KTM on DAKAR; Great pics

Maragni photos.

Watch the highlights from the 5th stage of Dakar won by Nani Roma (Mini-Michelin).

Dakar, étape 5 : Première victoire de Mini/Michelin

To celebrate the Dakar’s arrival in Chile, Nani Roma claimed the first victory of 2013 for ALL4 Racing Mini – and Michelin’s first stage win on the event since 2001! Better yet for the X-Raid team, overall rally leader Stéphane Peterhansel made it a one-two, whilst back on all four wheels again, Robby Gordon’s Hummer was third-quickest.

Pour fêter l’arrivée du Dakar au Chili, Nani Roma a offert à la Mini ALL4 Racing ses premiers lauriers en 2013 et à Michelin sa première victoire d’étape depuis 2001 ! L’équipe X-Raid a d’ailleurs signé un doublé avec Stéphane Peterhansel. De retour sur ses roues, le Hummer de Robby Gordon a signé le 3e temps.

Etape 5 : Arequipa-Arica (509 km)

For the cars, the start of the fifth stage was 284km from Arequipa, on the edge of the Pan-American Highway on a vast desert plateau. On the start-line, we saw Robby Gordon’s Hummer and the buggy of Carlos Sainz, ready to attack the 172 competitive kilometres that they would go on to complete with respectively the third and fifth-fastest times.

Several kilometres further on, we came across the cars again at the Passage Control that traversed the Pan-American Highway before Tacna, still surrounded by the same mineral vastness. There, at 118km into the stage, Spaniard Nani Roma was already in the lead, ahead of Giniel de Villiers and team-mate Stéphane Peterhansel.

“It was a stage with a lot of variety, and I really enjoyed it,” declared the winner at the finish in Arica. “The first 50 kilometres were rocky and bumpy, then there was a good section along a dry river bed where you could drive like in the WRC, and finally there was some ‘fesh-fesh’ close to the end.”

Second-quickest today, Stéphane Peterhansel has yet to win a stage in the 2013 edition of the Dakar, but he will nonetheless head into Chile firmly ensconced at the top of the leaderboard with an advantage of almost 10 minutes over closest pursuer Nasser Al-Attiyah. The Qatari began the stage in fine form, but gradually lost time and ultimately wound up 6m1s adrift of Peterhansel.

More than 33 minutes shy of the leader (the time he lost in the Nazca dunes), Giniel de Villiers (Toyota) continues to hold the final podium position, four minutes clear of Leonid Novitskiy (Mini).

In his Aston Martin-engined Mitsubishi prototype, Brazilian Guillerme Spinelli lies eighth overall, ahead of Orlando Terranova (BMW M3) and Carlos Sousa (Great Wall). Guerlain Chicherit lost a quarter of an hour with a power steering problem, but the trio of SMG buggies (Chicherit, Chabot and Errandonéa) nevertheless remains inside the overall top ten.

In the ‘Truck’ class, the leadership changed hands yesterday as Gerard De Rooy (Iveco/Michelin) found himself stuck in the sand between two dunes, allowing team-mate Hans Stacey to move past into the lead.

Pour les autos, le départ de la 5^e spéciale était à 284 km d’Arequipa, au bord de la Panaméricaine, sur un vaste plateau désertique. Nous avons vu le Hummer de Robby Gordon et le Buggy de Carlos Sainz sur la ligne, prêts à bondir à l’assaut des 172 km chronométrés qu’ils ont finalement achevés aux 3^e et 5^e places.

Quelques kilomètres plus loin, nous avons retrouvé les autos au CP intermédiaire qui coupait la Panamericana avant Tacna, toujours dans cette immensité minérale. Là, au km 118, l’Espagnol Nani Roma était déjà leader devant Giniel de Villiers et son équipier Stéphane Peterhansel.

