2 $47
(ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 30H 34' 29''
+ 00H 00' 13''
3 #9
(USA) MASON KLEIN
BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM 30H 34' 29''
+ 00H 00' 13''
4 #8
(AUS) TOBY PRICE
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 30H 36' 14''
+ 00H 01' 58''
5 #7
(CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 30H 37' 01''
+ 00H 02' 45'' '
6 #42
(FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 30H 37' 05''
+ 00H 02' 49''
7 #18
(AUS) DANIEL SANDERS
RED BULL GASGAS FACTORY RACING 30H 41' 19''
+ 00H 07' 03''
8 #5
(ESP) JOAN BARREDA BORT
MONSTER ENERGY JB TEAM 30H 41' 37''
+ 00H 07' 21''
9 #11
(CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 30H 53' 48''
+ 00H 19' 32''
10 #52
(AUT) MATTHIAS WALKNER
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 30H 56' 51''
+ 00H 22' 35''
Sebastien Loeb has won Stage 8 of Dakar 2023 thanks to a Carlos Sainz penalty but Toyota’s Nasser Al-Attiyah extended his overall lead in the Cars race.
Overall rankings cars
Pos Driver Co-driver Team Time/Gap
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah Mathieu Baumel Toyota Gazoo Racing 31:02:58
2 Henk Lategan Brett Cummings Toyota Gazoo Racing +1:03:46
3 Lucas Moraes Timo Gottschalk Overdrive Racing +1:20:22
4 Sebastien Loeb Fabian Lurquin Bahrain Raid Xtreme +1:52:06
5 Giniel De Villiers Dennis Murphy Toyota Gazoo Racing +2:04:20
6 Romain Dumas Max Delfino Rebellion Racing +2:27:11
7 Martin Prokop Viktor Chytka Orlen Benzina Team +2:37:00
8 Brian Baragwanath Leonard Cremer Century Racing Factory Team +2:42:06
9 Wei Han Ma Li Hanwei Motorsport Team +3:15:03
10 Juan Cruz Yacopini Daniel Oliveras Carreras Overdrive Racing +3:40:2
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
Well it has all got even more lively in the closely fought Bike division of Dakar.
Howes leads Price by three seconds after Dakar Stage 9
Toby Price has reduced Skyler Howes’ Dakar Rally lead to just three seconds after finishing second to Luciano Benavides on Stage 9. The lead may have compressed a bit but the compression of the field that happened pre the rest day seems to have now been stretched out again with those that were close to the lead now dropping away a bit. Also helped by the three leaders overall having a lower start position today and not having to lead the pack and have no tracks to follow.
In fact a number of others today ,Daniel Sanders Van Beveren, Mason Klein, Pablo Quintanilla, and Matthias Walkner , among others, appeared to get lost between the Kilometre 85 and Kilometre 123 waypoints.
Quintanilla retains fifth overall but is now 18:24s behind Howes, with Klein sixth from Luciano Benavides, Cornejo Florimo, Sanders, and Lorezno Santolino
Tomorrow’s Stage 10 features sand and a total of 624km of riding, although the special is just 114km long.
Joan Barreda Bort has been diagnosed with a fractured vertebra after his crash on Stage 9 of the 2023 Dakar Rally.
The injury, as reported by Marca in his native Spain, came after the Honda-mounted rider went down in a chain of dunes 16km into the Riyadh to Haradh special.
It is thought that Barreda was brought unstuck in somewhat similar fashion to car-driving countryman Carlos Sainz, who front-flipped his Audi RS Q e-tron when he jumped off one dune and landed nose-first in the next one.
