Category: Dakar Rally

Neom (AlUla 15 Jean 2021: Slightly shortened due to rainfall rendering a fifty-kilometre portion impracticable, the 11th stage of the Dakar had been heralded and continued as a theatre conducive to dramatic turns in events with over 8 taxi drivers on a Golden day for India when TVS Racing product Harith Noah, who entered as a privateer, with Sherco Factory team support, managed the best performance by an Indian ever, finishing the Stage 11 in 19th position for an overall 22nd place. In his second year, the Keralite who made steady progress stunned better riders and safely completed the stage and is in for his first Dakar finish, the third Indian to do so.

As this of is complex and comprehensive stage threw up both navigational difficulties, for which total concentration was required at the start of the special, and a vast zone of dunes on the last third, where experts in taming the sandy mounds would hold a strong hand. This is exactly what Sam Sunderland and Nasser Al-Attiyah applied themselves to doing, without however managing to break their respective rivals’ resolve.

Meanwhile, the only Indian left in the field that is, Noah completed the stage with aplomb despire some setbacks after he crossed the last but one Waypoint where he lost a few places. But he recovered and his resilience saw him gain the places back to finish 19th in the Stage and 20th overall for an Indian record surpassing that of CS Santosh. He is the third Indian following the footsteps of Santosh and teammate KP Aravind.

Outline

In several years’ time, perhaps rally aficionados will excitedly recount the battle of Yanbu. It was surely on this special that the title up for grabs between Sam Sunderland and Kevin Benavides in the bike category was decided. The Argentinean remains at the top of the general standings with a theoretically sufficient lead of 4’12’’, all the more so given that tomorrow he will enjoy a more favourable place in the starting order to defend his position. However, the Honda rider had to make a serious effort in opening the way with Ricky Brabec in order to withstand the attack of Sam Sunderland. The British rider’s show of force on the route of the special temporarily brought him within approximately forty seconds of his target, before he faltered slightly. In the car category, Nasser Al-Attiyah also found himself in this role, but with a much more distant focus of his attention. Despite his 41st stage victory and a time gain of 1’56’’, it was impossible for him to reverse the trend and block the way of Stéphane Peterhansel’s march to a 14th title. Tomorrow, the Frenchman will start with a time cushion of 15’05’’. In the quad race, Manuel Andújar headed for Yanbu with the same mind-set and his Chilean rival Giovanni Enrico only closed in to within 25’52’’ by winning his second stage of the fortnight. In the lightweight vehicle category, the battle could have been much trickier for “Chaleco” López behind the wheel of his Can-Am, with a lead of only 10 minutes over Austin Jones, but the American let the pressure get to him rather than exerting it. As for Seth Quintero, he proved that his feat of last week was by no means down to chance as he won his second special. Anton Shibalov moved the counter up to 5 successes in total since his debut on the Dakar and should finish second, like last year, but this time behind Dmitry Sotnikov.

Performance of the day 

In 2020, Wei Han finished his second Dakar in 10th position, becoming the best Chinese representative in the rally’s history. Currently occupying 18th place, he will not be able to improve his own record this year, but Han demonstrated that he was able to shine behind the wheel of an SMG buggy that is now prepared by the team he created alongside Philippe Gache. He proved this by achieving the sixth best time on today’s special, ten minutes behind Nasser Al-Attiyah, slotted in between none other than Cyril Despres and Giniel De Villiers! As a result, Han picked up is second top ten finish and his best stage result on the Dakar. This bodes well for the Chinese driver, who hopes to line up with a reinforced team on the Dakar as from 2022.

