While the last special was won by Norway's Pål Anders Ullevålseter (motorcycles) and Robby Gordon (cars), France's Cyril Despres and Stéphane Peterhansel took their fourth and tenth Dakars respectively, all categories included. The champions were applauded on the podium on Lima's Plaza de Armas by a huge crowd which came to acclaim both the competitors and the arrival of the greatest rally raid in the world to Lima's capital. All in all, 97 motorcycles, 12 quads, 78 cars and 60 trucks made it to the finishing line of the 33rd Dakar, i.e., 249 of the 443 vehicles which started the rally in Mar del Plata.
The American Robby Gordon clocked the best time in the last special of the 2012 Dakar, beating Mini's Ricardo Leal dos Santos and Krzysztof Holowczyc. All the GC leaders took things carefully in this special and were happy just to reach the finish and the podium in downtown Lima. Stéphane Peterhansel will climb onto the top step, flanked by his teammate Nani Roma and South Africa's Giniel de Villiers.
Argentina's Lucio Ezequiel Álverez (Toyota) has taken fourth place at the end of today's special, 14'57" behind leader Stéphane Peterhansel.
DE VILLIERS CROSSES THE FINISHING LINE FIRST, PETERHANSEL TAKES THE SCRATCH He was probably one of those who performed best in today's special, with the toughest part at the end. The South African and his Toyota crossed the finishing line first, but Stéphane Peterhansel has taken the provisional scratch with a time of 3 h 09'57", 8'29" ahead of Giniel de Villiers. The third driver across the line is also one of those who performed best on the dunes: Leonid Novitskiy's time was 12'55" slower than the overall leader's.
CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA – Robby Gordon has proven once again why he is a true motorsports champion, not just by winning, but dominating Stage 12 of the Dakar™. After a long delay set him back during Stage 11 due to mechanical problems, the American driver attacked Stage 12 with a vengeance. He piloted his #303 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER from a 22nd starting position to first overall – beating the second place finisher by 15 minutes, 18 seconds! To further prove a point, he accomplished that feat by crossing the perilously soft coastal dunes toward Nazca, Peru -- streaking past stuck competitors with his two-wheel drive HUMMER equipped with Toyo® Open Country M/T®-R tires.
STAGE 12 RECAP
Nasca, Peru (January 13, 2012) - Over the last couple of days during the 2012 Dakar Rally, Team SPEED and Robby Gordon have had to defend themselves after being accused of having an air inflation system that gives them an advantage. To prove a point, Gordon took it upon himself to show the media his entire system and how it worked last night in the bivouac in Arequipa, Peru. He even went so far as cutting the line that was in question and plugging it. He will run the rest of the rally without a vacuum system placed on his car.
• Leonid Novitskiy finishes runner-up in special stage 12
• Peterhansel and Roma still first and second in the overall standings
All the Monster Energy X-raid Team drivers had expected a difficult 13th special stage but what they had to cope with exceeded their fears – by far. Every driver got stuck and struggled with the dunes of Nasca, Peru. Following the special stage, Russian-German pairing Leonid Novitskiy / Andi Schulz were delighted with having taken their orange Monster Energy MINI ALL4 to second place behind Robby Gordon’s Hummer. Nani Roma (ESP) and Michel Périn (FRA) in the yellow MINI ALL4 Racing finished fifth. The two Frenchmen Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret with the green Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing had to settle for finishing seventh in today’s special stage but succeeded in defending their overall lead, with Roma following in second position. The two Portuguese Ricardo Leal dos Santos / Paulo Fiuza in the red Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing and Polish-Belgian pairing Krzysztof Holowczyc / Jean-Marc Fortin in the ORLEN MINI ALL4 Racing finished ninth and twelfth respectively.
Robby Gordon and Team SPEED are shocked and disappointed by the interim decision by the race organizers of the 2012 Dakar Rally, and that decision has now been appealed to the governing body. The appeal will be decided several weeks from now, so Robby Gordon and the Team will continue to participate in the 2012 Dakar Rally pending final determination of the appeal.
The issue centers on the tire inflation system used on the Hummers. That system was specifically inspected, tested, and approved by the organizers for both the 2011 Dakar Rally and the 2012 Dakar Rally. Further, it is the same system that Robby Gordon and the Team have used on the Hummers for each of the past 5 years that they have participated in the Dakar Rally.
