Media Information
Dakar Rally 2018
17 January 2018
Dakar Rally 2018
–
Stage 10: Salta – Belén
- Three MINI crews inside top ten to finish Stage 10.
- MINI crew Przygonski / Colsoul maintain sixth place overall..
- Al Rajhi officially out of Dakar 2018.
Munich. The cancellation of Monday’s Stage 9 meant an enforced
rest day for the competitors of Dakar 2018. Severe storms meant that
terrain conditions were particular bad, not just for the
competitors, who can race in challenging weather, but also for the
support and service teams.
The area around the previous bivouac had flooded to the point where
assistance teams could not move their much needed support trucks and,
in the interests of safety, the Dakar organisers cancelled Stage 9 to
allow time for the large support group to make it to Stage 10’s
starting point in Salta.
Tuesday’s Stage 10 started with some good news for the MINI Family.
Following the Dakar organisers’ decision to remove Yazeed Al Rajhi
(KSA) and co-driver Timo Gottschalk (DEU) from Stage 7’s results, the
crew was reinstated and could compete, starting from the back of the
auto pack, while the organisers further reviewed the events of Stage
7. Unfortunately, the good news did not last…
Although Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) and co-driver Timo Gottschalk (DEU)
started Stage 10 and completed, their finish position within this
stage did not count. This was because the review of Stage 7 by the
Dakar organisers led them to announce the crew had officially been
disqualified from Dakar 2018 due to missing too many waypoints during
Stage 7.
Stage 10 proved to be a long day for the remaining competitors. Total
race distance was given as 797km, of which 373km was off-road for the
Special Stage. Although heavy rains and wet conditions were not
present in this stage, the replacement was extreme heat – around 40° C
in the shade. Add to this sand and dunes, many Rios (dry or wet river
beds) and the harsh effects of stones, bumps and camel grass, it
turned out to be an exhausting day for all Dakar competitors.
The tiring racing conditions of Stage 10 were not made any easier
from the combination of racing at altitude and difficult navigation,
which meant co-drivers had to use every piece of their experience to
keep on track. At the end of the stage, only four crews of the MINI
family were recorded as completing the day’s course – three of which
were inside the top ten finishing positions.
First home was the crew of Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski (POL) and his
co-driver Tom Colsoul (BEL) in their MINI John Cooper Works Rally
(#312). Yet another strong performance saw the pair cross the finish
point in sixth place – the same position they now hold in the overall
race standings.
Not far behind in eighth place was the MINI John Cooper Works Rally
(#307) of Orlando Terranova (ARG) and Bernardo Graue (ARG). Directly
behind them with less than a minute in time difference was the pairing
of Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) / Andreas Schulz (DEU) in their MINI John
Cooper Works Buggy (#305). Completing just outside of the top ten in
12th place was fellow MINI crew Boris Garafulic (CHI) and
co-driver Filipe Palmeiro (POR).
MINI Family reports: Stage 10
Jakub Przygonski
“It was really hard navigation but Tom made a good job because we
didn’t have any issues and no problems. This was good because some
guys were lost for a long time. It was a bumpy stage but the car was
ok although it was very hot inside. With the bumps it was not so nice
and now we are feeling very tired after this stage.”
Orlando Terranova
“The idea was to push but the very first part of the stage was very
difficult navigation for us. We lost the track several times. In the
second part I pushed and the car was very good with this. But when you
get lost the guys in front are faster and it is very difficult to get
inside the top five.”
Mikko Hirvonen
“The car was working really well today even though we couldn’t
automatically deflate the tyres. Then we missed a waypoint and lost
maybe 10-15 minutes. Without this it would have been a really good
time. We are after those good stage times now, so we try again tomorrow.”
Stage 11, Belen-Chilecito, is the next stage and consists of 747km
total distance. For more information about Dakar 2018, please visit
the host’s event home page here.
Dakar Rally 2018
: MINI standings after Stage 10
Pos
Driver
Co-driver
#
MINI
Team
Time
6
Jakub Przygonski
(POL)
Tom Colsoul
(BEL)
312
MINI John Cooper Works
Rally
Orlen X-raid Team
034:40:04
+02:29:11
14
Mikko Hirvonen
(FIN)
Andreas Schulz
(DEU)
305
MINI John Cooper Works
Buggy
MINI JCW Buggy
Team
041:38:19
+09:27:26
20
Boris
Garafulic
(CHI)
Filipe Palmeiro
(POR)
317
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
MINI JCW Rally Team
043:37:10
+11:26:17
24
Orlando
Terranova
(ARG)
Bernardo Graue
(ARG)
307
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
MINI JCW Rally Team
050:05:28
+17:54:35