A crushing blow

There is reason to wonder whether the day’s bad luck encountered by Joan Barreda is due to an unfortunate chain of circumstances, or merely just a major blunder. Either way, the Honda rider, who had posted the best time after 215 km, got muddled up reading his road-book and did not stop at the refuelling point, exposing himself to a severe penalty and especially to the likelihood of running out of petrol. This is exactly what happened as he ground to a halt after 267 km. Since he requested a medical examination, he was airlifted to the bivouac in Yanbu. Although he had the chance to equal his best finish on the rally so far, namely the 5th placed finish in 2017, “Bang-Bang” well and truly tore up all the benefits of his performance which had, until today, been in phase with his objectives and the hopes of his Honda team to see their bikes paint the upper reaches of the general standings red. As a result, his 11th participation on the Dakar finishes with the 5th withdrawal of his career on the rally.

Stat of the day: 7 

In the absence of Toby Price, there were several riders ready to lay claim to the place of best KTM representative, but it was Sam Sunderland who came up trumps. By reacquainting himself with stage victory for the first time since 2019, the British rider also put a halt to a series of seven successive successes by the Honda clan, started on stage three by Joan Barreda and then continued by Kevin Benavides, Ricky Brabec and Nacho Cornejo. This sequence marked a shift in the balance of power to the Japanese constructor, which had taken time to rock the KTM boat but which had started, over the last few years, to prevent the Austrian brand becoming rapid-fire stage winners. Indeed, it is necessary to go back to 2016 to find a similar performance from KTM riders, with none other than Toby Price, alongside Antoine Meo and Štefan Svitko.

The makings of a Classic

Spanish drivers Antonio Gutiérrez and Luis Heras took part in the last African edition of the Dakar in 2007 in a truck that reached Lake Retba, the pink lake, in 47th position. This time, they are about to complete their Dakar Classic adventure on the shores of the Red Sea in a Mercedes G 320.

Quote of the day

Sam Sunderland: “I gave my all”

By winning stage 11 on the Dakar, the winner in 2017 has climbed into 2nd position, 4’12’’ behind Kevin Benavides before the final special.

“I knew that today was one of my last chances to try to win and I gave my all, all day. The boys up front did a great job and, you know, I cannot be sad, because I give everything I have and try my best. I didn’t quite manage to take enough time, but I’m happy with my effort. We still have one day to go and many things can happen on one stage. What a really tough day and a really difficult Dakar, but I’m super grateful for the team and everybody that put all the work in. Even to be able to be racing our bikes in the desert with the situation as it is in the world everywhere else, I can’t complain and I’m going to be happy to go and get some rest now”.

Sakaka (Saudi Arabia), 11 Jan 2021: Ace Indian rider and a product of TVS Racing Harith Noah successfully completed anothers stage on Monday to keep his dream of finishing Dakar Rally 2021 alive.

The Germany-born Malayalee, put in consistent performance in the eighth Stage finishing the 709-km stage in 29th place with a time of 3hours, 44min, and 47seconds.

On Sunday, Harith Noah, finished Stage 7 in 26th place and Overall general category. Meanwhile, Ashish Raorane, who suffered a fall and rushed to hospital after finishing the stage on Saturday. Ashish has rejoined the rally in Dakar Experience category, which allows riders to experience Dakar and finish the rally. After Stage 8, he was in a group ration.

The city of the future has not yet emerged from the sand and rocks, but the region of Neom can already boast some impressive creations: those of its ancient geological formations. The canyons, cliffs and mountains of brown rock through which the riders and drivers wound during the second half of the special were worth the price of the navigational difficulties they had to tackle on leaving Sakaka. At the start of the special, they also had to get to grips with stony portions which were not particularly kind to the wheels of the bikers, as Toby Price and Sam Sunderland could testify. In the car race, Sébastien Loeb also encountered misfortune, puncturing his last tyre. Such enchanting views demand tough sacrifices!

On 10 January, 2021, Hubert Auriol Passed away.

He won the Dakar three times, first on a motorbike (1981 and 1983) and then in a car (1992), and served as race director for almost a decade. He inspired generations of riders and drivers and has been an integral part of the rally throughout its history.

