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Stage 7 Updates HERE | Stage 8 Updates HERE
TODAY'S ROUTE: JAN 11. 2010 Stage 9: Copiapo > La Serena
Special 338 kmConnection 209 km
Stage 9 Results - CAR:
- Al-Attiyah
- Sainz
- De Villiers
- Chicherit
- Miller USA - 3rd Overall >>
- Peterhansel
- Misslin
- Novitskiy
- Sousa
- Terranova
- Barbosa
- Gordon USA - Moves to 9th Overall>>
- Errandonea
- Henrard
- Kahle
- Leal Dos Santos
- De Azevedo
- Spinelli
Stage 9 Results - BIKE:
- Coma
- Despres
- Lopez Contardo
- Ullevalseter
- Fretigne
- Duclos
- Rodrigues
- Pain
- Przygonski
- Faria
- Verhoeven
- Berglund
- Street USA
- Knuiman
- Krejci
- Pedero Garcia
- Liefhebber
- Prohens
- Czachor
- Svitko
Stage 9 Results - TRUCK:
- Kabirov
- Chagin
- Auda
- Mardeev
Stage 9 Results - QUAD:
- Declerck
- Patronelli
- Patronelli
- Halpern
- Brazina
Left the Atacama behind
January 11, 2010 - 8:22pm - by Ramses Perez The Copiapo-La Serena Special marked the last day that the Dakar Rally competitors would race on the Atacama Deserts. The special was shortened due to expected bad weather the day before. The Special looped around the west side of Copiapo heading towards La Serena/Santiago. After the special was done the competitors had to travel on a long liaison of 300 plus kilometers of highway driving to the La Serena Bivouac.
Since the finish line was only 30 kilometers away, the media crew decided to go to the finish line and wait for Robby to finish in case there was something wrong and also to take the chance to capture some images and video. Right from the beginning of the stage we heard that Robby had issues. He started 10th and had already lost a few spots in very short amount of time.
We stood in the desert for about 7 hours waiting for Robby to finish. We had no communication; our cell phones and satellite phone were out of range. Finally we found out that Robby had issues with the compressor in the inflation system and was down for some time. The Vanguard Hummer stopped to help them out of a jam when suddenly they got stuck. Robby finished 12th on the stage 38 minutes and 55 seconds behind the stage winner Al-Attiyah. He now moves up one spot in the overall classification to 9th overall.
After finishing the stage, Robby stayed behind in the finish line waiting for the Vanguard Hummer to finish. Robby waited for 2 hours then decided to head back once he found out we were out there waiting for them. The Vanguard Hummer got stuck in a ditch that contained a huge boulder. They could not get the Hummer out and had to be pulled out by a T4 competitor. Once that was happening the air jack system was dragging because it would not retract, it got bent and more time was lost trying to straighten it out.
The Vanguard Hummer finished and we followed it back to the Bivouac arriving late at night. Kevin and myself enjoyed a Bivouac dinner that consisted of rice, chicken and bell peppers, a seafood soup and pineapples. I know it doesn’t sound appetizing but when you are stuck in the desert without food for hours anything tastes good!
Live from Copiapo
January 11, 2010 - 10:36am - by Ramses Perez
We are at the finish line for Stage 9 right now... online tracking says Robby has finished but we haven't seen him yet. There is some distance between the official end and where we are waiting, near the highway.
From what we know the Vanguard Hummer is still out there. Last we heard they were fixing a bent air jack. They had gotten stuck and when they were pulled out, the air jack was damaged.
Earlier in the day, Robby got stuck and the Vanguard Hummer had helped pull him out.
More to come...
January 11, 2010: The 9th stage of the Dakar was like an exciting sprint finish between the rally favourites. Although the first ten to finish yesterday started side-by-side, Marc Coma was the quickest over the 170-km route. The Catalan picked up the 10th special stage victory of his Dakar career by beating general standings leader Cyril Despres by only 4 seconds.
The stage was shorter but no less difficult for the competitors in the Dakar, with an especially spectacular start side-by-side for the best 10 finishers the day before. They were then followed by the rest of the riders in waves of 20. Very soon, Marc Coma took control, leading the pack over the 170-km route almost entirely made up of the dunes around Copiapo. In the dunes, the Catalan tried to leave the other race favourites in his wake… in vain. In fact, at CP1 (at the 117-km point), it was the general standings leader Cyril Despres who put in the best time, with a lead of only 4 seconds over Coma and 20’’ over Pal-Anders Ullevalseter, now the nearest rival to the French race leader.
