and 58 seconds. Belarusian Siarhei Viazovich finished third, 15 mounts and 46 seconds back. Aleš Loprais finished 57 seconds back in fourth with Dmitry Sotnikov rounding out the top five, 20 minutes and 45 seconds back. Andrey Karginov finished six minutes and three seconds off Sotnikov.
Nikolaev holds an eight minute and one second lead over Mardeev with Loprais 27 minutes and 28 seconds back in third. Karginov is fourth, eight seconds behind the Czech. Stoking rounds out the top five, 45 minutes and 57 seconds back. Viazovich is sixth, 51 seconds and 28 seconds back. Hans Stacey dropped to seventh, an hour and 13 minutes back after finishing over 57 minutes back in fifteenth on stage five.
Stage six heads up the Pacific Coast from Antofagasta and Iquique.
Dubai 24 Hour and Formula E Kick Off Road Racing Season
The second weekend of January features two world class events on two continents. Formula E runs their fourth round and second consecutive from South America as the all-electric championship heads to the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. Before the one-day show however, the first 24-hour endurance race of 2015 will take place from the Middle East for the tenth running of the Dubai 24 Hours.
Dubai 24 Hour
A record 95 cars are entered for the Dubai 24 Hour, the first race of the FIA-recognized 24H Series. Twenty-seven cars are entered in the GT3, A6 class including a return of 2014 winners Stadler Motorsport. Four of the five drivers who were apart of last year's victory will be back in 2014 as Swiss drivers Mark Ineichen, Rolf Ineichen, Adrian Amstutz and German Christian Engelhart all return to behind the wheel of the #1 Porsche 997 GT3 R. Black Falcon has two Mercedes SLS AMG GT3s entered. Hubert Haupt, Yelmer Burma, Oliver Webb and Abdelaziz Al Faisal will drive the #2 while 2013 winners Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi will be joined by Andreas Simonsen in the #3 Mercedes.
Other notable Mercedes entries include GTRussian with Estonians Marko Asmer and Kevin Korjus joining Russian Alexey Vasilyev and Karim Al Azhari in the #10 Mercedes. Ram Racing will return to competition with the #30 Mercedes with Adam Christodoulou, Tom Onslow-Cole, Thomas Jäger and Cheerag Arya.
Fach Auto Tech enters two Porsches. The #11 will feature Swiss drivers Marcel Wagner, Heinz Bruder, Erwin Keller and Heinz Arnold and Italian Matteo Cairoli with German Otto Klohs, Jen Richter, Sven Müller and Austrian Martin Ragginger in the #12 Porsche.
British Triple Eight Race Engineering head to Dubai with a BMW Z4 GT3 with drivers Lee Mowle, Joe Osborne, Jacques Duyver and Charlie Hollings driving the #8 BMW.
A German manufacture has won all previous nine runnings of the Dubai 24 Hour.
Scuderia Praha will run the #4 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 with Czech drivers Jírí Písarík and Jaromīr Jirík being joined by Matteo Malucelli and Peter Kox. The #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari will have Matt Griffin, Rob Barff, Jordan Grogor and Mohammed Jawa behind the wheel.
Gulf Racing have entered the #69 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 with Roald Goethe, Stuart Hall, Jamie Campbell-Walter and Frederic Fatien.
The #23 Nissan GT Academy Team RJN GTR GT3 features three drivers, including the lone American in the A6 class. Nick Hammann is joined by German Florian Strauss, Mexican Ricardo Sanchez, Saudi Ahmed Bin Khanen and Frenchman Gaeten Paletou.
KPM Racing have entered the lone Aston Martin Vantage GT3 as the #28 will be driven by Stefan Mücke, Paul White and Jonny Adam.
The Dutch V8 Racing have entered the lone Corvette C6R ZR1 as Dutchmen Rick Abresch, Alex van t'Hoff, Wolf Nathan, Nicky Pastorelli and Portuguese Miguel Ramos will drive the #19 Corvette.