Overall classification: Bikes Top 10
Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Gap
1 Skyler HOWES USA Husqvarna Factory Racing 33:55:57
2 Toby PRICE AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:00:03
3 Kevin BENAVIDES ARG Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:05:09
4 Adrien VAN BEVEREN FRA Monster Energy Honda Team +0:15:40
5 Pablo QUINTANILLA CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:18:24
6 Mason KLEIN USA BAS World KTM Racing Team +0:18:42
7 Luciano BENAVIDES ARG Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:21:35
8 Jose Ignacio CORNEJO FLORIMO CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:22:47
9 Daniel SANDERS AUS Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing +0:23:47
10 Lorenzo SANTOLINO ESP Sherco Factory +0:40:38
In the cars. Loeb wins Dakar Stage 9 as Sainz flips
Sebastien Loeb has won Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally while Carlos Sainz’s frustrating time is finally over after front-flipping his Audi.
In the overall classification, Loeb's win and aa technical issue for Laatega means Al-Attiyah’s overall lead is an even greater 1:21:57s despite setting only the eighth-fastest time of the day,
went on to win the day by 3:07s with Zala second and Guerlain Chicherit (GCK Motorsport) third in an all-Hunter top three.
Al-Attiyah was 11:08s off the pace at the stage finish and Moraes rounded out the top 10, but Lategan was classified 63rd after technical issues brought him to a halt just 18km in.
Carlos Sainz ended up on his roof when he landed his RS Q e-tron nose-first off a dune just six kilometres into the special. He injured his back and was on his way to hospital, but Sainz did not give up easily, however.
He was in a helicopter on his way to hospital with back pain only for the pilot to have to land in order to enter the correct coordinates, at which point Sainz decided to get out and hitch a ride in Audi’s service truck back to his battered car, so he could be classified a finisher.
Nevertheless, he is now set to pull out given the damage to the #207 e-tron is too great.
So, just Ekstrom left for Audi now, abeit seven hours off the pace in 27th.
Overall classification: Cars Top 10
Pos Driver Co-driver Team Time/Gap
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah Mathieu Baumel Toyota Gazoo Racing 34:19:20
2 Lucas Moraes Timo Gottschalk Overdrive Racing +1:21:57
3 Sebastien Loeb Fabian Lurquin Bahrain Raid Xtreme +1:43:08
4 Henk Lategan Brett Cummings Toyota Gazoo Racing +1:46:23
5 Giniel De Villiers Dennis Murphy Toyota Gazoo Racing +2:04:17
6 Romain Dumas Max Delfino Rebellion Racing +2:25:51
7 Martin Prokop Viktor Chytka Orlen Benzina Team +2:45:36
8 Brian Baragwanath Leonard Cremer Century Racing Factory Team +2:48:06
9 Wei Han Ma Li Hanwei Motorsport Team +3:32:15
10 Juan Cruz Yacopini Daniel Oliveras Carreras Overdrive Racing +3:52:52
Extended highlights of Stage 9
Dakar Classic Highlights - Stage 9
The Sainz crash that finally ended his Dakar.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
All change at the top in the bikes as Kevin Benavides has leapfrogged Skyler Howes and Toby Price to take over the lead Howes drops one spot to second but has increased has margin over Price to 41 seconds,
Ross Branch started the special in 28th place and quietly posted the fastest time at each checkpoint. In the end, he won the stage by 21 seconds over Van Beveren. It will have little impact on the standings, as a slew of mechanicals in the early part of the race knocked Branch out of contention for the title. Docherty came in third, 30" back, with Kevin Benavides 4th.
Now, the Marathon stages await, when riders will not be allowed external assistance and are only permitted to help each other.
Stage 11 features more sand in a 274km special in the Empty Quarter.
Overall classification: Bikes Top 10
Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Gap
1 Kevin BENAVIDES ARG Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 35:46:06
2 Skyler HOWES USA Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:01:29
3 Toby PRICE AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:02:10
4 Adrien VAN BEVEREN FRA Monster Energy Honda Team +0:09:52
5 Pablo QUINTANILLA CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:14:58
6 Mason KLEIN USA BAS World KTM Racing Team +0:15:38
7 Jose Ignacio CORNEJO FLORIMO CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:20:42
8 Luciano BENAVIDES ARG Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:21:44
9 Daniel SANDERS AUS Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing +0:23:40
10 Matthias WALKNER AUT Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:39:49
CARS..... THREE IN A ROW FOR LOEB
Sébastien Loeb won again today. He set the fastest time by just over 3 minutes over Mattias Ekström. Dakar rookie Lucas Moraes chipped into Al-Attiyah’s overall lead by finishing in third place on stage 10, beating A-A in fourth, but only took minor 23s out of A-A’s overall lead.