Coma once again “stepped on the gas” in the last part of the special and the combat with his eternal rival Cyril Despres lasted right up to the finishing line. Title holder Coma had the last word, beating the Frenchman by only 4 seconds. Yesterday’s stage winner, Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez found it difficult on his Aprilia 450cc to follow the pace imposed by the big KTMs. Nonetheless, the Chilean finished his day in 3rd position, 1’14 behind the day’s winner.
As a result, Marc Coma joins the very exclusive club of 14 bikers who have won at least ten special stages. The Catalan still remains far behind Cyril Despres who boasts 22 triumphs and even further behind the record holder on a bike, Stéphane Peterhansel with his 33 victories. In the general standings, Despres now has a lead of 1 hour 21 minutes over Ullevalseter and 1 hour 25 minutes over Lopez.
Whilst the bike race witnessed a close sprint, the car race saw more incidents but with bigger gaps. Yesterday’s winner Stephane Peterhansel opened the road followed by a quartet of Volkswagens led by general standings leader Carlos Sainz. As planned by the VW clan, Giniel De Villiers, now a ‘top-of-the-range water carrier’ soon let his colleague Al Attiyah overtake him, to provide assistance to the blue car team ‘just in case’.
Stephane Peterhansel achieved the best time at the 31-km point and was leading the dance, but then suffered in the “untidy” dunes of the Atacama. These irregular dunes made the Frenchman’s life very complicated. As a result, he had lost at least a quarter of an hour by CP1. Another significant point was the all out attack by Nasser Al Attiyah, second in the general standings and seeking the first place held by his team-mate but rival all the same Carlos Sainz. At CP1, the Qatari had already struck a big blow, regaining 6’30 on the native of Madrid, who suffered a puncture and got slightly lost at one point. Al Attiyah did not let his pace drop until the finishing line, where he grabbed his 3rd triumph this year. Although Sainz reduced the gap somewhat by the end of the 170-km stage, he still lost 5’59 to his closest rival for the lead, which just goes to show that with VW, there are no team instructions.
In the general standings, “El Matador” now has a lead of 8’36 over Al Attiyah. Peterhansel keeps his 4th place, but is gradually being caught by his team-mate Guerlain Chicherit, who finished 4th today and is now less than quarter of an hour behind his illustrious colleague in the BMW X-Raid team.
The triumphal march of the Kamaz team continues in the truck race. Firdaus Kabirov put a stop to a series of wins by Vladimir Chagin, after the “Tsar’s” three consecutive victories. The title holder won with a lead of 4’41 over the five times winner of the Dakar and more than 14’ over Frenchman Joseph Adua. In the general standings, Chagin can see his rivals coming with a significant lead of 1 hour and 11 minutes.
14:53 - Quad
258 - Declerck’s first!
Now that the first 5 quads have finished the day’s special stage, Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris) has won, picking up his first triumph on this 32nd edition, 1’33 ahead of the eldest of the Argentinean Patronelli brothers (Yamaha), Alejandro, and 1’47 in front of the younger sibling, Marcos (Yamaha), who still has a comfortable lead in the general standings.
14:43 - Truck
505 - Mardeev regains 3rd place at CP1
Now that the first 4 trucks have made it to CP1 after 117 km of the day’s special stage, although Russian Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) still leads, now 5’57 ahead of his faithful lieutenant and countryman Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz), behind the wheel of the 3rd Kamaz, Russian Ilgizar Mardeev has regained provisional 3rd place, 10’05 behind the leader, but 1’24 in front of Frenchman Joseph Adua (Iveco).
14:37 - Car
306 - 1-2-3 for VW!
Now that the first 6 cars have completed the day’s special stage, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) has won for the 3rd time this year, 5’59 ahead of his Spanish team-mate Carlos Sainz (VW) and 7’38 in front of his South African team-mate Giniel De Villiers (VW), meaning there are 3 Race Touaregs in the first 3 places! This is the Qatari’s 6th stage victory of his Dakar career, but more importantly he is now 8’36 behind leader Carlos Sainz in the general standings.
14:32 - Bike
104 - A round trip for Noone!