Eight of the previous nine Dubai 24 Hour winners have included a German driver. The lone year to not feature a German winner was 2008 when the Australian VIP Pet Foods Porsche won with Australians Jonathon Webb and Klark Quinn, Brit Tony Quinn and New Zealander Craig Baird. Porsche has won four Dubai 24 Hours, BMW has three and Mercedes has two. There has never been a winner of the Dubai 24 Hour to feature a driver line-up all from one country.
Green flag for the 10th Dubai 24 Hour will fly at 5:00 a.m. ET on Friday.
Buenos Aires ePrix
Formula E looks for their first repeat winner as the series heads into their fourth round of the 2014-15 season.
Lucas di Grassi has finished on the podium in all three Formula E races but has finished worse in each race. After winning in Beijing, the Brazilian finished second to Sam Bird at Putrajaya and finished third at Punta del Este behind Sébastien Buemi and Nelson Piquet, Jr. and benefited from the late retirement of Jean-Éric Vergne, who had a suspension failure during the final laps.
Di Grassi leads the championship by 18 points over Buemi and Bird. Nicolas Prost is fourth, 34 points behind di Grassi. Piquet, Jr. and Jérôme d'Ambrosio are tied with 22 points with the Brazilian holding the tiebreaker as his second place finish is better than the Belgians best finish of fifth.
Franck Montagny and Karun Chandhok are tied with 18 points but the Frenchman Montagny has been suspended are failing a drug test in November. Spaniards Jamie Alguersauri and Oriol Servià have each scored 14 points while Jarno Trulli and Charles Pic are tied with 12 points. Pic has not competed since the opening race at Beijing and will not be in Buenos Aires.
Bruno Senna has eight points while António Félix da Costa and Daniel Abt are tied on four points. Abt has scored in all three races this season. Vergne has three points after starting on pole position at Punta del Este. Stéphane Sarrazin and Takuma Sato each have two points while Nick Heidfeld score his first point of the season in Uruguay.
Vergne will return to drive his second race for Andretti Autosport while Marco Andretti will make his Formula E debut replacing Matthew Brabham at his father's team. Brabham failed to score in his first two race and was running in the points at Uruguay before having an accident with five laps to go.
Ho-Pin Tung will return after missing Punta del Este because of Gulf 12 Hours duty. Corvette factory driver Antonio García ran Punta del Este in place of Tung. Salvador Durán returns for his second race with Aguri having replaced Katherine Legge prior to Uruguay.
Fox Sports 2 will have live coverage of the Buenos Aires ePrix at noon ET on Saturday.
Dubai 24 Hour
A record 95 cars are entered for the Dubai 24 Hour, the first race of the FIA-recognized 24H Series. Twenty-seven cars are entered in the GT3, A6 class including a return of 2014 winners Stadler Motorsport. Four of the five drivers who were apart of last year's victory will be back in 2014 as Swiss drivers Mark Ineichen, Rolf Ineichen, Adrian Amstutz and German Christian Engelhart all return to behind the wheel of the #1 Porsche 997 GT3 R. Black Falcon has two Mercedes SLS AMG GT3s entered. Hubert Haupt, Yelmer Burma, Oliver Webb and Abdelaziz Al Faisal will drive the #2 while 2013 winners Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi will be joined by Andreas Simonsen in the #3 Mercedes.
Other notable Mercedes entries include GTRussian with Estonians Marko Asmer and Kevin Korjus joining Russian Alexey Vasilyev and Karim Al Azhari in the #10 Mercedes. Ram Racing will return to competition with the #30 Mercedes with Adam Christodoulou, Tom Onslow-Cole, Thomas Jäger and Cheerag Arya.
Fach Auto Tech enters two Porsches. The #11 will feature Swiss drivers Marcel Wagner, Heinz Bruder, Erwin Keller and Heinz Arnold and Italian Matteo Cairoli with German Otto Klohs, Jen Richter, Sven Müller and Austrian Martin Ragginger in the #12 Porsche.
British Triple Eight Race Engineering head to Dubai with a BMW Z4 GT3 with drivers Lee Mowle, Joe Osborne, Jacques Duyver and Charlie Hollings driving the #8 BMW.
A German manufacture has won all previous nine runnings of the Dubai 24 Hour.