Outline

Just like a champion! “Nacho” Cornejo took the lead in the general standings yesterday by just one second thanks to his 2nd place on the stage at Sakaka. Exposed to the role of opener after quickly catching his team-mate Ricky Brabec at the front of the race, the Chilean managed to post the best time and increase his lead over Toby Price to 1’05’’, all on the second half of a marathon stage. What’s more, the young man does not seem perturbed at having to approach the last four days of the rally in the position of leader. In the car race, maturity was in evidence, as Nasser Al-Attiyah won his 40th special (see stat of the day) to close in and continue to exert constant pressure on Stéphane Peterhansel, who he now trails by 4’50’’. So far, the X-Raid buggy driver has been a picture of composure and has withstood his Qatari rival’s attacks, but the size of his lead forbids him from making any missteps. An example of such misadventure happened to Aron Domżała, ejected from the leader’s position in the lightweight vehicle category due to a mechanical problem. Austin Jones took advantage of the Polish driver’s misfortune to reach the summit of the general standings with a lead of 9’22’’ over Seth Quintero and 19’42’’ over “Chaleco” López, the winner of a fourth stage this year and determined to make up the time gap. In the quad category, the battle for the top is now between Manuel Andújar and Alexandre Giroud, with advantage to the Argentinean for the moment thanks to a lead of 19’43’’ over the Frenchman, victorious for the fourth time this year including the prologue. In the truck race, the one-two-three finish accomplished on the stage by Kamaz, led by Shibalov, did not alter the top three in the general standings, also entirely blue, headed by Dmitry Sotnikov.

Performance of the day

The Abu Dhabi Racing team is ramping up its performance with the duos of Cyril Despres/Mike Horn and Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi/Xavier Panseri. On the first stage, Al-Qassimi achieved the fifth best time. He has since then come close to this result without emulating it before today. Assisted by his French co-pilot, the Emirati, who was the eleventh driver to start, climbed up the stage standings to fourth position, a little more than seven minutes behind the winner. Before the start of the day’s special, Cyril Despres, who is taking advantage of this Dakar to collect as much data possible for the development of a hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle, was coming off the back of his best result this year, with the sixth best time on Sunday. However, the five times winner of the Dakar on a bike went one better today! During the special, he even managed to move into fourth place, before being pipped at the post in the last few kilometres by his team-mate. These two promising performances by the Peugeot drivers will no doubt fuel their determination to do as well if not better on the rally’s return route to Jeddah.

A crushing blow

One year is much like another, except for a few details, for Aron Domżała. Assisted by Maciej Marton, the Polish driver displayed consistency by finishing in the top five in five out of the seven stages contested before today, not unlike last year when nonetheless he had to wave goodbye to hopes of overall victory much more prematurely, losing four hours on the second day after winning the opening stage. The duo behind the wheel of a Can-Am has again won a special in 2021 and was in the lead in the general standings. However, bad luck struck again, this time in the guise of a mechanical problem. Domżała lost more than half an hour due to the incident, robbing him of first place in the general standings and considerably compromising his plans. With four days left before the finish in Jeddah, if he still has any hopes of winning, he must avoid any mistakes at all costs.

Stat of the day: 40

In 2007, Nasser Al-Attiyah was especially perceived as a hot-headed chancer when he won his first special in Nema, accompanied by Alain Guéhennec behind the wheel of an X-Raid team BMW. Since then, there has not been a single Dakar where he has not tasted victory on at least one stage, a feat which no other driver has achieved over 14 consecutive editions in the history of the rally. On the way to Neom, the Qatari driver picked up the 40th stage victory of his career and is now in 3rd position on the roll of honour for stage wins, with Stéphane Peterhansel (47) and Ari Vatanen (50) in his sights.

The makings of a Classic

The Volkswagen Iltis driven by Spaniard Ignacio Corcuera dates from 1980 and has been faithfully restored in keeping with the characteristics of the vehicle that won the car category that year, with Freddy Kotulinsky behind the wheel. In the race for consistency taking place this year, he is currently 21st in the Dakar Classic standings, which are still dominated by Marc Douton in a Sunhill Buggy.