After already making a navigational mistake at the 80 km point of the day’s special, Irish rider Philip Noone (KTM) finally rejoined the stage route at the 93-km mark, but made another mistake and set off in the opposite direction to the one he should have… As a result, the Irish rider managed to find the correct route, but at the 12-km marker! This means Noone is currently making a second journey along the 90-km loop that makes up the first part of the stage...
14:20 - Car
306 - No change in the car race after 135 km
Now that the first 8 cars have completed 135 km of the day’s special, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) still leads, 4’54 ahead of his South African team-mate Giniel de Villiers (VW), and 6’14 in front of his Spanish team-mate Carlos Sainz (VW). Guerlain Chicherit (BMW) is still in 4th place, 7’27 behind the provisional leader and 9’27 in front of his team-mate, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW), who occupies provisional 6th place.
13:59 - Truck
507 - Adua 3rd after 71 km
Now that the first 6 trucks have completed 71 km of the day’s special stage, Frenchman Joseph Adua (Iveco) has put in the 3rd best time, 6’23 behind provisional leader Chagin (Kamaz).
13:53 - Car
301 - “Peter” trails by 17’04 at CP1
After getting stuck in the sand at the 95-km point of the day’s special, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW) has just made it through CP1 (at the 117-km point) and is now 17’04 behind the provisional stage leader Al-Attiyah (VW).
13:52 - Car
307 - Chicherit breaks the VW domination
Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit (BMW) has just made it through CP1 after 117 km of the day’s special and has managed to put his X3 in amongst the Race Touaregs by achieving the 4th best provisional time, 6’31 behind stage leader Al-Attiyah (VW).
13:51 - Car
306 - VW copying Kamaz...
The first 4 cars have just made it through CP1 after 117 km of the day’s special stage and for the moment, the 4 Race Toauregs occupy the leading positions! Qatari nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) boasts the best provisional time, 4’22 ahead of his South African team-mate Giniel De Villiers and 6’30 in front of his Spanish team-mate Carlos Sainz. The 4th placed VW driver, American Mark Miller trails the current stage leader by 8’19.
13:47 - Truck
501 - Kamaz on parade!
Already winners of all the special stages on the 32nd Dakar, the Kamaz drivers seem well set to continue their perfect performance: the three Kamaz occupied the first three places at the 71-km point. Unsurprisingly, Russian Vladimir Chagin is out in front, leading his countrymen and team-mates Firdaus Kabirov and Ilgizar Mardeevt by 1’08 and 7’30 respectively.
13:37 - Quad
258 - Declerck still out in front
Having taken the lead in the first kilometres of the 9th special stage, Fenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris) still holds the best provisional time at CP1 after 117 km of the day’s special, leading by 5’52 and 6’01 respectively the Argentinean Patronelli brothers, with general standings leader Marcos (Yamaha) in front of his older sibling Alejandro (Yamaha).
13:30 - Bike
1 - Number 3 for Coma!
The first 6 bikes have just finished the day’s special and Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM) has picked up his 3rd special stage victory on this year’s Dakar, the 10th of his career in the event, beating the leader of the general standings, Frenchman Cyril Despres (KTM) by 4” and the stage’s local boy, Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez Contardo (Aprilia), by 1’14.
13:29 - Car
301 - “Peter” back on track
After losing 10 minutes stuck in the sand after 95 km of the special stage, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW) has rejoined the race in this 9th special sage.
13:22 - Car
301 - “Peter” at a standstill after 95 km!
The first to start this morning, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW) has been at a standstill for around 10 minutes at the 95-km point on the day’s special stage!
13:20 - Bike
2 - Despres leads by one second
Now that the first 15 bikes have completed 135 km of the day’s special stage, Frenchman Cyril Despres (KTM) still holds the best provisional time, but only ONE small second ahead of Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM) and 6" in front of Norway’s Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM). However, the Iritrack on the bike of Chilean Francisco Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) is not giving his position for the moment, though he was recorded in 4th place 25" behind leader Despres (KTM) at CP1.
13:11 - Car
307 - 3rd best time for Chicherit after 71 km
The 8th place starter on the day’s special this morning, Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit (BMW) has just completed 71 km and has put in the 3rd best provisional time, 1’22 behind current stage leader Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW).
13:09 - Car
6 - Best time for Al-Attiyah after 71 km
Now that the first 5 cars have completed 71 km of the day’s special, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) has put in the best provisional time, 55" ahead of Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW) and 2’35 in front of American Mark Miller (VW).