« J’ai bien aimé cette spéciale très variée » a commenté le vainqueur au bivouac d’Arica. « Les 50 premiers kilomètres étaient rocailleux et bosselés, puis on a eu une belle piste dans un oued avec du pilotage style WRC, et pour fini, du fesh-fesh près de l’arrivée. »

Deuxième aujourd’hui, Stéphane Peterhansel n’a toujours pas remporté d’étape sur ce Dakar 2013, mais il entre au Chili en tête avec près de 10 minutes d’avance sur Nasser Al-Attiyah. Le Qatari était parti vite dans cette spéciale, mais a rétrogradé peu à peu pour concéder 6min01s au vainqueur.

A plus de 33 minutes du leader (le temps perdu dans les dunes de Nazca), Giniel de Villiers (Toyota) pointe sur le podium provisoire du général avec quatre minutes d’avance sur Leonid Novitskiy (Mini).

Sur sa Mitsubishi motorisée Aston Martin, le Brésilien Guillerme Spinelli a terminé 8^e devant Terranova (BMW M3) et Carlos Sousa (Great Wall). Guerlain Chicherit a perdu un quart d’heure (problème de direction assistée). Mais les trois Buggy SMG (Chicherit, Chabot, Errandonéa) pointent toujours dans le top-10.

En Camion, le leadership a changé hier avec l’ensablement de Gerard De Rooy (Iveco/Michelin) entre deux dunes. C’est son équipier Hans Stacey qui était leader ce matin.

Classement étape 5

1. Roma/Périn (Mini), 1h49min40s – 2. Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini), +1min23s – 3. Gordon (Hummer), + 1min41s – 4. De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota), +1min51s – 5. Sainz/Gottschalk (Buggy), +3min41s…

Classement après étape 5

1. Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini), 10h55min32s – 2. Al-Attiyah/Cruz (Buggy), +9min54s – 3. De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota), +33min50s – 4.. Notvitskiy/Zhilstov (Mini), +37min35s – 5. Roma/Périn (Mini) + 37min43s…

Dakar 2013– Leg 5: a one-two for Yamaha/Michelin

David Casteu and Olivier Pain handed Yamaha a one-two finish on SS5 which brought the 2013 Dakar 2013 into Chile. Tonight’s overall top three is an all-French, all-Michelin affair led by Pain, ahead of Casteu (+1m15s) and Despres (+6m7s).

Leg 5: Arequipa-Arica (411km)

Peru declared today to be a public holiday to celebrate the Dakar’s arrival in its southernmost province! As a consequence, there was an exceptionally big turnout of spectators and the highway toll booth at Moquegua was overwhelmed by curious onlookers.

Stage 5, between Arequipa to Arica, was particularly short (136km), but the twisty mountain tracks served as a handy transition which saw Yamaha 450 WRF riders David Casteu and Olivier Pain claim a one-two finish on Michelin Desert Race tyres.

It was Nice-based Casteu’s first success since the 2010 Dakar. “It was no stroll, I can tell you, because all the top guys are still in the running,” he emphasised at this evening’s overnight camp. “The conditions were fast and very rocky. I caught Olivier after a few kilometres and we ran together after that…”

Pain continues to top the provisional leaderboard as the event arrives in Chile, while Cyril Despres – who was fifth today – is the Yamaha pair’s closest chaser. He appears to be waiting for the ideal moment to pounce with the help of his team-mate Ruben Faria (sixth overall). Perhaps Thursday’s 455km stage in the Atacama Desert will provide that opportunity…

Tuesday’s stage winner Joan Barreda continues to experience a series of ups and downs but is still fourth in the order, despite being halted by a fuel pump problem at Km72 today. Meanwhile, his Husqvarna team-mate Paulo Gonçalves took a wrong heading at the beginning of the stage and was followed in his error by a number of other bikers…

Stage 5 classification:

1, Casteu (Yamaha), 1h39m42s. 2, Pain (Yamaha), +1m9s. 3, Pedrero (KTM), +2m58s. 4, Botturi (Husqvarna), +3m25s. 5, Despres (KTM), +4m7s. Etc.

Overall standings after Leg 5:

1, Pain (Yamaha), 10h10m38s. 2, Casteu (Yamaha), +2m24s. 3, Despres (KTM), +3m9s. 4, Barreda (Husqvarna), +5m38.5s. 5, Viladoms (KTM), +7m22.6. Etc.