Team X-raid GmbH’s Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret produced another sensational performance to take the second fastest time on the fourth special stage of the 2010 Dakar Rally between Fiambalá in Argentina and Copiapó in Chile on Tuesday. The French duo missed out on a second successive stage win by a mere one second in their BMW X3CC, despite being the first crew into the Atacama desert stage this afternoon. They slipped behind Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah for several kilometers in terms of virtual stage timing, but a late charge by the Frenchman extended his overall lead to 7m 36s, as American Robbie Gordon pinched the stage victory. “This was a superb performance by Stéphane after starting first on the road,” said a delighted team director Sven Quandt. Guerlain Chicherit and Tina Thõrner began the day in 11th overall and fifth on the road in a second BMW X3 CC. They were delayed early in the special and eventually set the 11th fastest time to maintain a similar position in the overall standings. Read More→
After a successful beginning in Argentina, Volkswagen has proved the qualities of the Race Touareg on the first Chilean leg of the 2010 Dakar Rally as well. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) achieved third place at the demanding crossing of the Andes on the fourth leg from Fiambalá to Copiapó with a gap of 2m 26s behind the stage winners Robby Gordon/Andy Grider (USA/USA) in the Hummer and Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (F/F) from the X-raid team. Read More→
While Arizona’s Nick Vanderwey received the first qualifying spot for the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division, Southern California desert racer Randy Wilson got his New Year’s wish as he receive the first starting spot in the unlimited Class 1 in this week’s computerized drawing for starting positions for this month’s 16th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. The drawing was held Wednesday at SCORE’s Los Angeles headquarters.
For the 16th straight year, motorsports fans and racers Read More→
Team X-raid GmbH’s Stéphane Peterhansel entered the record books by taking his 52nd Dakar Rally stage win in all categories and his 19th in a car on the third 182km special stage between La Rioja and Fiambalá in Argentina on Monday. The stunning performance catapulted the Frenchman and his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret into the outright rally lead in their Trebur built-BMW X3 CC. The pair will now take a 4m 33s advantage over Spain’s Carlos Sainz into the fourth stage across the border in Chile on Tuesday, having beaten the two-time World Rally Champion by 5m 44s on the short stage, which featured the first dune crossings and off-road sections of this year’s event. “It was a good day,” said Peterhansel. Read More→
Volkswagen continues maintaining its hold in the group of the front runners on the third leg of the Dakar Rally: Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E), Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) with their three Race Touareg cars are ranking in positions two to four at the world’s toughest desert rally. The overall lead was taken by today’s stage winners Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (F/F) from the X-raid-BMW-Team. On the 182-kilometer special stage Read More→
Team X-raid GmbH’s Guerlain Chicherit and Stéphane Peterhansel set the second and sixth fastest times on the demanding 355km second special stage of the 2010 Dakar Rally between Cordoba and La Rioja in Argentina on Sunday. The stage time ensured that Peterhansel and his French co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret headed into the overnight halt in third position in the general classification in their BMW X3 CC, 2m 30s behind Qatar‟s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah Read More→
With a stage victory to the top – the Volkswagen factory duo Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) decided the second stage of the Dakar Rally in their favor. After coming fourth today, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) in another one of the 300-hp Race Touareg cars powered by TDI diesel engines are ranking in second place overall with a gap of just 1m 19s. The factory squad continued the solid team performance from the previous day: Maurício Neves/Clécio Maestrelli (BR/BR) secured third place Read More→