12:53 - Quad
258 - Declerck opens up the gap
The first three quads have completed 71 km of the day’s special and Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris) still has the best provisional time. He is now 4’53 ahead of the general standings leader, Argentinean Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) and 5’08 in front of his older brother Alejandro (Yamaha).
12:46 - Bike
2 - Despres provisionally leads at CP1
Now that the first 10 bikes have made it through CP1 after 117 km of the day’s special, the leader of the general standings, Frenchman Cyril Despres (KTM), is in the lead, 4" ahead of Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM), and 20" in front of Norwegian Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM).
12:43 - Car
301 - “Peter” puts in the best provisional time after 30 km
The first three cars have just completed 30 km of the day’s special and Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW) is in the lead, 19" ahead of general standings leader, Spaniard Carlos Sainz (VW) and 31" in front of American Mark Miller (VW).
12:40 - Truck
501 - THE TRUCKS ARE ON THEIR WAY!
Starting in 10th position (!) of the car/truck pack, the general standings leader and winner of the 8th special, Russian Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz), kicked off proceedings in the day’s truck special at 12.18, as scheduled. The “Tsar” was followed 4 minutes later by his faithful lieutenant and countryman Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz), who started in 14th position of the car/truck pack.
12:36 - Bike
1 - Coma leads after 71 km
Now that the first bikes have completed 71 km of the day’s special, Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM) leads, 14" in front of Frenchman Olivier Pain (Yamaha) and 19" ahead of Norwegian Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM). The title holder’s performance is all the more remarkable given that he made a navigational mistake after 62 km, taking Frenchman David Frétigné (Yamah) with him, and as a result has ridden around 5 km more than his rivals. It should however be noted that the Iritrack on the bike of “Chaleco” Lopez (Aprilia) is still not giving the Chilean’s position for the moment.
12:15 - Car
301 - THE CARS ARE ON THEIR WAY!
The winner of the 8th special stage yesterday, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW) kicked off proceedings for the day’s special at 12.00, in keeping with the new start time. The driver from Vesoul was then followed 2 minutes later by the leader of the general standings, Spaniard Carlos Sainz (VW).
12:13 - Quad
258 - Declerck out in front
Now that the first 6 quads have completed 30 km of the day’s special, Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris) is the provisional leader, 1’37 and 1’38 respectively in front of the Argentinean Patronelli brothers (Yamaha), with older sibling Alejandro ahead of his younger brother Marcos.
11:59 - Bike
8 - Best time for Verhoeven after 30 km
The first bikers from the 2nd wave have just completed 30 km of the day’s special and now Dutchman Frans Verhoeven (BMW) has been credited with the best provisional time, but only ONE small second ahead of Portugal’s Ruben Faria (KTM), and 17" in front of Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM), now 3rd.
11:43 - Bike
1 - Coma leads after 30 km...
The first 10 bikes have just completed 30 km of the day’s special and Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM) has the best provisional time, 2" ahead of Norwegian Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) and 7" in front of Slovakian Stefan Svitko (KTM). However, the Iritrack on the bike of yesterday’s special stage winner Chilean Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) has not given his position yet.
11:25 - Bike
READY, STEADY, GO!
Hello and welcome everybody. After the 8th stage yesterday, 211 crews - 94 bikes, 14 quads, 68 cars and 35 trucks - have been authorised to start the 9th stage this morning. As scheduled a first wave including the leading 10 bikers in the general standings set off at 11.00, in keeping with the new starting time. They were followed 10 minutes later by a 2nd wave made up of the bikers in 11th to 30th place in the general standings.
08:00
ETAPE 9: COPIAPO – LA SERENA
354 km, but with a timed section of only 170, are on the menu for the 9th stage. Indeed, alerted by the presence over the last few days of significant amounts of fog during the morning at Copiapo, the organisers have announced that they will be postponing the start times for the 9th special stage (11.00, instead of 7.15) and will shorten the route in order to avoid stragglers arriving too late at the bivouac in La Serena. However, this is nothing for the competitors to rejoice about, because as a result the 9th special will be a 100% sandy route, since it will wind its way through the ranges of dunes above Copiapo. Another original aspect of this 9th special stage, the last to be contested in the Atacama Desert, is a side-by-side start for the bikers, in groups of 20…
3 hour delay in Stage 9 start
Stage 9 Monday 1/11/10
CARS START SPECIAL
AT 12:00 LOCAL TIME
#302 - 12:19, #351 - 12:23
All times subject to change