Quote of the day

Toby Price: “I struggled with focusing”

The 2nd placed rider in the general standings lost a small amount of time to “Nacho” Cornejo, but is only 1’05’’ behind.

“It was really tough for me today. I struggled with focusing a lot this morning with the road-book. I was a little bit tired from yesterday’s crash. It was good to make it to the finishing line with me, myself and the bike. I’m glad I’m here and we’ll fix everything up tonight, then get ready for the last few days. The chin’s alright, it’s just a little bit hard to eat. It’s a little bit swollen and I’ve got a bit of a headache, but it’s not too bad – there are no bones broken or anything, I just got some stitches in the cut. It’s all good, it’s fine”.

On 10 January, 2021, Hubert Auriol Passed away.

He won the Dakar three times, first on a motorbike (1981 and 1983) and then in a car (1992), and served as race director for almost a decade. He inspired generations of riders and drivers and has been an integral part of the rally throughout its history.

The recent updates on the health of Hubert Auriol foreshadowed the tragic news received by the organisers of the Dakar during stage 7. The former biker and driver has succumbed to a disease that sapped his strength but was unable to stop him from paying one last visit to the community he helped to build and galvanise, last year in Ha’il, on the occasion of the first edition of the rally in Saudi Arabia. Long before the start of this new era, back when the race was still in its infancy in Africa, he became one of the most iconic faces in the rally, going on to win the motorbike class in 1981 and 1983. The man from Addis Abeba soon came to be known as “The African”, but it was especially his epic duels with Cyril Neveu (particularly in 1987, when he lost after breaking both ankles in the penultimate stage) that established his legend and that of the Dakar. Following a switch to the car class, the 1992 edition saw Auriol become the first competitor to win in two different categories, a feat he achieved together with the navigator Philippe Monnet. After his final participation, when he finished as runner-up in 1994, he jumped behind the wheel of the whole event, staying at the helm of the Dakar until 2003.

The organisers of the Dakar, shocked and saddened by the news, would like to extend their sincere condolences to the friends and family of a man who was a guiding light throughout the history of the rally, with a special thought for his daughters Julie, Jenna and Leslie.

Riyadh, 9 Jan 2021: Mumbai Mariner and privateer Ashish Raorane, ended his Dakar debut on a disappointing note as he was forced to withdraw late after finishing the competitive section of Stage 6 on Friday, according news recieved late. Ashish had a fall but is said to have got up and continued to ride, however, with a few kilometers to the finish, and after the competitive section, Ashish, unable to bear severe headache, requested for help and was hospitalised, thus ending his Dakar dream on Debut. The Media officer of Dakar is yet to respond to the queries from INDIAinF1 on the condition of CS Santosh and Ashish. Evo editor Sirish Chandran, however, put out an update bringing in relief that Santosh is recovering well.

Earlier, on Thursday, he said that he could not focus on Rally as he had to ride past his friend Santosh. He stopped and after a while after

Ashish was registered for the G2.2 Marathon class, popularly known as Malle Moto, Malle is nothing but `BOX’ in French language. No wonder Ashish carries his own box, that contains tools, one wheel, one set of extra tyres and other paraphernalia that is allowed according to rules. When he is rallying on he dunes, the organisers arrange transport to carry the box, which also has tent, for the rider to rest and recoup. In this class, he cannot take any assistance from others, and while all other competitors are sleeping after the stage, you can find Ashsish struggling to do the mechanic job, repairing his KTM 450 Rally Replica model or assisting a fellow competitor.

Ashish only preparation for Dakar and similar experience is last years Africa Eco race which he completed against all odds. Earlier, he also took part in Baja World Championship.

Pooling in different sponsors like Klim, Slipstream Performance, Dosmoto, Leatt, EBC Brakes, Gaerne, Hellraiser motorwear and Goodwill Enterprises, he did his own marketing and managed to go after his dream, with the support of his biker wife and a few friends.