It meant Al-Attiyah’s lead in the general classification has been fractionally slimmed to 1hr21m34s by Moraes, with Loeb still in third place overall, over 15 minutes behind Moraes
1 #200
(QAT) NASSER AL-ATTIYAH
(FRA) MATHIEU BAUMEL
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING 36H 13' 37''
2 #230
(BRA) LUCAS MORAES
(DEU) TIMO GOTTSCHALK
OVERDRIVE RACING 37H 35' 11''
+ 01H 21' 34''
4 #217
(ZAF) HENK LATEGAN
(ZAF) BRETT CUMMINGS
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING 38H 02' 14''
+ 01H 48' 37''
5 205
(ZAF) GINIEL DE VILLIERS
(ZAF) DENNIS MURPHY
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING 38H 24' 33''
+ 02H 10' 56''
6 #231
(FRA) ROMAIN DUMAS
(FRA) MAX DELFINO
REBELLION RACING 38H 59' 01''
+ 02H 45' 24''
7 #210
(CZE) MARTIN PROKOP
(CZE) VIKTOR CHYTKA
ORLEN BENZINA TEAM 39H 03' 39''
+ 02H 50' 02''
8 #216
(ZAF) BRIAN BARAGWANATH
(ZAF) LEONARD CREMER
CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM 39H 10' 05''
+ 02H 56' 28''
9 #224
(CHN) WEI HAN
(CHN) MA LI
HANWEI MOTORSPORT TEAM 39H 56' 59''
+ 03H 43' 22''
10 #220
(ARG) JUAN CRUZ YACOPINI
(ESP) DANIEL OLIVERAS CARRERAS
OVERDRIVE RACING 40H 14' 12''
+ 04H 00' 35''
General extended highlights not yet available. Will add when available.
Dakar Classic Highlights .... stage 10
EDIT Sadly there has been a report of a fatality yesterday
A 63 yo Italian photographer sadly died after he was unknowingly hit by a truck driven by Ales Loprais as they came over a crest. The photographer was positioned low down over the crest of a dune out of sight of the driver and crew of the truck.. The truck finished the stage unknowing of any impact and it was not until the middle of the night that organisers were able to identify the truck / driver involved. He was still not even aware he had hit a person.
The photographer apparently felt ill after and suffered a heart attack whilst being airlifted to hospital.
Thoughts and condolences with the family and friends of the deceased and also with the driver and the crew of the truck who have to live with this incident caused through no fault of their own.
RIP
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
General extended highlights not yet available. Will add when available.
EDIT Sadly there has been a report of a fatality yesterday
A 63 yo Italian photographer sadly died after he was unknowingly hit by a truck driven by Ales Loprais as they came over a crest. The photographer was positioned low down over the crest of a dune out of sight of the driver and crew of the truck.. The truck finished the stage unknowing of any impact and it was not until the middle of the night that organisers were able to identify the truck / driver involved. He was still not even aware he had hit a person.
The photographer apparently felt ill after and suffered a heart attack whilst being airlifted to hospital.
Thoughts and condolences with the family and friends of the deceased and also with the driver and the crew of the truck who have to live with this incident caused through no fault of their own.
RIP
Extended Highlights to Stage 10 as promised:
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
All change again at the top in the Bikes.....again. Howes now leads Price by 28 seconds with Kevin Benavides dropping to 3rd, 2mins 44secs behind.
