The Dakar Rally 2012

[Cheeveer]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Jinx

[Everso Biggyballies]

Yeah, I think we can say that Robby and Dakar 2012 are over in terms of a potential win. He had some major delays for mechanical issues, and was forced to stop on the link road between the day's two timed sections of the stage. He came in over two hours behind Peterhansel in the end. It was just a $2 part which failed.... a rubber 'boot' protecting the CV joint (on a driveshaft) split open..... the Joint ran dry, dirt got in to the joint in place of grease and bang, CV joint failed. Car Stops with no drive. Sad way for a challenge to end.

He has now lost his third place to de Villiers and has a very close battle with Novitskiy (Mini) to retain that position.

Top 10 positions (overall) after stage 11:

Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Stephane Peterhansel Mini 32h38m05s
2. Nani Roma Mini + 22m49s
3. Giniel de Villiers Toyota + 1h11m01s
4. Robby Gordon Hummer + 2h10m31s
5. Leonid Novitskiy Mini + 2h11m10s
6. Lucio Alvarez Toyota + 3h53m51s
7. Carlos Sousa Great Wall + 4h04m43s
8. Bernard ten Brinke Mitsubishi + 4h17m36s
9. Ricardo Leal dos Santos Mini + 4h38m11s
10. Duncan Vos Toyota + 4h50m21s

[Cheeveer]

Robby won yesterdays stage though, with some margin.

"We schooled these boys. I'm pissed. I'm pissed at Stephane and I'm pissed at Nani for challenging my character about being a cheater and today I kicked their asses. I'm going to prove something every day for the rest of the rally. We're going to win every special from here home."

I think it's pretty clear. The Hummer's just the superior car. Without the technical difficulties, he and Nasser would lead the Mini's a long way by now.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97018

[Sam]

He didn't just win, he obliterated the rest of the field. Over 15 minutes faster than anyone else.

Just a shame that the final proper stage is today. The most interesting battle will be in the bikes, with Marc Coma and Cyril Depres being separated by less than two minutes. Everything still to play for there...

edit:

I think it's pretty clear. The Hummer's just the superior car. Without the technical difficulties, he and Nasser would lead the Mini's a long way by now.

One might argue that the Mini's reliability against the Hummer makes that a superior car for an endurance event like the Dakar. The Hummer is clearly faster of the two, but still just too fragile. Once they get that sorted, though...

[Everso Biggyballies]

I think its maybe more a case of the Hummer is brilliant in certain conditions and not good in others. It loves the open spaces and the dunes , perhaps aided by its 2WD spec it runs under, which I briefly mentioned earlier in the thread. and the differences it allows oveer 4WD.... much bigger tyre size, onboard adjustable tyre pressures so where the 4WD would have to be in and out of the cars doing tyres, or just compromising with a setting that will handle most conditions OK.... the Hummer can drop the tyres to almost flat to rock hard from a button in the car.

For instance on that last stage Peterhansel lost over 20 minutes bogged in the dunes, and Roma lost heaps. Robbie went straight through without a problem.

On the tighter windy mountain sections the X Raid 'Mini' seems pretty nimble compared to the Hummer, and holds the advantage there..

Gordon should have a hell of an advantage I think it is today when they have plenty of sand plus a long section along the beach waterfront. Gordon will fly on that with his ground clearance and big tyres, able to run the wetter harder sand with no problems. It is a new stage completel. Looking forward to it.

A bit like Fraser Island here in Aus.... up on the barrier reef, and accessed by Ferry, you can hire or take your own 4WD and drive up the beach (probably over 100 kilms long). A lot of people just cruise and take in the nature content camping trip sort of thing but others (like the ex wife and I) were hooning along the water edge in our hired Vitara sized softop 4WD.

Early Dakar footage:

This video here shows some idea of the earlier events and the cars that would rock up ....Jaguar XJ6, Citroen 2CV's (some 4WD with an engine front and rear!), Renault 4, and plenty of old Rileys, Classics, and Land Rovers. It is so different now with all the equipment and support vehicles. There have been many more classics over the years.... the guy who hadd a big barbecue fitted to his 4WD and every night would cook up a huge BBQ for all. I may be imagining this but an ice cream van or something that had ice cream facilities. I dont think I was dreaming.... but I have just tried to find the pics and cant......

Anyway the footage not of the barbecue van but of other early road type cars that took off on the Dakar like it was a family camping holiday.

[Everso Biggyballies]

OK, a quick Dakar Trivia here.

Just post your answers in the thread here, and I will post the official answers in a day (in a spoiler if u like,) unless the correct answers have already been posted.

Just a few very simple ones in terms of finding the answers.


1) One year the team that won the event also had their team service crew classified with a 6th. placed finish.