The KTM biker on a 450 Rally Replica (RR) model has a performance tuner in Bigrock Spain, the only thing that is a necessity and he has done it.

Dakar at fever pitch at mid-way mark

231 vehicles (78 motorbikes, 14 quads, 56 cars, 49 lightweight vehicles and 34 trucks) out of the 286 cleared to start the race in Jeddah have survived a prologue and six stages and made it to the rest day. A further 26 vehicles have withdrawn from the race but remain eligible to continue the adventure under Dakar Experience rules without appearing in the general standings.

As different scenarios unfold, the titles at stake are still up for grabs in the five categories, but the current leaders have taken at least a few steps forward: biker Toby Price, quad rider Nicolás Cavigliasso, car driver Stéphane Peterhansel, lightweight vehicle driver Aron Domżała and truck driver Dmitry Sotnikov have the advantage going into the second week. The 23 vehicles in the Dakar Classic category overcame the challenges of the first week. Marc Douton and his Sunhill buggy lead the regularity race.

Motorbikes: Price holds tenuous grip on race lead

A dozen riders are still in with a shot as the race heads into its decisive second week. A mere quarter of an hour separates the top 10 halfway through the rally. Defending champion Ricky Brabec is thirteenth overall, but only 19 minutes down on the leader, which makes the Honda rider still a force to be reckoned with in the final week. Brabec made a series of navigation errors in the first few stages after claiming the prologue, but the American has remained in contact with the leading group without pushing his Honda too hard or burning through the six rear tyres allocated to each elite biker for the entire race. The 2016 and 2019 champion, Toby Price, is in control of the general standings. The KTM rider stayed as cool as a cucumber throughout a series of specials in which navigation turned up the heat on the competitors. Honda has placed two riders, Kevin Benavides and “Nacho Cornejo”, right behind the Australian and in perfect position to pounce on any mistake the leader may make at 2′16″ and 2′57″ back, respectively. The Argentinian put in a heroic performance in stage 5 from Riyadh to Al Qaisumah, soldiering on to victory despite crashing and hurting his nose and an ankle after cresting a dune. Meanwhile, the Chilean has found his rhythm after a cautious start to the rally and is now racking up one top placing after another.

Joan Barreda, the fourth Honda biker, sits in seventh place despite a string of navigation errors and has taken three stage wins so far, bringing his career tally to 27 and making him the third most prolific Dakar biker of all time, behind Stéphane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres, tied with 33. Xavier De Soultrait is fifth overall after six stages after a series of consistent performances near the front of the race. The Frenchman, now riding for Husqvarna and chasing Ross Branch in the general standings, even had a brief stint in the lead, as did American Skyler Howes, currently eighth. Daniel Sanders also flew the flag for Australia in the opening week, landing three stage podium finishes (including the prologue), sitting in 12^th position 18 minutes behind his older countryman, and comfortably leading the rookie classification. On the other side of the coin were Andrew Short, who was knocked out of the race very early by an issue with fuel, and Matthias Walkner, who lost 2 and a half hours to a clutch problem in stage 2.

Quads: Cavigliasso in the lead but not in the clear

Ignacio Casale’s departure to the truck category has left a power vacuum and encouraged a host of contenders eager to fill it. One man, Nicolás Cavigliasso, stands out from the rest. The Argentinian, who sat out the 2020 edition after claiming the 2019 Dakar with nine stage wins to boot, got back to his winning ways in stage 3 and has since finished every single stage on the podium, even when faced with the challenge of opening the way. Yet it was Alexandre Giroud who dominated the start of the race, winning the prologue and the first stage before running out of steam a bit. Following a series of mechanicals, navigation errors and a herd of sheep in his way, the Frenchman is sitting in third place overall, about 45 minutes behind Cavigliasso, with another Argentinian, Manuel Andújar, sandwiched in between. Andújar came in fifth in 2019 and went one better last year, when a stroke of bad luck dashed his hopes of finishing on the podium. Just over half an hour behind his countryman in the general standings, Andújar remains a real threat for the title, much like Giovanni Enrico, fourth at under an hour back. However, Pablo Copetti and the next few riders in the classification face a much bleaker picture. The Argentinian-American won the second stage, but a mechanical during the fourth special sent him crashing down the general standings, where he now sits in fourth place almost 2 h 30 back.