Scuderia Praha will run the #4 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 with Czech drivers Jírí Písarík and Jaromīr Jirík being joined by Matteo Malucelli and Peter Kox. The #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari will have Matt Griffin, Rob Barff, Jordan Grogor and Mohammed Jawa behind the wheel.
Gulf Racing have entered the #69 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 with Roald Goethe, Stuart Hall, Jamie Campbell-Walter and Frederic Fatien.
The #23 Nissan GT Academy Team RJN GTR GT3 features three drivers, including the lone American in the A6 class. Nick Hammann is joined by German Florian Strauss, Mexican Ricardo Sanchez, Saudi Ahmed Bin Khanen and Frenchman Gaeten Paletou.
KPM Racing have entered the lone Aston Martin Vantage GT3 as the #28 will be driven by Stefan Mücke, Paul White and Jonny Adam.
The Dutch V8 Racing have entered the lone Corvette C6R ZR1 as Dutchmen Rick Abresch, Alex van t'Hoff, Wolf Nathan, Nicky Pastorelli and Portuguese Miguel Ramos will drive the #19 Corvette.
Eight of the previous nine Dubai 24 Hour winners have included a German driver. The lone year to not feature a German winner was 2008 when the Australian VIP Pet Foods Porsche won with Australians Jonathon Webb and Klark Quinn, Brit Tony Quinn and New Zealander Craig Baird. Porsche has won four Dubai 24 Hours, BMW has three and Mercedes has two. There has never been a winner of the Dubai 24 Hour to feature a driver line-up all from one country.
Green flag for the 10th Dubai 24 Hour will fly at 5:00 a.m. ET on Friday.
Buenos Aires ePrix
Formula E looks for their first repeat winner as the series heads into their fourth round of the 2014-15 season.
Lucas di Grassi has finished on the podium in all three Formula E races but has finished worse in each race. After winning in Beijing, the Brazilian finished second to Sam Bird at Putrajaya and finished third at Punta del Este behind Sébastien Buemi and Nelson Piquet, Jr. and benefited from the late retirement of Jean-Éric Vergne, who had a suspension failure during the final laps.
Di Grassi leads the championship by 18 points over Buemi and Bird. Nicolas Prost is fourth, 34 points behind di Grassi. Piquet, Jr. and Jérôme d'Ambrosio are tied with 22 points with the Brazilian holding the tiebreaker as his second place finish is better than the Belgians best finish of fifth.
Franck Montagny and Karun Chandhok are tied with 18 points but the Frenchman Montagny has been suspended are failing a drug test in November. Spaniards Jamie Alguersauri and Oriol Servià have each scored 14 points while Jarno Trulli and Charles Pic are tied with 12 points. Pic has not competed since the opening race at Beijing and will not be in Buenos Aires.
Bruno Senna has eight points while António Félix da Costa and Daniel Abt are tied on four points. Abt has scored in all three races this season. Vergne has three points after starting on pole position at Punta del Este. Stéphane Sarrazin and Takuma Sato each have two points while Nick Heidfeld score his first point of the season in Uruguay.
Vergne will return to drive his second race for Andretti Autosport while Marco Andretti will make his Formula E debut replacing Matthew Brabham at his father's team. Brabham failed to score in his first two race and was running in the points at Uruguay before having an accident with five laps to go.
Ho-Pin Tung will return after missing Punta del Este because of Gulf 12 Hours duty. Corvette factory driver Antonio García ran Punta del Este in place of Tung. Salvador Durán returns for his second race with Aguri having replaced Katherine Legge prior to Uruguay.
Fox Sports 2 will have live coverage of the Buenos Aires ePrix at noon ET on Saturday.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Al-Attiyah, Barreda Win; Sonik Back on Point
Two class leaders won stage four while there was another lead change in the quad class as the Dakar Rally heads from Argentina to Chile.
Nasser Al-Attiyah won stage four of the 2015 Dakar Rally, his second of the rally. The Qatari won by two minutes and 40 seconds over his Mini teammate Nani Roma. The Toyotas of Giniel de Villiers and Yazeed Al-Rajhi came home behind the Minis with the South African finishing two minutes and 57 seconds after Al-Attiyah and the Saudi coming home three minutes and 25 seconds after the Qatari. Stéphane Peterhansel rounded out the top five on the stage, five minutes and 48 seconds back.