Luciano Benavides won the stage by 1:38 from Daniel Sanders but Price and Howes finished 3rd and 4th whilst Kevin Benavides, yesterdays overall leader, finished 10th today.
Overall classification: Bikes Top 10
Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Gap
1 Skyler HOWES USA Husqvarna Factory Racing 38:47:43
2 Toby PRICE AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:00:28
3 Kevin BENAVIDES ARG Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:02:44
4 Pablo QUINTANILLA CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:14:14
5 Adrien VAN BEVEREN FRA Monster Energy Honda Team +0:15:24
6 Luciano BENAVIDES ARG Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:18:06
7 Daniel SANDERS AUS Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing +0:21:40
8 Jose Ignacio CORNEJO FLORIMO CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:25:40
9 Mason KLEIN USA BAS World KTM Racing Team +0:31:35
10 Matthias WALKNER AUT Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:44:45
Plus 4 stage wins in a row for Loeb, from Chicherit Ekstrom and Moraes with A-A 5th but only 6:42 behind Loeb so he still leads Moraes by 1hr 21 and Loeb by 1hr 30. It will take something major now to befall A-A to stop him taking the outright honours. Can Seb Loeb continue his run of wins and take 2nd overall?.
Another lead change in the bikes as Price moves into 1st, after finishing third on Stage 12, behind Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo and fellow Aussie Daniel Sanders. Todays result leaves Price 28 seconds clear of Howes in 2nd overall, with Kevin Benavides 2mins 40 secs behind Price in 3rd.
Overall classification: Bikes Top 10
Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Gap
1 Toby PRICE AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 40:47:36
2 Skyler HOWES USA Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:00:28
3 Kevin BENAVIDES ARG Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:02:40
4 Pablo QUINTANILLA CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:14:54
5 Adrien VAN BEVEREN FRA Monster Energy Honda Team +0:16:14
6 Luciano BENAVIDES ARG Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:20:00
7 Daniel SANDERS AUS Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing +0:20:03
8 Jose Ignacio CORNEJO FLORIMO CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:23:14
9 Matthias WALKNER AUT Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:44:24
10 Lorenzo SANTOLINO ESP Sherco Factory +1:02:22
5 in a row for Loeb....
Another stage win for Loeb, from Ekstrom and Al-Attiyah who were both within 3.mins 30.
A-A still leads overall by 1hr 27, but Seb has moved to 2nd overall.... by a second, from Moraes!
Loeb is the only non Toyota in the top 5
Remarkably though,Loeb taking 5 stage wins consecutively as he has now done this year, is a feat that has only previously been achieved in the history of Dakar by Ari Vatanen, way back in 1989.
Seb will be happy to join such an elite club.
Rankings after stage 12
1 #200
(QAT) NASSER AL-ATTIYAH
(FRA) MATHIEU BAUMEL
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING 41H 16' 25''
3 230
(BRA) LUCAS MORAES
(DEU) TIMO GOTTSCHALK
OVERDRIVE RACING 42H 45' 36''
+ 01H 29' 11''
4 205
(ZAF) GINIEL DE VILLIERS
(ZAF) DENNIS MURPHY
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING 43H 38' 46''
+ 02H 22' 21''
5 217
(ZAF) HENK LATEGAN
(ZAF) BRETT CUMMINGS
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING 43H 50' 46''
+ 02H 34' 21''
6 210
(CZE) MARTIN PROKOP
(CZE) VIKTOR CHYTKA
ORLEN BENZINA TEAM 44H 16' 51''
+ 03H 00' 26''
7 216
(ZAF) BRIAN BARAGWANATH
(ZAF) LEONARD CREMER
CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM 44H 50' 48''
+ 03H 34' 23''
'
8 224
(CHN) WEI HAN
(CHN) MA LI
HANWEI MOTORSPORT TEAM 45H 28' 03''
+ 04H 11' 38''
9 209
(FRA) MATHIEU SERRADORI
(FRA) LOIC MINAUDIER
CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM 45H 34' 03''
+ 04H 17' 38''
10 220
(ARG) JUAN CRUZ YACOPINI
(ESP) DANIEL OLIVERAS CARRERAS
OVERDRIVE RACING 45H 34' 18''
+ 04H 17' 53''
Highlights not yet posted on YT.... I will add them later.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
In the bikes it is once again very tight at the top. Kevin Benavies won the stage and in doing so jumped to 2nd overall, just 12 seconds adrift of Toby Price who retained the overall lead, with just one stage to go, Skyler Howes has dropped to 3rd but is only 1minute 31 seconds off Price. An exciting prospect for tomorrow with 3 riders all with a good chance of taking the overall win.