When, and what team and car managed this?


2) What car (maker and model) has won its class at Le Mans and also won the Dakar outright in the same year.


3) Women of the Dakar

Three questions about who was first female to....

a) Who was the first woman to win a stage of any of the Dakar Rallies, and when.?

b) Has there ever been a female winner of the Dakar?

c) Who was the first woman to ever finish the Dakar, and when?



If anyone else has a trivia question to do with Dakar throw it in.

[Sam]

I think its maybe more a case of the Hummer is brilliant in certain conditions and not good in others. It loves the open spaces and the dunes , perhaps aided by its 2WD spec it runs under, which I briefly mentioned earlier in the thread. and the differences it allows oveer 4WD.... much bigger tyre size, onboard adjustable tyre pressures so where the 4WD would have to be in and out of the cars doing tyres, or just compromising with a setting that will handle most conditions OK.... the Hummer can drop the tyres to almost flat to rock hard from a button in the car.

Also, the Hummer is allowed to have way more suspension travel, it's something like twice as much as what the Minis and other more production-based machinery are allowed.

I'll spoiler the answers just in case...

1) I'm thinking Porsche in 1980s... 1984? The car would be Porsche 911, with the service car being one of the eight-wheeled Man trucks.
2) Could it be Porsche again? I'll go for Porsche 959 in, say, 1985, although it could as well be some obscure Citroën from the early years...
3)
a) Someone in the early eighties I bet, but I'll still go for Jutta Kleinschmidt, 1999.
b) I think Jutta Kleinschmidt won it in 2000 or so, after the Schlesser buggies were disqualified.
c) I'll just say 1979.

I'll throw in another trivia question:
4) What was the longest Dakar rally in terms of distance? Which year was it and where were the start and the finish?

[Everso Biggyballies]

I'll spoiler the answers just in case...

Pretty well spot on other than the year in the women Q... was much later.

Re the cars/team question all ok except details like the higher number car was pt 1 you were a year out.

You have probably seen these clips Sam but worth a look....

(in a spoiler because they answer the questions. All of the answers I have put in the spoiler now.)

ANSWERS

ANSWERS

1) Porsche 1986.... with the 4WD Porsche 959. They also came second with their #2 car, with the support crew / parts car 6th. I checked earlier and think it was 86.

2) As Above : Porsche 1986.... with the 4WD Porsche 959.

1985 was the year they went non turbo for reliability, and had all their cars drop out and DNF!




3) Yes there has been a female winner.... Jutta Kleinschmidt . She had also been a stage winner (the first female) back in 1997...... four years later she reached the top step of the podium, winning at Lac Rose in 2001.

To take the clean sweep of Dakar, she was also the first woman to ever finish a Dakar, when she won the Ladies Trophy in the 1992 Paris-Dakar Rally. She placed 23rd in the motorbike class.

She raced her first Paris Dakar Rally in 1988 on a BMW motorcycle. In 1994, she switched to driving a car and in 1997, as mentioned, became the first woman to win a stage of the Rally .

[PTRACER]

It's always good having Facebook friends in high places

[Everso Biggyballies]

It's always good having Facebook friends in high places

What a sad world it has become when we have to look to Facebook for friends few of which we are likely to ever meet.

On the other hand I guess you would meet them for the first time feeling you know them already from their chat 'style' and already aware of topics close to their heart. One would have a lot more confidence in a debut meeting, especially a group than having to meet them all 'cold turkey' and knowing nothing about them.

But on to more important things, is that a genuine copy? I guess probably is as I know Robbie Gordon had a lot of gear and cars stuck in customs until the last moment before the Dakar started, so it is reasonable to need to transport it by road if it was any diatnce from where the cars and equipment was held .

That is after all what they used to do for the Targa, Mille Miglia etc..... I remember Norm Dewis, the Jaguar test driver in the fifties, telling of how very soon after joining Jag, like a week or two , he had to drive a C-typefrom the factory to the 1952 Mille Miglia in a C-Type Jag to be driven by Moss. When Moss flew in Dewis was told he would have to co drive/navigate/spanner for Moss on the event.

The teams would all drive the race cars to Le Mans just to iron out bugs and run everything in nicely. A case of it has gone full circle.

[PTRACER]

It's always good having Facebook friends in high places

What a sad world it has become when we have to look to Facebook for friends few of which we are likely to ever meet.

Yes, it's the real thing. I've known Manuel for about 8 years, I helped him a little with his English way back when. He used to be a rally co-driver, now he owns and rallies a WRX Subaru Impreza. I did delete him a while ago, but I found and re-added him again, because I might be travelling to S. America this summer and I wanted him to show me around Santiago. Sad world indeed.