Al-Attiyah still leads overall, eight minutes and 15 seconds ahead of de Villiers. Alrahji is third, 23 minutes and 33 seconds back with Bernhard Ten Brinke making it three consecutive Toyotas in the overall classifications with the Dutchman 42 minutes and 32 seconds back. Krzysztof Hołowczyc rounds out the top five, 43 minutes and 30 seconds behind his fellow Mini driver. Robby Gordon finished an hour and 23 minutes after Al-Attiyah.
Peterhansel is currently 12th, nearly an hour and 19 minutes back while Gordon is five hours and 47 minutes back. Roma trails by nine hours and 17 minutes.
Notable drivers yet to finish in the car class are stage one and three winners Orlanda Terranova and Carlos Sainz.
Honda's Joan Barreda won his second stage of the 2015 Dakar by a minute and 59 seconds over KTM's Marc Coma. Chilean Pablo Quintanilla finished third on stage four, two minutes and 49 seconds after Barreda. Jordi Viladoms and Ruben Faria made it four KTMs in the top five with the Spaniard finishing ten minutes and 44 seconds back and the Portuguese rider finishing 11 seconds after Viladoms.
Alain Duclos finished seventh, 12 minutes and 51 seconds back of Barreda. The Portuguese Honda riders Paulo Gonçalves and Hélder Rodrigues had a rough fourth stage with Gonçalves finishing 12th, nearly 15 minutes after Barreda and Rodrigues finishing 18th, just over 20 and a half minutes after Barreda. Stage three winner, Matthias Walkner finished 22nd, 22 minutes and 55 seconds back. Yamaha rider Olivier Pain finished 24th, 25 minutes after Barreda.
Barreda extended is overall lead to 12 minutes and 49 seconds over Coma. Gonçalves is third, 20 minutes and 29 seconds back with Faria trailing by 23 minutes and five seconds. Viladoms rounds out the top five, 24 minutes and 51 seconds behind Barreda. Quintanilla is sixth, a half hour and 42 seconds back. Australian Toby Price trails Quintanilla by 23 seconds. Walkner is eighth is 33 minutes and 28 seconds back with Duclos and Rodrigues rounding out the top ten. Then Frenchman is 36 minutes and 31 seconds back with Rodrigues 39 minutes and five seconds back.
Pain is 20th, nearly one hour and three minutes back.
After losing the quad lead after a 15-minute penalty, Rafał Sonik retook the lead by winning stage four by three minutes and 26 seconds over Ignacio Casale, who had a 20-minute penalty added to his overall time. Mohammad Abu-Issa finished third, nearly ten minutes after Casale. Quad leader entering stage four, Sergio Lafuente finished fourth, 40 seconds behind Abu-Issa. Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli rounded out the top five for stage four, finishing over 21 minutes after Sonik.
Sonik holds the overall quad lead by three minutes and 49 seconds over Lafuente. Casale is 13 minutes and 32 seconds back in third with Abu-Issa 19 minutes and 47 seconds back. Sebastian Halpern trails by 59 minutes and 47 seconds, fifth overall. Halpern finished 15th, over an hour after Sonik on stage four.
Andrey Karginov made it four different stage winners in the truck class in as many stages. The Russian won by three seconds over fellow Kamaz driver Eduard Nikolaev. Airat Mardeev finished third, six minutes and 13 seconds after Karginov for a Kamaz sweep of the podium. Aleš Loprais finished 11 minutes back in fourth with Hans Stacey rounding out the top five, 29 seconds after the Czech driver.
Mardeev retains the truck lead after stage four but the gap is now only a minute and 45 seconds to Karginov. Nikolaev is a minute and 57 seconds back with Loprais 12 minutes and 42 seconds back. Stacey rounds out the top five, 17 minutes and 58 seconds back.
Stage five, the first stage to take place entirely in Chile, will head from Copiapo to Antofagasta.
