The Dakar’s entire raison d’être (to borrow a French phrase) is to be a test of off-road racing endurance without compare. The ultimate. A veritable 15 days of desert racing purgatory. Only the toughest are supposed to survive. Not this year, though.
No. In 2016, it would appear, organisers are running a Dakar ‘lite’. If it’s too hot, no matter how well certain competitors are driving, special stages are shortened. Madness? Inarguably.
On the murderous stage 10 – and we must assume it was such, as it was shortened, to prevent a heat fatality – allegedly – just as was the case on stage 9, as soon as Giniel de Villiers and other non-Peugeot drivers appeared to be threatening the French brand’s dominance, it suddenly became too hot and dangerous to race. Ridiculous.
Why weren’t the extreme high altitude stages in Bolivia, running up to 4000m, where altitude sickness was a reality and visual/motor function impairment a consequence of much greater danger, not shortened too to ensure competitor safety? Or were the Peugeots perhaps a touch too comfortable there.
As it stood when the stage was short-timed, much had happened. Peterhansel, despite being under appeal for his illegal fuelling, won by five minutes from Peugeot team mate, Depres. Toyota Hilux driver Vasilyev finished third, followed in fourth by Mini’s Roma, then former race favourite, Loeb, and in sixth, clearly gaining on the rest, our man Giniel de Villiers.
GDV lost nine minutes replacing a driveshaft in-stage (how long does your local dealer take to that?) but his fate was a minor inconvenience compared to that of Carlos Sainz, who was leading before his Peugeot expired.
Giniel’s Gazoo Hilux V8 team mate, Leeroy Poulter, has a testing day, finishing tenth, a place ahead of another South African, Marius Corbett, who powered his home-grown Century buggy to 11th place. South African quad racer, Brian Baragwanath, took his second stage win too – top man, there is nothing less pleasant than doing the Dakar on a quad.
Despite the shortened stage, Sainz’s retirement and Nasser Al-Attiyah’s barrel roll shortly after the start, have reordered the overall rankings significantly. Peterhansel leads from Mini’s Al-Attiyah, with Giniel now in third, followed by Hirvonen and Poulter in fifth. Two South Africans in the top five, one the podium. Result.
In this last week, despite the maddening decision to shorten the best stages of the race, the Dakar is delivering all manner of drama. If the appeal of Petehansel’s penalty goes against Peugeot under review, it would elevate Giniel to second. But he’d prefer to make up places on stage, if only the organisers would let them run full distance… Hopefully today’s stage 11 to San Juan, runs a true 413km.
Source: Topgear.co.za