• All the five MINIs ALL4 Racing make it to the top six, today
The countdown is running – just three more days to go to the Dakar Rally finish at Lima. In the 11th of the 14 special stages, from Arica, Chile to Arequipa, Peru, the Monster Energy X-raid Team celebrated a one-two-three. With their green Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing, the two Frenchmen Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret did not only secure the special stage win. At the same time, they also extended their lead in the overall standings. Spanish-French pairing Nani Roma / Michel Périn took the yellow Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing to second position, with their Portuguese team-mates Ricardo Leal dos Santos und Paulo Fiuza in the red sister car coming third. Meanwhile, the toughest rival of Peterhansel and Roma in the battle for the overall win, Robby Gordon in the Hummer, lost more than an hour due to technical problems.
The 10th special stage – from Antofagasta to Arica – proved to be a very successful one the Monster Energy X-raid Team. With their yellow Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing, Spaniard Nani Roma and his French co-driver Michel Périn celebrated their third special stage win in this year’s edition of the Dakar Rally. Just 21 seconds behind them, their French team-mates Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret took their green Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing to second position, thus extending their lead over Robby Gordon in the overall standings to 19:51 minutes. Meanwhile, Leonid Novitskiy (RUS) / Andi Schulz (GER) in the orange Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing and the two Portuguese Ricardo Leal dos Santos / Paulo Fiuza in the red sister car set exactly the same time to finish sixth and seventh respectively.
ARICA, Chile — American Robby Gordon's hopes of winning the Dakar Rally took a major hit on Wednesday when stewards ruled that he should be thrown out of the event because his Hummer's engine did not conform to race regulations.
A source close to the organisers revealed that the 43-year-old - who is pressing overall leader Stephane Peterhansel hard for the car title - would appeal the decision and was allowed to continue competing in the 10th stage.
The ultimate decision rests with motorsport's governing body, the FIA.
Gordon - whose best finish so far in seven Dakar participations is third in the 2009 edition - won the ninth stage on Tuesday to cut Frenchman Peterhansel's overall lead to 5min 58sec ahead of Sunday's finish in Lima.
Arica, Chile (January 11, 2012) - Stage 10 was the last stage in Chile for the competitors, and it would prove to be a harsh one to Robby Gordon in the last 30km. Gordon started off the line in first, but he lost time early to the MINIs of Nani Roma and Stephane Peterhansel. After checkpoint 1, he was only 3 minutes back and had fought his way back by checkpoint 3, when he was only 30 seconds behind Peterhansel on the road. He was in third place, only 2 minutes behind. Gordon was poised to attack with the overall leader in his sight.
Robby Gordon Down for over 11 minutes on today's special
Despite injuring his right foot after 35 km of this 10th special stage, Joan Barreda confirmed his status as the major revelation of 2012 by picking up his first stage victory on the Dakar, ahead of Marc Coma and Cyril Despres. However, the Frenchman, who opened the road today, hangs on to his position as general standings leader, but only by 21 seconds ahead of the Catalan. In the car category, the day witnessed a third stage victory in 2012 for Nani Roma in front of the general standings leader, Stephane Peterhansel. The Catalan also took advantage of a mistake by Gordon and the mechanical problems suffered by Holowczyc to move into 2nd place in the general standings.
Iquique, Chile (January 10, 2012) - Robby Gordon and the No. 303 SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires HUMMER dominated Stage 9 of the 2012 Dakar Rally, winning by 1 minute and 38 seconds over Stephane Peterhansel. Gordon, with the help of his navigator Johnny Campbell, lead the entire stage with 3 MINIs breathing down their necks.
Unfortunately, Nasser Al-Attiyah's day would end completely different. Al-Attiyah encountered the same issue today as he did yesterday when a serpentine belt popped off, not once but three times. Using all of his spares, Al-Attiyah was stranded near KM 200 of the 556 km stage. Being more than an hour down to the overall leader, Al-Attiyah made the tough decision to end his efforts for a repeat championship and dropped out of the stage.
CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA – Excitement is building in anticipation of crowning the overall winner for the 2012 Dakar™ this coming Monday. Robby Gordon is focused on capturing that glory, winning today’s Stage 9 by 1-minute 38-seconds over race-leader, Stephane Peterhansel. Gordon’s charge has reduced Peterhansel’s lead to less than six minutes with four days left of competition.
