Media Information
Dakar Rally 2018
18 January 2018
Dakar Rally 2018
–
Stage 11, Belen – Chilecito
- Two MINI crews complete Stage 11 inside the top ten.
- MINI crew Przygonski / Colsoul maintain sixth place overall.
- Hirvonen / Schulz finish Stage 11 despite race incident.
Munich. Stage 11 of Dakar started a little different to
normal. Instead of the cars starting the stage at timed intervals,
the fastest 25 competitors from all categories would be mixed
together. The sight of a car starting the stage alongside a
motorcycle was quite exciting to see. Then there was the addition of
the huge trucks and other categories, all fighting from the start
line for fresh, unmarked soil ahead.
Right from the very start of the stage, it was clear the duo of Mikko
Hirvonen (FIN) and co-driver Andreas Schulz (DEU) were determined to
carry out what Hirvonen had promised the day before – to complete the
remainder of Dakar with fast stage times. In the first three sections,
Hirvonen was true to his word by placing the MINI John Cooper Works
Buggy (#305) at the front of the leading pack.
At 107km, the “Flying Finn” and Schulz’s race day came to a dramatic
stop with a heavy rollover. Even though the two men were uninjured,
fellow MINI Family members Orlando Terranova (ARG) and Bernardo Graue
(ARG) stopped to give assistance. Unfortunately, a badly damaged
radiator meant the car was unable to continue. Help came later with
the arrival of a service truck. Hirvonen / Schulz eventually completed
Stage 11 and onward to the overnight stop for further repairs.
Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski (POL) and his co-driver Tom Colsoul (BEL) in
their MINI John Cooper Works Rally (#312) once again played out a
consistent stage performance amongst the tall dunes and soft sand that
saw them complete in seventh. A puncture and a small navigation error,
together with a reduction in speed in the later part of the stage, to
prevent damage to the car’s steering, did not change the pair’s
overall race classification of sixth place.
The MINI John Cooper Works Rally (#307) of Orlando Terranova (ARG)
and Bernardo Graue (ARG) also secured a top ten finish with a fine
ninth place – even though they stopped to assist Hirvonen / Schulz.
Terranova also admitted he was off the pace at the start because of
stomach sickness.
Boris Garafulic (CHI) and co-driver Filipe Palmeiro (POR) continue
their fight to climb higher up the leader board after delays
encountered in the first week of Dakar 2018. Their 11th
place finish now puts the MINI John Cooper Works Rally (#317) crew
18th overall.
MINI Family reports: Stage 11
Jakub Przygonski
“The stage was difficult navigation mixed with hard dunes and soft
sand off piste. The last 50km, we slowed down a little bit because it
was too risky for the drive shafts. We had one puncture and a small
navigation mistake but otherwise we maintained a good tempo. The next
two days will see two hard stages. The goal for us is to keep our
overall standing. The guys in front of us are fighting really hard so
we have to see what happens.”
Orlando Terranova
“Today was a long day also – it’s been a nice Dakar! For us the start
was easy going; I didn’t feel good to make a push. We were driving
with Mikko when he had a crash. We tried to help by putting the car
back on its wheels. We lost maybe 20 minutes and then had a few little
problems but we are here at the end…”
Next is Stage 12, Chilecito – San Juan. For more information about
Dakar 2018, please visit the host’s event home page here.
Dakar Rally 2018
: MINI standings after Stage 11
Pos
Driver
Co-driver
#
MINI
Team
Time
6
Jakub Przygonski
(POL)
Tom Colsoul
(BEL)
312
MINI John Cooper Works
Rally
Orlen X-raid Team
039:10:45
+02:54:18
18
Boris
Garafulic
(CHI)
Filipe Palmeiro
(POR)
317
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
MINI JCW Rally Team
048:37:23
+12:20:56
20
Mikko Hirvonen
(FIN)
Andreas Schulz
(DEU)
305
MINI John Cooper Works
Buggy
MINI JCW Buggy
Team
052:38:12
+16:21:45
23
Orlando
Terranova
(ARG)
Bernardo Graue
(ARG)
307
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
MINI JCW Rally Team
054:48:34
+18:32:07