VW team increase lead by more than a minute!
With some controlled driving, the Spanish-French duo was able to increase the lead it established yesterday in its Race Touareg by more than a minute to 3.40 minutes on the 694-kilometre leg westwards from Puerto Madryn to Jacobacci in Argentina. The second fastest time behind the day’s winners Nasser Al-Attiyah/Tina Thörner in a BMW X-raid was enough for Sainz to maintain his lead. The third leg presented the participants with speedy stretches and with winding – and therefore also demanding – sections. With some rocky ground to cover, they had to reduce the risk of tyre blowouts in order not to forfeit valuable time.
The third best time of the leg was likewise secured by Volkswagen, with Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk coming in 1.05 minutes behind their teammates. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz achieved fourth position in another Race Touareg on the second longest special stage of the rally, measuring 551 kilometres. The pair fell one place in the overall rankings, to third place. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford were ranked sixth in leg 3, meaning that all four Race Touareg were in the top six. Overall, Miller/Pitchford have now moved up one position, to sixth place.
X-raid’s Sails Capital Racing Team rebounded from Sunday’s small setback to again set the fastest time in the third, albeit shortened, 550km varied gravel stage of the 2009 Dakar Rally across Patagonia between Puerto Madryn and Ingeniero Jacobacci on Monday. Day one leaders, Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Tina Thörner, started the stage in ninth position on the road in their BMW X3 CC and set the fastest time – their second in three days – to move up the leader board from fourth to second overall. Cooler and windier conditions greeted crews as they headed east across the vast and remote Patagonian scrublands at the start of the longest special stage of the event so far. But the changing conditions failed to prevent Al-Attiyah setting the early pace in the opening 40km, although Germany’s Dieter Depping, Spain’s Carlos Sainz and Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel were in close contention. The Qatari had openly admitted that he was disappointed to lose the overall lead on day two because of a navigational error and he maintained his composure and an excellent pace to hold the stage lead through 304km. He had a 2m 36s advantage over South African Giniel de Villiers, with Depping, Sainz, Peterhansel and Spaniard Joan ‘Nani’ Roma in hot pursuit. The stage had been shortened from 616km to 550km by event officials, but Al-Attiyah maintained his lead through PC2 at 496km, with Sainz moving up to second position, ahead of Depping, De Villiers, Peterhansel and Roma. Despite losing a little time towards the end of the section to overall leader Sainz, Al-Attiyah claimed a second stage win in three days. “We decided to push a little bit for the first 300km,” said Al-Attiyah. “We passed four cars and e caught ‘Nani’ (Roma) and then had a flat tyre. We stopped to change the wheel. There was one bike in front of us and I had to swerve off the track and then we hit a rock and had the puncture. But everything else is okay. I have no problem starting first tomorrow.”
Puro Off-Road is accredited news user of VW and X-Raid
Related posts:
- X-raid’s Sails Capital Racing Team lead after day five
- Gordon win with 1 second lead over Stéphane Peterhansel.
- Triple lead maintained by VW
- Miller with stage win, Sainz takes lead
- Sainz with stage win to overall Dos Sertões lead
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This post was compiled by Memin Pinguin