Today’s 556km stage ran from the coastal cities of Antofagasta to Iquique, northward along the Pacific Ocean coast of Chile. Competitors were faced with a variety of terrain including canyons, hills and perilous silt-beds known as “fesh fesh.” Throughout the rally, Gordon has relied on Toyo® Open Country M/T®-R tires to help keep his two-wheel drive #303 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER on a searing pace. As of today’s Stage 9 of the 2012 Dakar, Toyo Tires® has recorded eight podium finishes with Team SPEED, three of those being stage wins.
American Robby Gordon has given another victory to the Hummer team with a total time of 6:25'21” today. He beat Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel by 1'38”. In the general standings, Peterhansel still has a lead of 5'58” over Gordon.
Behind Robby Gordon and Stephane Peterhansel, Spaniard Nani Roma has taken third place on the ninth special of the Dakar 2012. Roma finished 8'37” behind the day's winner. The fourth placed driver, Krzysztof Holowczic, came in 10'39” behind the American. In the general standings, the two men are in reverse order: the Polish driver is third, 16'49” behind the leader and the Spaniard is fourth, 19'26” behind the leader.
The battle between the day's leader Ales Loprais and his closest pursuer Gerard de Rooy is really heating up at CP4: only 13 seconds separate the Tatra and the Iveco! Behind them, third-placed Hans Stacey trails the leader by 3'13” and only has a lead of 2'17” over his Italian team-mate Miki Biasion. In this category, anything is still possible.
Italian Roberto Tonetti is currently third at CP4 behind the Patronelli brothers. 30'37” separates him from the leader. As for Tomas Maffei, he is in fourth, 2'16” behind Tonetti.
Robby Gordon still leads the car special in front of Stephane Peterhansel. The gap is 2'11” between the leaders. Third-placed man Krzysztof Holowczyc trails the day's leader by 5'32” and Nani Roma in fourth position is 5'58” behind.
It was one of the longest special stages of this year’s Dakar Rally and at the end of the exhausting 477 kilometres, Nani Roma (ESP) and Michel Périn (FRA) proved to be the quickest, with their yellow Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing. Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyc and his Belgian co-driver Jean-Marc Fortin took their ORLEN MINI ALL4 Racing to third position behind Robby Gordon, with the green Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing of French pairing Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul following in fourth position. Leonid Novitskiy (RUS) / Andi Schulz (GER) in the orange Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing came eighth, right ahead of the two Portuguese Portugiesen Ricardo Leal dos Santos and Paulo Fiuza in the red sister car.
CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA – International fans were treated to American V8 thunder as Robby Gordon launched an all-out attack on today’s Stage 8 of the Dakar™ rally. The determined Gordon surged forward with his #303 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER to finish second place in the stage, moving him to second overall in the 14-stage rally. The route traveled 477km northward from Copiapó, Chile to the town of Antofagasta on the Pacific Ocean. Gordon is now easily within striking distance of the overall lead of the Dakar.
DAKAR.COM Spain's Nani Roma has just posted the best time, finishing stage eight in 4 h 25'44". He beat Robby Gordon and his Hummer by 5" at the end of the 477-kilometre special. Krzysztof Holowczyc came in third, 2'04" back. Stéphane Peterhansel had to settle for fourth, 5'38" behind his teammate. Despite his problems at the start of the stage, Nasser Al-Attiyah produced a fine performance to finish fifth, 8'09" back. Stéphane Peterhansel defended the overall lead, 7'36" ahead of Robby Gordon, who has a slim 12" margin over Holowczyc. Fourth-placed Nani Roma is just 12'27" behind the leader. On the other hand, Nasser Al-Attiyah has lost 45'25" to Peterhansel so far.
DAKAR.COM | In the motorcycle category, the eighth special may have been the pivotal point in the duel between Coma and Despres for the overall win. Despite opening the course, the Spaniard was able to avoid a trap into which the Frenchman fell. As a result, the Catalan took his 20th stage win at the Dakar and, most importantly, seized the overall lead. He now has a 9'32" margin over Despres.
