Three days after their first success, in stage eight, Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and Mathieu Baumel (FRA) celebrated another stage win. The pairing finished stage 11 nearly six minutes ahead of Peugeot’s Sébastien Loeb. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) and Michel Périn (FRA) crossed the finish line in third. Nani Roma and Alex Haro (both ESP) came sixth and in the overall standings, they gained another position and also are sixth, now.
Al-Attiyah made for a lot of excitement and gained ground waypoint by waypoint. In the closing stages he took the lead and even extended his lead on the way to the finish line. “It goes without saying that I’m delighted with having won again”, Al Attiyah said later in the bivouac. “By doing so, we also could extend our lead over Giniel in third position. Today’s special stage was really gruelling but Mathieu and I did a great job right from the start.”
After yesterday’s problems it also was a good – albeit hot – day for Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen. “Things went well for us but it was a tough day, nevertheless,” said the MINI ALL4 Racing driver. “For me as a Scandinavian the temperatures were really high and I actually would have needed some cooling. But at first, the air-condition tube for the cold air broke and then we lost the side-window flap. So I didn’t get any fresh air and I have to admit that this was a problem for me. But I’m delighted that we succeeded in gaining ground on Giniel.” In the overall standings, his gap to Giniel de Villiers in fourth position adds up to some five minutes.
Meanwhile, Roma gained another position in the overall standings. In the closing stages he was faster than Peugeot’s Cyril Despres, thus stealing his sixth place overall. His gap to Leeroy Poulter in fifth amounts to about eight minutes. “This was a nice special stage,” he said. “At half-time we had a great battle with Sébastien Loeb. We passed one another several times without hampering the other. “In the sand and the winding sections I was faster, in the faster sections he had the upper hand. This was big fun. Later I could pass Vasilyev and when we crossed the finish line we had gained so much time that we worked our way up to sixth position overall. I don’t expect a miracle but every kilometre counts and the cooperation with Alex is getting better and better.
Dakar rookie Hunt succeeded in defending his 10 position overall, today. “It was a difficult and long stage,” said the Briton “At first we had a slow puncture and refilled. Later, we had to change it, nevertheless. From this point in time, we tried to take it easy and continue as conservative as possible. So, nothing special happened. In the closing stages, the track once again got tight and winding – that wasn’t big fun. Tomorrow will be another long day – and then, the final stage of the 2016 Dakar will be waiting for us. Now it’s just about coming home.”
Tomorrow, the penultimate stage of the 2016 Dakar will take the field from San Juan to Villa Carlos Paz, the Argentinean city that also was the destination of stage one. After the sandy terrain of the previous stages the Dakar now returns to the mountains and narrow roads offering nearly no opportunity to overtake. The competitors will have to cover a total of 931 kilometres, with the special stage mileage adding up to 481 kilometres.
Result stage 11 (for latest version click here)
1st N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 4h 49m 16s
2nd S. Loeb (FRA) / D. Elena (MCO) Peugeot – 4h 55m 08s
3rd M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 4h 56m 17s
4th S. Peterhansel (FRA) / J.-P. Cottret (FRA) Peugeot – 4h 57m 21s
5th Y. Al-Rajhi (SAU) / T. Gottschalk (GER) Toyota – 5h 01m 13s
6th J. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 01m 30s
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12th J. Przygonski (POL) / A. Rudnitski (BLR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 16m 06s
13th H. Hunt (GBR) / A. Schulz (GER) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 16m 42s
14th E. van Loon (NDL) / W. Rosegaar (NDL) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 18m 41s
15th O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 22m 08s
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22th B. Garafulic (CHL) / F. Palmeiro (POR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 43m 58s
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tba. A. Malysz (POL) / X. Panseri (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 7h 05m 34s
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tba. N. Lopez (ARG) / S. Lafuente (URU) MINI ALL4 Racing – 7h 20m 34s
Overall standings with 10 stages contested (for the latest version click here)
1st S. Peterhansel (FRA) / J.-P. Cottret (FRA) Peugeot – 37h 42m 20s
2nd N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 38h 34m 15s
3th G. De Villiers (ZAF) / D. von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota – 38h 59m 44s
4th M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 39h 05m 07s
5th L. Poulter (ZAF) / R. Howie (ZAF) Toyota – 39h 28m 56s
6 th J. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) MINI ALL4 Racing – 39h 36m 54s
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10th H. Hunt (GBR) / A. Schulz (GER) MINI ALL4 Racing – 40h 30m 22s
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13th E. van Loon (NDL) / W. Rosegaar (NDL) MINI ALL4 Racing – 42h 55m 57s
14th O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI ALL4 Racing – 43h 01m 17s
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17th J. Przygonski (POL) / A. Rudnitski (BLR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 43h 22m 12s
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22th B. Garafulic (CHL) / F. Palmeiro (POR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 46h 56m 58s
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tba. N. Lopez (ARG) / S. Lafuente (URU) MINI ALL4 Racing – 53h 39m 03s
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tba. A. Malysz (POL) / X. Panseri (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 56h 32m 16s