Archive for Rally Raid
The 2011 Dakar Rally is scheduled for January 1st – 16th, our suggestion for transportation. We would like to recommend the 2011 Mercedes-Benz Unimog for your vehicle of choice. The Unimog is technically considered a commercial vehicle but anyone who has had the privilege of driving one knows they are unlike any commercial truck sold in The States. They are to the Europeans what a full size 4wd 1-ton truck is to Americans… except, they are bigger, stronger, and tougher in just about every way. They are built to climb 45 degree grades with a full load, cross rivers (they come from the factory with a snorkel kit), and are equipped with terrain adapting tire pressure regulators. The front and rear axles have a full 30 degrees of travel as well as torque interruption sensing automatic differential lockers to make sure all four wheels Read More→
Peterhansel and Cottret aiming for third Morocco success, Guerlain Chicherit teams up with Michel Périn in Morocco, Holowczyc, Novitskiy and Leal Dos Santos complete X-raid line-up. The BMW X-raid Team has entered five BMW X3 CCs in the OiLibya Rally of Morocco as an integral part of the build-up and preparation for January’s Dakar Rally in South America. The non-championship event takes place in the Zagora region of the North African country between October 17-23rd, 2010. Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret won the rally for the Treburbased X-raid team in 2009 and they head the official team entry. Fellow countryman Guerlain Chicherit also faces the six-day Moroccan challenge and takes part in his first event with the X-raid team since steering his BMW X3 CC to fifth overall in this year’s Dakar Rally. The defending FIA World Cup champion will be co-driven by the vastly experienced French co-driver Michel Périn, a three-time winner of the Dakar Rally. Read More→
The rally caravan arrives to Siwa after completing the fifth stage of Pharaons Rally 2010. After a 419 km of special section starting next to Sitra´s bivouac, crews and riders are now next to the Great Sand Sea in Siwa. At the finish, Marc Coma wins his third stage victory of the race and the crew of Maurizio Traglio/Fabian Luquin get the second one on a row. It was in a fast stage with some dunes that Marc Coma showed the power of his wonderful skills on his 690 cc bike. The Spanish was the fastest in the stage, followed by Chilean rider Francisco López, 4´23´´ behind. At the bikes Marc Coma takes gained back the time he lost in the beginning of the race Read More→
An exhausting day for all competitors of the 13th edition of Pharaons Rally under a burning sun and a ground that made competitors sweat that were trapped in the dunes. In bikes, Joan Barreda (KTM 690) won the first 170 km special section, and the second special of the day came to Gerard Farres. In cars, Jean-Louis Schlesser flew over the dunes without any problems. The experience of the crew keeps them on top of the classification. Todays leg of Pharaons Rally 2010 was a hard test to all competitors. The sun on top made visibility harder, but it didn´t take away the sweet first victory for Spanish enduro rider Joan Barreda in the first selective section while the second was as sweet for Gerard Farres, a gift after the technical problems encountered with the back before. In four wheels, the sand played tricks to Eric Vigouroux while Jean Louis Schlesser shows his experience with another stage victory. Read More→
At the Pharaons Rally first day, Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez, like last year, wins the first stage of Pharaons Rally followed by Helder Rodrigues five minutes behind and the third place was for Alex Zanotti. In cars, Jean Louis Schlesser takes the lead while his main rival, Eric Vigouroux, finished 2h20 minutes later after an incident where he put the Trophy Truck was on its side. The car winner was followed by Maurizio Traglio and Japanese driver Jun Mitsuhashi takes the third place. Day one of the rally raid started at the he Giza Pyramids, the official start of the 13th edition of Pharaons Rally. A brand new stage of JVD´s race that did not ended at the Oasis of Baharija, but in the dunes of El Rammak. The first to start this morning was Marc Coma (KTM – Red Bull Menichetti), Read More→
HS Rally Team with driver Matthias Kahle and navigator Dr. Thomas M. Schünemann impressed with solid performance at the Silk Way Rally finishing in fourth place overall and winning the their class. Despite some “teething” problems in their new SMG diesel buggy they ended the rally as the best independent team. A day after crossing the finish line in Sochi Matthias Kahle and Dr. Thomas M. Schünemann look back at the 2010 Silk Way Rally. In a interview they talk about their debut in the SMG diesel buggy, experienced surprises and the differences from the factory teams. Read More→
Volkswagen celebrated a one-two-three win at the Silk Way Rally through Russia: on the new Race Touareg’s competitive debut Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (E/E) triumphed in front of their team colleagues Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/GER) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) in predecessor models. The tough and demanding rally that led from St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea to the Olympic city of Sochi on the Black Sea served as the team’s preparation for the 2011 Dakar Rally. The penultimate day saw a high-ranking visitor: Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, visited the Volkswagen team, had the squad show him the bivouac and “Dakar” winner Carlos Sainz explain the Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 Read More→
Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) celebrated their first stage win at the “Dakar” final shake-down under race conditions. Their team colleagues Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) confirmed their third position overall by setting the second-fastest time. The front runners of the rally, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E), defended a major portion of their overall advantage. All three Volkswagen Race Touareg vehicles contested the 389.05-kilometer special stage featuring varied terrain with just small gaps between them. Navigating differences were the only crucial factor. Two days before the end of the Silk Way Rally Sainz/Cruz are leading overall with an advantage of 12m 48s ahead of Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk. Miller/Pitchford are following in third place with another 26m 34 sec. gap. Read More→
Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz took the lead again at the final shake-down under race conditions for the 2010 Dakar Rally. The Volkswagen duo piloting a Race Touareg 3 at the Silk Way Rally through Russia heads the overall standings after five of eight legs. On the special stage from Volgograd to Astrakhan their team colleagues Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) set the third-fasted time and became the overall runners-up. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) in a third “Dakar” prototype from Wolfsburg are third overall and thus heading for a podium result as well.For Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz on the other hand the Silk Way Rally ended early. The 2009 “Dakar” winning duo rolled over Read More→