• Sponsors, journalists and guests visit the X-raid bivouac
• Tough job for two race trucks
The first week of the 2012 Dakar is history, now, and following the numerous events witnessed in week one, the event schedule featured the obligatory day of rest in the bivouac at Copiapo, today. Nonetheless: don’t let the term ‘day of rest’ make you come to wrong conclusions. There wasn’t a special stage to be contested, today, but the entire team had to cope with a tight schedule, nevertheless.
It was the first real desert stage of Dakar 2012 to cause major changes in the overall ranking and stretch all time gaps. Ales Loprais takes 2nd overall just before the rest day.
The Copiapo-Copiapo stage saw two different parts separated by a 58-kilometer long neutralization tarmac section. The initial part was run on a fast and rocky surface. Evereyone from the top squad had to beware punctures as they would have caused an immediate fall in the rankings by 12-15 positions. Ales kept a steady pace right behind the flying armada of de Rooy trucks. Unfortunately for them, it was Gerard de Rooy and Miki Biasion to catch a puncture and gain a delay, leaving Hans Stacey keep the pace of the stage. In the second part, things were going on.
January 6, 2012 (After Stage 6) Although the day's stage had to be cancelled, the competitors of the Dakar 2012 were able to cross the Andes Mountain Range in convoy. The bikers opening the road crossed the Paso San Francisco pass in icy temperatures of -8°C.
The pilot of InstaForex Loprais Team is conducting a fierce battle for the dakar podium, claiming fourth overall after Stage 5.
Ales Loprais has made significant achievements in the course of 2011. After a splendid performance at Dakar 2011, having won two consecutive stages, his team constructed a new racing machine. The bonneted Jamal model proved to be extremely competitive from the very beginning and Ales managed to win the Silk Way Rally in Russia in July, beating all Kamaz trucks on their home ground. For Dakar 2012 n South America, his team managed to enter two trucks, renting the former T815 to a privateer, Tomas Vratny, in a crew called Bonver Dakar Team. Ales entered the race with a new navigator, Michal Ernst, an experienced co-pilot from the World Rally Championship.
Due to the bad weather continuing over the Andes Mountain Range (rain and snow), the Chilean authorities were forced to close, for the night, the border at the Paso de San Francisco pass, situated at 4700 m.
For the 7th time, the Dakar is about to cross over the Andes, and because of very unfavourable conditions, added to the fact that the course has been hit by rain and snow, in order to guarantee the security of the competitors and those following the rally, the organisers have decided to organise a convoy for all vehicles tomorrow. The itinerary has been changed after the border (follow the main road on the right which goes to Diego de Almagro).
Fiambala, Argentina (January 5, 2012) - Robby Gordon and his SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires HUMMER did exactly what needed to be done in the 5th stage of the Dakar Rally to gain time and position in the overall standings. The same can't be said for his teammate, Qatarian driver, Nasser Al-Attiyah, as a costly mistake could diminish his hopes for another Dakar Rally overall victory.
X-Raid MINI Team Standings After Stage 5
Overall after 5th stage:
1. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / J.-P. Cottret (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 11h 58m 03s
2. K. Holowczyc (POL) / J.-M. Fortin (BEL) MINI ALL4 Racing – 12h 02m 21s
3. N. Roma (ESP) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 12h 08m 42s
…
6. Novitskiy (RUS) / A. Schulz (GER) MINI ALL4 Racing – 12h 28m 54s
…
20. R.D. Dos Santos (POR) / P. Fiuza (POR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 15h 06m 06s
• All the five MINI ALL4 Racing secure top-11 positions
Following the special-stage wins of Leonid Novitskiy and Krzysztof Holowczyc, French pairing Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret gave Team X-raid its third special-stage win in today’s fourth special stage, with their green Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing. Thanks to this success, the Frenchman also regained the lead in the overall rankings. Spaniard Nani Roma and his French co-driver Michel Périn took their yellow Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing to fourth position, followed by their team-mates Krysztof Holowczyc (Poland) and Jean-Marc Fortin (Belgium) in the ORLEN MINI ALL4 Racing. Russian-German pairing Leonid Novitskiy / Andi Schulz in the orange MINI ALL4 Racing and the two Portuguese Ricardo Leal dos Santos and Paulo Fiuza with the red MINI ALL4 Racing completed the fine team result by finishing ninth and eleventh respectively.