Nasser Al-Attiyah won stage four of the 2015 Dakar Rally, his second of the rally. The Qatari won by two minutes and 40 seconds over his Mini teammate Nani Roma. The Toyotas of Giniel de Villiers and Yazeed Al-Rajhi came home behind the Minis with the South African finishing two minutes and 57 seconds after Al-Attiyah and the Saudi coming home three minutes and 25 seconds after the Qatari. Stéphane Peterhansel rounded out the top five on the stage, five minutes and 48 seconds back.
Al-Attiyah still leads overall, eight minutes and 15 seconds ahead of de Villiers. Alrahji is third, 23 minutes and 33 seconds back with Bernhard Ten Brinke making it three consecutive Toyotas in the overall classifications with the Dutchman 42 minutes and 32 seconds back. Krzysztof Hołowczyc rounds out the top five, 43 minutes and 30 seconds behind his fellow Mini driver. Robby Gordon finished an hour and 23 minutes after Al-Attiyah.
Peterhansel is currently 12th, nearly an hour and 19 minutes back while Gordon is five hours and 47 minutes back. Roma trails by nine hours and 17 minutes.
Notable drivers yet to finish in the car class are stage one and three winners Orlanda Terranova and Carlos Sainz.
Honda's Joan Barreda won his second stage of the 2015 Dakar by a minute and 59 seconds over KTM's Marc Coma. Chilean Pablo Quintanilla finished third on stage four, two minutes and 49 seconds after Barreda. Jordi Viladoms and Ruben Faria made it four KTMs in the top five with the Spaniard finishing ten minutes and 44 seconds back and the Portuguese rider finishing 11 seconds after Viladoms.
Alain Duclos finished seventh, 12 minutes and 51 seconds back of Barreda. The Portuguese Honda riders Paulo Gonçalves and Hélder Rodrigues had a rough fourth stage with Gonçalves finishing 12th, nearly 15 minutes after Barreda and Rodrigues finishing 18th, just over 20 and a half minutes after Barreda. Stage three winner, Matthias Walkner finished 22nd, 22 minutes and 55 seconds back. Yamaha rider Olivier Pain finished 24th, 25 minutes after Barreda.
Barreda extended is overall lead to 12 minutes and 49 seconds over Coma. Gonçalves is third, 20 minutes and 29 seconds back with Faria trailing by 23 minutes and five seconds. Viladoms rounds out the top five, 24 minutes and 51 seconds behind Barreda. Quintanilla is sixth, a half hour and 42 seconds back. Australian Toby Price trails Quintanilla by 23 seconds. Walkner is eighth is 33 minutes and 28 seconds back with Duclos and Rodrigues rounding out the top ten. Then Frenchman is 36 minutes and 31 seconds back with Rodrigues 39 minutes and five seconds back.
Pain is 20th, nearly one hour and three minutes back.
After losing the quad lead after a 15-minute penalty, Rafał Sonik retook the lead by winning stage four by three minutes and 26 seconds over Ignacio Casale, who had a 20-minute penalty added to his overall time. Mohammad Abu-Issa finished third, nearly ten minutes after Casale. Quad leader entering stage four, Sergio Lafuente finished fourth, 40 seconds behind Abu-Issa. Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli rounded out the top five for stage four, finishing over 21 minutes after Sonik.
Sonik holds the overall quad lead by three minutes and 49 seconds over Lafuente. Casale is 13 minutes and 32 seconds back in third with Abu-Issa 19 minutes and 47 seconds back. Sebastian Halpern trails by 59 minutes and 47 seconds, fifth overall. Halpern finished 15th, over an hour after Sonik on stage four.
Andrey Karginov made it four different stage winners in the truck class in as many stages. The Russian won by three seconds over fellow Kamaz driver Eduard Nikolaev. Airat Mardeev finished third, six minutes and 13 seconds after Karginov for a Kamaz sweep of the podium. Aleš Loprais finished 11 minutes back in fourth with Hans Stacey rounding out the top five, 29 seconds after the Czech driver.
Mardeev retains the truck lead after stage four but the gap is now only a minute and 45 seconds to Karginov. Nikolaev is a minute and 57 seconds back with Loprais 12 minutes and 42 seconds back. Stacey rounds out the top five, 17 minutes and 58 seconds back.
Stage five, the first stage to take place entirely in Chile, will head from Copiapo to Antofagasta.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)