Media Information
Dakar Rally 2018
15 January 2018
Dakar Rally 2018
–
Stage 8: Uyuni- Tupiz
- Two MINI crews complete Stage 8 with top ten placings.
- MINI crew Przygonski / Colsoul maintain sixth place overall..
-
Storms and wet weather conditions force cancellation of
Stage 9.
Munich. Stage 8 of the Dakar followed the overnight Marathon
stage where the crews spent the night at high altitude without any
outside assistance from their service crews. This meant the
participating competitors completed their own service of their
vehicles before settling down for some sleep in overnight tents. An
early morning start signalled the beginning of Stage 8 and the
beginning of the longest special stage of the Dakar so far at 498km.
Stage 8 also started with just four cars of the MINI Family taking
part. The previous Stage 7 had proved to be a day filled with problems
for most competitors. Conditions changing from soft sand to
water-lined tracks and mud took its toll on many vehicles and crews.
One such crew was from the MINI Family: Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) and
co-driver Timo Gottschalk (DEU) in their MINI John Cooper Works Buggy.
Unable to complete Stage 7, the Dakar organisers disqualified the crew.
The remaining crews of the MINI Family took this information in their
stride and set out to make up time during Stage 8 – a difficult task
indeed considering the weather and terrain of the high plains (3,500mt
above sea level) were constantly changing. From soft dry sand to wet
sand and mud, the MINI crews battled on.
The MINI John Cooper Works Rally of Orlando Terranova (ARG) and
Bernardo Graue
(ARG) was the highest of the two MINI cars to
complete inside the top ten finishers. Their stage position of sixth
place now places them 28th in the overall ‘auto’ category.
One position in stage behind them was “Mr Consistent”, Jakub ‘Kuba’
Przygonski (POL) and his co-driver Tom Colsoul (BEL). With yet another
solid performance, Przygonski maintained his sixth place overall.
Boris Garafulic (CHI) and co-driver Filipe Palmeiro (POR) also defied
the conditions to complete Stage 8. They drove their MINI John Cooper
Works Rally to 11th place at the stage finish in Tupiz. The
crew currently sit 21st overall.
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) / Andreas Schulz (DEU) set about Stage 8 in a
determined mood to take back as many places as they could after a
forgetful Stage 7. Thankfully, the pair managed to avoid any serious
issues on Stage 8 and took their MINI John Cooper Works Buggy to a
well-deserved 17th place at stage end. The pair has now
climbed to 19th overall.
The severity of Dakar 2018 has seen the auto class of 100-plus
starters drop to 45 finishers at the end of Stage 8. Terrain and
weather have played a major part in the reduction of competitors. With
the threat of severe storms in the area, the Dakar organising team has
made the decision to cancel Stage 9 (Monday 15-01-2018). All
competitors and service teams are now on their way to Salta and the
starting area for Tuesday’s Stage 10, Salta – Belén.
For more information about Dakar 2018, please visit the host’s event
home page here.
Dakar Rally 2018
: MINI standings after Stage 8
Pos
Driver
Co-driver
#
MINI
Team
Time
6
Jakub Przygonski
(POL)
Tom Colsoul
(BEL)
312
MINI John Cooper Works
Rally
Orlen
Team
029:32:36
+02:28:36
19
Mikko Hirvonen
(FIN)
Andreas Schulz
(DEU)
305
MINI John Cooper Works
Buggy
X-raid
Team
036:26:52
+09:22:52
21
Boris
Garafulic
(CHI)
Filipe Palmeiro
(POR)
317
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
X-raid Team
038:16:33
+11:12:3
28
Orlando
Terranova
(ARG)
Bernardo Graue
(ARG)
307
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
X-raid Team
044:54:33
+17:50:43