Chilecito, Argentina (January 4, 2012) - Today was not what Team SPEED had expected; both Robby Gordon and Nasser Al-Attiyah would find trouble in different sections of the long 326km special stage. Gordon finished in 14th place, 18 minutes and 10 seconds behind with Al-Attiyah shortly behind him in 16th, over 26 minutes behind.
Today's stage took the drivers from San Juan to Chilecito across dried-up rivers and the canyons of Province of Rioja. By the first waypoint, Robby Gordon in his No. 303 SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires HUMMER would find himself 5 minutes behind. A slight navigational error on top of a puncture as well as replacing an alternator would cost him another 8 minutes before getting back on the road. As he pushed his vehicle to gain ground he was confiedent that they still could have won the special.
At Stage 2 of the Dakar Rally on Monday, Darren Skilton experienced fuel delivery issues in his Revolution VI buggy that pushed him to the back of the pack, yet Skilton and navigator Skyler Gambrell were still able to complete the stage under their own power. That evening Skilton’s crew made aerodynamic modifications to provide additional airflow to the fuel pumps in an effort to remedy the issues. In short, this was not successful. Just 40 kilometers before the beginning of the special stage, the General Grabbers on Skilton’s car stopped turning due to the same fuel problems. The team was able to coax the car to the start line without any time penalties, but that was just the start of the special stage!
San Juan (January 3, 2012) - The third stage of the Dakar Rally opened with the No. 300 car of Nasser Al-Attiyah first off the line and the No. 303 car of Robby Gordon shortly behind him in the 3rd starting position, giving Team SPEED an opportunity to keep momentum on their side. This stage of the 2012 Dakar Rally went from San Rafael to the city of San Juan, located in a valley of mountains just southeast of the Andes. The stage featured a total of 499km that included a 208 km special stage section that ended at the bivouac in San Juan.
• Nani Roma celebrates his first special-stage win in the 2012 Dakar
• Krzysztof Holowczyc takes the overall lead
In the third special stage – from San Rafael to San Juan – the Monster Energy X-raid Team celebrated a one-two. Spanish-French pairing Duo Nani Roma / Michel Périn set the fastest time of the day, in their yellow Monster Energy MINI ALL4 Racing, with their team-mate Krzysztof Holowczyc (Poland) and his Belgian co-driver Jean-Marc Fortin in the ORLEN MINI ALL4 Racing coming second. Thanks to this second place, the Pole also took the lead in the overall rankings. Third position was secured by Robby Gordon. Due to two punctures, the two Frenchmen Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret had to settle for coming seventh while Russia’s Leonid Novitskiy and his German navigator Andi Schulz finished ninth.
Quinn Cody WITHDRAWS...
Jan 3, 2012 | Dakar.com reports - American Quinn Cody, assisted after a fall by Juan Pedero, soon met up with one of the medical helicopters, whos team diagnosed a suspected fracture of the collar bone and head injury. His condition is not alarming, but nevertheless he has had to withdraw from the race.
Nasser Al-Attiyah bounces back to win Stage; Gordon overall in 2nd place
Stage 2 Update: San Rafael (January 2, 2012) - Stage 2 of the Dakar Rally was successful for Team SPEED; Nasser Al-Attiyah came from a 38th-starting position to win the stage on corrected time while teammate Robby Gordon finished third. Gordon now sits second overall in the rankings. It is the first time that Team SPEED had two HUMMERs on the podium for a Special Stage finish, making it a historic day.
Competitors started early this morning, taking them from Santa Rosa de la Pampa to San Rafael, for the 487 km liasion and 290 km Special Stage. The terrain presented during the stage proved to be very suitable for the HUMMERs. The big, fast bends on firm gravel roads allowed Gordon and Al-Attiyah to quickly maneuver their way to the front.
• All the five MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles secure top-nine position, in special stage two
In the second stage of the 2012 Dakar Rally, from Santa Rosa de la Pampa to San Rafael, the Monster Energy X-raid Team kept on delivering, with French pairing Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean Paul Cottret in their green MINI ALL4 Racing setting the second-fastest time behind Nasser Al Attiyah to take the overall lead. Krzysztof Holowczyc in the ORLEN MINI ALL4 Racing finished fourth behind Robby Gordon and right ahead of Spanish-French pairing Nani Roma / Michel Périn who came fifth, with the yellow MINI ALL4 Racing. Novitskiy and his German co-driver Andi Schulz took their orange MINI All4 Racing to eighth position, on day two, and the two Portuguese Ricardo Leal dos Santos and Paulo Fiuza completed the fine MINI All4 Racing result by securing ninth place.
