Munich. Carlos Sainz (ESP) and his co-driver Lucas Cruz (ESP)
have won the Rally Dakar for the third time, having previously
triumphed in 2010 and 2018. In doing so, they presented MINI with
its fifth overall victory at the iconic endurance rally. For MINI
and MINI Motorsport partner X-raid, this was the first success since
their winning run together, which lasted from 2012 to 2015. The
Spanish pair, in the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy, finished 6:21
minutes ahead of last year’s winner Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) after
roughly 7,500 kilometres through Saudi Arabia, which was hosting the
Dakar for the first time.
Dakar record winner Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) and his co-driver
Paulo Fiuza (POR) finished third, 9:58 minutes behind Sainz and Cruz,
to round off an impressive performance from the two MINI JCW Buggies.
The two MINI JCW Buggy crews each won four stages, while MINI vehicles
went fastest on a total of nine of the twelve days. Vaidotas Zala
(LTU) / Saulius Jurgelenas (LTU), in a MINI JCW Rally, won the very
first Dakar stage on Arabian soil on the opening day.
Seven of the nine MINI crews that started the rally reached the
finish in Al-Quiddia (KSA), four of them in the top ten. Orlando
Terranova (ARG) and Bernardo ‘Ronnie’ Graue (ARG) finished in the top
three on three days on their way to sixth place overall in the
four-wheel drive MINI JCW Rally. Local favourite Yasir Seaidan (KSA)
and his co-driver Alexey Kuzmich (RUS) were ninth and finished an
excellent second on the closing stage. Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski (POL)
and co-driver Timo Gottschalk (GER) had their hopes of a top result
dashed on the opening day when a technical issue resulted in them
losing six hours. They eventually finished in 19th place, 8:35.18
seconds off the lead.
MINI vehicles topped the overall standings after every one of the
twelve legs at the 40th staging of the Dakar Rally. Zala and
Jurgelenas got the ball rolling with victory on the opening stage,
after which Terranova and Graue took the overall lead on day two.
Sainz and Cruz claimed their first stage win on the third leg. That
victory took them to the top of the overall standings – a position
they held right through to the finish.
Quotes from the 2020 Dakar Rally:
Carlos Sainz
“I am very, very happy. So much hard work, physical training and test
work with the team has gone into getting this result. The race was
fantastic for us drivers, but you had to work very hard, right from
day one. It is hard to imagine, but it was a full-throttle rally from
the word go. Right now, I just want to enjoy the success.”
Stéphane Peterhansel
“That was a bit of an odd Dakar for me. We decided at the last minute
to change co-drivers, and then went straight into the race with Paulo
Fiuza. I am happy with the result. We finished third, which was more
than we would have expected at the start. The guys out in front were
very quick and did not make any mistakes with the navigation. We did
as well as we could have done.”
Bernd Körber – Head of MINI
“On behalf of the entire MINI family, I would like to congratulate
Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz and the X-raid team on winning the 2020 Dakar
Rally. At the same time, I also congratulate Stéphane Peterhansel and
Paulo Fiuza on their podium finish. Unfortunately, this success is
overshadowed by the tragic accidents involving Paulo Gonçalves and
Edwin Straver, which have affected us all deeply. We wish the
relatives every strength and Edwin Straver all the best for his
recovery. Our drivers and the X-raid team performed superbly in Saudi
Arabia, which was hosting the rally for the first time, and they were
rewarded for the hard work they put in during preparations for the
event. The MINI John Cooper Works Buggy proved to be fast and reliable
on the very demanding and unfamiliar terrain. The fifth overall
victory for MINI at the Dakar, and the first since 2015, is a very
special moment for us all.”
Sven Quandt – CEO X-raid
“We are absolutely overwhelmed by this superb team result. We did not
expect to finish first and third. It has been a fantastic race, with
many battles for the lead. Carlos and Stéphane did an outstanding job.
The performance of our MINI JCW fleet was absolutely top-notch. We are
delighted to have finally won another Dakar with our MINIs after so
many years of trying. To have four MINIs in the top ten and seven in
the top 20 shows how reliable we are. Thank you to our staff and to
everyone who has believed in us and supported us – particularly MINI
and our partners.”
For more information on the Dakar 2020, visit the organiser’s
homepage here.
2020 Dakar Rally: Final results of MINI competitors
Pos
Driver
Co-Driver
#
MINI
Team
Time
1.
Carlos
Sainz
(ESP)
Lucas
Cruz
(ESP)
305
MINI
JCW Buggy
Bahrain JCW
X‑raid Team
42:59:17
3.
Stéphane
Peterhansel (FRA)
Paulo Fiuza
(POR)
302
MINI JCW Buggy
Bahrain JCW X‑raid Team
+0:09:58
6.
Orlando Terranova
(ARG)
Bernardo
Graue
(ARG)
311
MINI
JCW Rally
X-raid MINI
JCW Team
+1:12:15
Yasir
Seaidan
(KSA)
Alexey Kuzmich
(RUS)
324
MINI JCW Rally
Race World Team
+3:42:17
14.
Aleksandr
Dorosinsky (RUS)
Oleg
Uperenko
(LAT)
355
MINI
ALL4 Racing
X-raid
MINI JCW Team
+5:07:06
17.
Denis
Krotov
(RUS)
Dmitry Tsyro
(UKR)
323
MINI JCW Rally
MSK Rally Team
+7:38:01
19.
Jakub
Przygonski
(POL)
Timo Gottschalk
(GER)
303
MINI JCW Rally
Orlen X-raid Team
+8:35:18
tbc
Vaidotas
Zala
(LTU)
Saulius
Jurgelenas (LTU)
319
MINI
JCW Rally
Agrorodeo
tbc
DNF
Vladimir Vasilyev
(RUS)
Vitaly Yevtyekhov (UKR)
317
MINI JCW Rally
X-raid G-Energy