Overall classification: Bikes Top 10
Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Gap
1 Toby PRICE AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 43:11:51
2 Kevin BENAVIDES ARG Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:00:12
3 Skyler HOWES USA Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:01:31
4 Adrien VAN BEVEREN FRA Monster Energy Honda Team +0:15:51
5 Pablo QUINTANILLA CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:15:59
6 Luciano BENAVIDES ARG Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:18:29
7 Daniel SANDERS AUS Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing +0:22:34
8 Jose Ignacio CORNEJO FLORIMO CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:28:28
9 Lorenzo SANTOLINO ESP Sherco Factory +1:10:28
10 Franco CAIMI ARG Hero Motosports Team Rally +1:30:12
CARS
Loeb takes yet another stage win, his 6th in a row, making him the only driver in cars to achieve that honour,. Todays stage win has ensured that Loeb broke Ari Vatanen's previous record of 5 consecutive wins back in 1989..... he has also become the first driver since Sainz in 2011 to win aseven stages in a single Dakar, having also won Stage 4 last week.
Whilst there is no doubt that Loeb's run in the second week has been ais=ded by Al-Attiyah being in cruise mode and not needing to compete for stage wins given his healthy lead, Loeb will still be shown in history as having the record. He has certainly shown his pace in the dunes, and had it not been such a torrid time for him due to the rocks of the early stages and his many punctures as a result, not to mention a decent sized crash, Al-Attiyah would have had a much bigger fight on his hands.
In todays stage Loeb finished over 5 minutes ahead of 2nd place A-A, but A- still retains a lead over Loeb of 1hour 21 minutes.
Cars overall standings after stage 13
1 #200
(QAT) NASSER AL-ATTIYAH
(FRA) MATHIEU BAUMEL
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING 43H 48' 10''
Unofficial at this stage but by my reckoning and early reports.....
KEVIN BENAVIDES WINS THE DAKAR BY 43 SECONDS!
Kevin Benavides finished the final special stage 55 seconds ahead of Price
So, the Argentinian beat the man from Down Under to win his second Dakar on bikes (He won in 2021 as well)!
Skyler Howes came in third at 5′04″ behind KB..
**CONFIRMED**
Overall classification: Bikes Top 10, Updated
Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Gap
1 Kevin BENAVIDES ARG Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 44:27:20
2 Toby PRICE AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0:00:43
3 Skyler HOWES USA Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:05:04
4 Pablo QUINTANILLA CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:19:02
5 Adrien VAN BEVEREN FRA Monster Energy Honda Team +0:20:30
6 Luciano BENAVIDES ARG Husqvarna Factory Racing +0:22:42
7 Daniel SANDERS AUS Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing +0:25:57
8 Jose Ignacio CORNEJO FLORIMO CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +0:51:21
9 Lorenzo SANTOLINO ESP Sherco Factory +1:17:53
10 Franco CAIMI ARG Hero Motosports Team Rally +1:38:04
Also AL-ATTIYAH WINS DAKAR #5
Overall classification: Cars Top 10
Pos Driver Co-driver Team Time/Gap
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah Mathieu Baumel Toyota Gazoo Racing 45:03:15
2 Sebastien Loeb Fabian Lurquin Bahrain Raid Xtreme +1:20:49
3 Lucas Moraes Timo Gottschalk Overdrive Racing +1:38:31
4 Giniel De Villiers Dennis Murphy Toyota Gazoo Racing +2:31:12
5 Henk Lategan Brett Cummings Toyota Gazoo Racing +2:36:23
6 Martin Prokop Viktor Chytka Orlen Benzina Team +3:40:44
7 Juan Cruz Yacopini Daniel Oliveras Carreras Overdrive Racing +4:27:09
8 Wei Han Ma Li Hanwei Motorsport Team +4:29:21
9 Sebastian Halpern Bernardo Graue X-Raid Mini JCW Team +4:42:38
10 Guerlain Chicherit Alex Winocq Gck Motorsport +5:22:10
They rode every meter and finished every day. Only it turned out that it was not allowed to be towed on public roads on three wheels. Tim and Tom Coronel got so much penalty time for that that they dropped to the bottom of the ranking. Tom is still a little sick of it at the finish of the last stage, in which they finished thirtieth. “I like the competition and the performance and we were doing very good,” he says. “We were around 15th place and the two days of misery we had after the rollover might have cost us time, but we were never in any major trouble and the car performed well.”