Cars: dancing on a razor’s edge

The men on the final podium of the 2020 Dakar lined up for the start of this year’s edition in Jeddah with the confidence that comes from being one of the big favourites. Fast-forward one week and the protagonists are still the same, but the roles have changed. Struggling to adapt to what he calls “the new roadbook philosophy”, Carlos Sainz has made a series of navigation errors that have pushed him down to third place in the general standings, 40′39″ behind Stéphane Peterhansel. The collector of Dakar records is well aware that victory is far from guaranteed on the rest day, not least because he is just 5′53″ ahead of a rival as fast and aggressive as Nasser Al-Attiyah. The Qatari has been as unerring as “Peter” throughout the opening week, claiming four victories (including the prologue) and ratcheting up the pressure on the overall leader. He has a knack for pushing his rivals until they crack. Whatever the weather is like on the road to Neom and then Jeddah, expect the heat to rise in the competition stage after stage.

But… what about the men billed as dark horses at the start of the race? X-Raid and Toyota could only look on helplessly as Jakub Przygoński sank to fourth overall at 1 h 11 (although he remains in contention for a podium spot), Orlando Terranova threw in the towel in stage 5 due to an electrical problem, rising star Henk Lategan tumbled out of the Dakar after two stellar performances in a row, Yazeed Al-Rajhi broke his gearbox and his heart in stage 3, and Bernhard ten Brinke also crashed out of the race. Bahrain Raid Extreme is still banking on Nani Roma (fifth at 1 h 37) to catch up with the leading trio, but Sébastien Loeb is out of the running after making several blunders and breaking a wishbone, which meant an unscheduled night in the desert for the French driver and sent him plummeting to 45^th place overall, 11 h 34 behind his old stablemate at Peugeot. Mathieu Serradori has a similar tale to tell after slipping down to 50^th place despite a string of provisional podium finishes, while his equally ambitious teammate Yasir Seaidan languishes in 38^th place. Not everyone can go the distance.

Lightweight vehicles

The competition is fierce in this category, as proved by the list of stage winners, which features six different victors in seven specials (including the prologue). “Chaleco” López is the only former champion on that list and the only driver to score a brace so far. After leading the rally for four days, a mechanical forced the Chilean to surrender the lead to Aron Domżała, who now holds a slender margin of 4′46″ over Austin Jones. While Can-Am is firmly in command of the race, Team RedBull’s OT3s have twice made history in the opening week: first with Cristina Gutiérrez, the first woman to win a Dakar special since Jutta Kleinschmidt in 2005, and then with Seth Quintero, who became the youngest stage winner in the history of the rally yesterday at the age of 18. Not only that, the California Kid is now third overall!

Trucks: Karginov messes up, Sotnikov takes over

Andrey Karginov went from ruling the 2020 Dakar with an iron fist to probably losing the 2021 edition on day one. The Russian’s crew lost over an hour and a half to a mechanical problem in the first stage, leaving him countin’ on a miracle to retain his title. However, Kamaz showed the depth of its roster as Dmitry Sotnikov rose to the occasion and took over from teammate Karginov. Sotnikov has finished in the top 2 in every single stage in a display of consistency that has put him half an hour clear of the rest of the field at the top of the general standings. Following the withdrawal of Siarhei Viazovich, who finished third last year, Karginov may well end up wondering who needs enemies with friends like his, as Andrey Karginov tries to stage an epic comeback, Ayrat Mardeev seeks to follow up on his first stage win since 2018 on the road to Ha’il, and Anton Shibalov attempts to build on his four podium finishes in six stages and second place overall.