Dakar Rally has typically started with WRC-style gravel roads since moving to South America, but this year the ASO course designers headed straight for the coastal dunes at Necochea for a 57 kilometer special stage to start the 2012 rally. Darren Skilton finished just one second behind 2010 champion Nasser Al-Attiyah and 9:51 behind the lead car when the times were tallied. “To be honest the size of the dunes took me by surprise,” Skilton admitted. “Skyler (Gambrell- Skilton’s navigator) and I just aired down the General Grabbers and had no problems staying on top of the sand.” Then with the long liaison Skilton aired the Grabbers back up and made his way to Santa Rosa de la Pampa in comfort.
Stage 1 Update: January 1, 2012 | Although the likelihood of a Mini win was obvious to even the least knowledgeable of pundits, the identity of the winner is slightly surprising. The length of today's stage means that performances here are not too representative, but Leonid Novitskiy exploited his best driving skills to seize his first special stage win at the Dakar. The 2011 Rally Raid World Champion started 13th and pipped his teammates Krzysztof Holowzyc and Stéphane Peterhansel at the finishing line, besting them by 5" and 9" respectively. At the end of the day, X-Raid has three Minis at the top of the classification, ahead of Giniel de Villiers, who posted a strong performance in the Dakar debut of his Toyota Hilux.
MINI X-Raid Holds 1st, 2nd and 3rd in Standings After Stage 1 Stage 1 is now complete and the Monster Energy MINI X-raid team now hold 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the standings. With 13 more daily stages to go, the rally is in its beginning stages.
Darren Skilton has an addiction with Dakar that began over a decade ago. Since that time he has become the United States representative for the race’s sanctioning body (ASO) and returned to the rally in a myriad of capacities including navigator, support driver, mechanic, and racer. Last year Skilton and journalist Sue Mead won the Open Production class in a Ford Raptor shod with production General Grabber tires, but this year Skilton is looking to up the ante by jumping into the deep end of the pool, taking on heavy hitters such as Robby Gordon. “Volkswagen’s departure from the rally really opens up the field to privateers like myself,” Skilton commented. “I have a competitive car that has just been sitting and waiting for the right opportunity. That opportunity has arrived.”
• All the team members have arrived in Mar del Plata, Argentina
• The 5 MINI All4 Racing and the 3 BMW X3 CC successfully passed the scrutineering
Tomorrow, on New-Year’s Day, the Monster Energy X-raid Team will start into the 2012 Dakar Rally, taking the competitors from Argentina across Chile to Peru. Up to 30th December, all the 96 team members had arrived at the venue of the start into this year’s edition of the legendary event: the Argentinean city of Mar del Plata, located some 500 kilometres south to the country’s capital Buenos Aires. Even in the past days, the Argentineans demonstrated their motor-racing enthusiasm, with thousands of them crowding the streets around the service park and the Dakar Village. This morning, cars and drivers passed the scrutineering and the administrative checks respectively.
• Five MINI All4 Racing and three BMWs X3 CC to go for it in the Dakar
• Competitive team wants the Dakar win
Team X-raid will field a record line-up in 2012 Dakar which will lead from Argentina through Chile to Peru. A total of eight vehicles entered by the German squad – five MINIs All4 Racing and three BMWs X3CC – will compete in the legendary event that will be started in Mar del Plata, Argentina. And with Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), Nani Roma (ESP)/Michel Perin (FRA) and Krzysztof Holowczyc (POL)/Jean Marc Fortin (BEL), the X-raid line-up features at least three driver pairings that have got what it takes to win the Dakar, with their MINI All4 Racing.
Team X-raid’s line-up is completed by Leonid Novitskiy (RUS)/Andi Schulz (GER) and Ricardo Leal dos Santos (POR)/Paulo Fiuza (POR) who also will contest the event with the MINI All4 Racing. Meanwhile, the three BMWs X3 CC will be raced by the pairings Duos Boris Garafulic (CHI)/Gilles Picard (FRA), Alexander Mironenko (RUS)/Sergey Lebedev (RUS) and Stephan Schott (GER)/Holm Schmidt (GER).