The eighth stage was full of the consequential damage from the rollover and on the rest day the engine had to be replaced, resulting in even more penalty time. “When you out of contention, you just go for the finish,” said Tom. “The fact that we have achieved this is a great milestone. If you take a good look and see how many cars and trucks are still running, but out of competition, you understand what a tough Dakar this has been.”
After the rest day, Tim and Tom went into survival mode, as Tim calls it. “Then only finishing counts. I'm glad we were able to do that. We have hardly had any problems with the car and the potential is just there. The last days were also super beautiful, with very special landscapes.” “We have seen beautiful things and have been seriously thrown in at the deep end,” adds Tom. “And it was another very nice adventure with my brother.”
See you next year Tim and Tom.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
Carlos Sainz reveals Dakar crash caused a couple of spinal fractures
The 60-year-old World Rally legend suffered a major shunt just six kilometres into Stage 9 of the Dakar, when his Audi rolled upside down while tackling a dune – landing heavily on its nose and then roof.
Sainz had initially looked set to withdraw from the event, and was even on his way to hospital after reporting chest pains, only to change his mind midway through the journey and ask the helicopter to turn around.
Despite this attempt to return to the event, which he had led after the opening stage, his car was subsequently retired.
Best wishes to Carlos for a full and speedy recovery. He gave it his all and even as said turned the helicopter around to return to the car when he realised if he could drag the car back to the stage end, despite heavy penalties he would be able to continue next day. Sadly the car had structural breaks in the carbon fibre tub and had to be retired with repairs not possible in the time scale.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
I skipped the Dakar because of Saudi and the abysmal TV coverage, but at least Monte starts tonight! 19.50 local time, Ogier and Rovanperä was fastest on the shakedown. No Loeb this year though.
***Some say you should live each day like it was your last... but who wants to live each day in wild panic and extreme death anxiety?
The universe, look at the hugeness of it... it is a dizzying thought that little ol' me is the centre of it all!***
Cheeveer wrote: ↑1 year ago
.... Monte starts tonight! 19.50 local time, Ogier and Rovanperä was fastest on the shakedown. No Loeb this year though.
Yeah I watched some of the shakedown earlier. I know it was only limited area but it seemed like very little snow but maybe like was it last year where it was light snow but quite icy.
If nothing else it makes tyre choice and setup tricky, but I guess they all have spotters relaying exactly what the weather is doing.
Talking tyres I see they have new super-soft rubber especially / only for the Monte. Another variant to deal with.
And of course darkness doesnt make it easier .... Obviously it will be dark for this evenings stages.
Changing the subject I see the new Hyundai boss is ex Renault F1 TP Cyril Abiteboul . No idea what he knows of rallying but I guess his role as a TP is pulling the team together. Obviously he bring some organisational skills with him.
I must admit I miss the passion of Andrea Adamo the previous boss.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
