Media Information
Dakar Rally 2019
14 January 2019
Dakar Rally 2019
–
Stage 06, Arequipa – San Juan de Marcona
- Three MINI crews inside the overall top five.
- Carlos Sainz takes third place in Stage 6.
- Stéphane Peterhansel third in the general standings.
Munich. Dakar 2019 resumed on Sunday 13th January
after an official rest day, Stage 6 of 10 was an 810 km race of
which 309 km were Special Stage, where competitors race against the
clock. The start of Special Stage placed the competitors in the
Tanaka Dunes – a difficult section of dunes that have previously
shown they can end hopes of a good stage and Dakar result within
kilometres of the start.
The MINI John Cooper Works Buggy of Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas
Cruz was the highest placed MINI at stage end. In order to make up
places and time, the Spanish duo pushed hard from the start and,
despite three punctures along the stage, crossed the finish point in
third position. Just over six minutes later, Cyril Despres (FRA) and
co-driver Jean Paul Cottret (FRA) placed their MINI John Cooper Works
Buggy in fourth.
The first MINI John Cooper Works Rally to complete Stage 6 was that
of Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (ESP) and co-driver Alex Haro (ESP). They too had
a difficult time in the dunes but were happy with the end result of
fifth in Stage.
Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) and co-driver David Castera (FRA) had some
real bad luck just before exiting the Tanaka Dunes. They got stuck in
the sand for 20 minutes after going to the aid of Roma who was already
stuck deep. Pushing hard later to make up lost time, the MINI John
Cooper Works Buggy crew eventually finished in sixth place.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA) and co-pilot Timo Gottschalk (GER) also did not
fare well in the dunes and later the rocky trails. To complete the
stage in tenth position was some consolation.
Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski (POL) and co-driver Tom Colsoul (BEL), also
in a MINI John Cooper Works Rally, didn’t have the best of days in
their Dakar campaign and finished the stage in 14th place.
The same conditions plus an extra dose of bad luck saw the MINI crew
of Boris Garafulic (CHI) and co-driver Filipe Palmeiro (POR) credited
some hours later with a stage result of 45th.
Day 7 of Dakar 2019 also saw the return of MINI John Cooper Works
Rally crew Orlando Terranova (ARG) / Bernardo ‘Ronnie’ Graue (ARG) in
the new-for-2019 Semi-Marathon – a separate race designed to allow
competitors who had dropped out of the first half of Dakar 2019 to
complete the event, but with no bearing on the final Dakar results.
The MINI crew successfully completed Stage 6.
Stéphane Peterhansel
“The first special wasn’t too bad, until I saw Nani stuck five
kilometres from the finish. He didn’t signal for help, but after he
helped me out two days ago, I felt compelled to rush to his aid. As a
result, I ended up in a sand basin and lost twenty minutes.”
Carlos Sainz
“I had to stop for three flat tyres. The tyre pressure system did not
work properly. I then had to drive with a high tyre pressure, which
made the day very difficult, as we had to find a suitable route.”
Nani Roma
“It was a tough day, which did not actually pan out so well, but I am
still happy. We got stuck briefly in the first part. Fortunately, that
only cost me five minutes – it could have been a very different story
in these dunes. I think everyone had problems today.”
Next race is Stage 7, San Juan de Marcona – San Juan de Marcona. For
more information about Dakar 2019, please visit the host’s event home
page here.
Dakar Rally 2019
: MINI standings after Stage 6
Pos
Driver
Co-driver
#
MINI
Team
Time
3rd
Stéphane
Peterhansel
(FRA)
David Castera
(FRA)
304
MINI John Cooper Works Buggy
X-raid MINI John Cooper Works
Team
021:42:45
+00:41:14
4th
Joan
Roma
(ESP)
Alex
Haro
(ESP)
307
MINI
John Cooper Works Rally
X-raid MINI John Cooper Works Rally
Team
021:46:55
+00:45:24
5th
Cyril
Despres
(FRA)
Jean Paul Cottret
(FRA)
308
MINI John Cooper Works Buggy
X-raid MINI John Cooper Works
Team
022:20:40
+01:19:09
6th
Jakub
Przygonski
(POL)
Tom Colsoul
(BEL)
303
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
Orlen X-raid Team
023:04:41
+02:03:10
8th
Yazeed
Al-Rajhi
(KSA)
Timo Gottschalk
(GER
314
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
X-raid MINI John Cooper Works Rally
Team
024:13:56
+03:12:25
11th
Carlos
Sainz
(ESP)
Lucas
Cruz
(ESP)
300
MINI
John Cooper Works Buggy
X-raid MINI John Cooper Works Team
026:19:32
+05:18:01
19th
Boris
Garafulic
(CHI)
Filipe Palmeiro
(POR)
321
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
X-raid MINI John Cooper Works Rally
Team
029:21:08
+08:19:37