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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
Nani Roma streaks through the Argentinean wilderness.
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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
Roma - Some stages through the Andes reached well above 4,000 metres in altitude, starving drivers and engines of precious oxygen.
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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
Roma - The Dakar involves every surface known to man, from mud to sand to deep-water crossings.
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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
With an unprecedented 11 victories in cars and on bikes, Stéphane Peterhansel was the favourite to win the 2014 edition of the Dakar.
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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
Nasser Al-Attiyah also has a Dakar crown under his hat and would also fight to the bitter end.
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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
Stephane Peterhansel - Key to victory is not outright speed, but knowing how to survive deep sand dunes and tire shredding rocks.
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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
Past champion Carlos Sainz in his SMG Buggy.
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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
In a sea of MINI’s, the red and white Toyota Hilux of Giniel De Villiers was one of few that could challenge the might of the MINI’s.
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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
Peterhansel put in one of the greatest comeback drives ever committed on the Dakar, only to be stopped in his tracks (literally) by team orders.
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Photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
Dakar Rally
Despite the controversial victory, Roma becomes the third man to win the Dakar on both a motorbike and in a car. Stéphane Peterhansel and Hubert Auriol the other two.
Story by Budd Stanley, photos courtesy of X-Raid, Red Bull & Toyota
There is no equal to be found anywhere on Earth. It is an event that demands the very best of both man and machine, and will snatch the life from both with a frightening regularity. Le Mans, the Indy 500, the Daytona 500 and the Baja 1000 are all legendary events that make legends out of the men who conquer them. However, put them all together and you still don’t have a race that is as long, as punishing, or as hard to win. Combine a world-class expedition into unknown territory with the very pinnacle of motor racing competition and you get, the Dakar Rally.
The modern Dakar is a refuge from its traditional home in the Saharan desert and the city of Dakar, Senegal. It may not have the soul and character of the race that was fought for on the African continent, but it is every bit as brutal. The security of rally style roads now substitutes the great sand dune expanses, and no longer must competitors race through war zones and regions of conflict. It may not be as adventurous, however it has allowed this event to evade its own demise. Regardless, the Dakar is still a man and machine-eating monster, traversing through three countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile) over fourteen days at a total distance of 8,739 kilometres.
With the demise of factory teams from Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and Nissan, the vacuum left has been filled by the MINI All4 Racing juggernaut. No fewer than eleven cars were fielded by the team with past champion, Nasser Al Attiyah being joined by Nani Roma, Orlando Terranova, Krzysztof Holowczyc and a host of wealthy adventurers willing to pay the big dollars to be in the top machine. However, with no fewer than eleven victories in both cars and on bikes, Frenchman, Stéphane Peterhansel was the man to beat.
Outside the vast walls of the MINI X-Raid teams bivouac service fortress, only three others were in with a chance to upset the MINI gravy train. Past champion Carlos Sainz would be at the wheel of an SMG Buggy, a 420-horsepower, LS V-8 powered prototype that delivers its power to the rear wheels only. Equally as fearsome is fellow Dakar Champion, South African, Giniel De Villiers. His Toyota Hilux got a new injection of power in the form of a 5.0L high-output V-8 that is usually found in the Lexus IS-F. Finally, we round out with the return of Robbie Gordon and his big loud Hummer.
The rest of the field is filled with hundreds of doomed hopefuls with no chance at overall victory. They attend to challenge their vehicles, their bodies and minds, to simply survive this heroic event and finish as far up that standings as luck and skill can get them. Two Canadians join these ranks, Montreal’s David Bensadoun is making his return to Dakar at the wheel of a BMW diesel powered Dessert Warrior, loosely based on the Range Rover Evoque. Fellow Canuck, Matt Campbell joins him in a Chevy powered Jimco. One will endure and survive to see the finish line, while the other will fall.
On January 5th, the festivities begun with 152 competition cars leaving the start ramp in Rosario, Argentina in front of hundreds of thousands that lined the streets to see the competitors off. However, first day bravado meant the first stage saw several crashes that would put many hopefuls far down the leader board right off the bat. This made for a surprise winner, the Chinese Great Wall Motors factory Haval team with lead driver Carlos Souza upsetting the might of the MINI’s. However, Souza’s brief lead would deteriorate in the second day when the MINI’s showed their force.
A rash of punctures on the third day severely affected rally leader, Stéphane Peterhansel, as he fell back 30 minutes handing the lead to his teammate, Nani Roma. Roma would then relinquish the lead by the end of the longest stage on day four. The 651 kilometre long stage four saw Carlos Sainz stamp his authority on the rally with his 2WD buggy, charging past the MINI’s who continued to suffer from tire punctures. Unfortunately, the lingering Toyota of De Villiers suffered electrical troubles costing the South African 40 minutes.
With the rally now settling into a rhythm after five days competition, a trend was beginning to take shape. The MINI’s were dominating as expected with De Villiers and Sainz floating around the top end of the leader board causing the odd upset. Peterhansel was languishing uncharacteristically low in the order due to a massive amount of punctures while Roma started to let his intensions be known, he plans to shoot for victory.
As for the North Americans, leading into the rest day, the 2014 Dakar rally was proving to be a disaster for Americans, Robbie Gordon and BJ Baldwin. Gordon’s fall from glory started on the first stage where he finished 132nd in a field of 152 cars. However, steadily improving, he sat within reach of the top 20 by the rest day. Baldwin coming off his second straight Baja 1000 win was fairing even worse. He was hovering at the back of the field and only managed to pull himself into the top 50 by the rest day. Our Canucks were also not fairing well as Bensadoun was forced to retire on the fifth day while Matt still running, but holding down 74th position.
The final stage before the mid-race rest day would see tragedy return to the Dakar. Belgian motorcyclist Eric Palante never arrived at the finish line and after an intensive search during the night, officials found the 50-year-olds body at the side of the stage. Unfortunately, Palante’s was not the only life lost that day as two spectators also were killed when their vehicle tumbled off the road.
Sleep deprived, dirty, overheated and exhausted, the competitors received a well-deserved day off on the seventh day. However, despite Roma’s dominance, teammate Peterhansel declared that he was driven to win, regardless of being over 30-minutes adrift of the leader. With a days rest behind them, the competitors took to the stage once again on day eight.
Weather may have played havoc with the eighth stage, although, true to his word, Peterhansel was a man on fire, and he took a fair chunk out of Roma’s lead while Sainz would chalk up another stage win. However, the coming days would not prove as lucky for the Spaniard. Rolling off the road, damaging his buggy and injuring his shoulder, the 2008 champion was forced into retirement along with Robbie Gordon and BJ Baldwin. This left only the Toyota of De Villiers to try to upset MINI’s complete domination of the top ten places on the leader board.
A great story was beginning to unfold with an epic battle being fought for the lead. Roma chose to ease up and preserve his MINI on the eighth day while Peterhansel was reeling him in hand and fist. By the end of the tenth day, Peterhansel reduced a 30-minute deficit to only a 2-minute disadvantage. The 2014 Dakar was shaping up to be one of the most exciting in years with such a massive comeback. That was until MINI decided to announce team orders following the tenth stage. All drivers were to hold their positions, a decision that infuriated both drivers and fans, feeling they had been robbed of possibly one of the greatest ever finishes to a Dakar Rally.
The drama would peak on the eleventh day. Despite orders to hold position, Nani Roma suffered a puncture on top of a slow performance. Being passed by Peterhansel who started five minutes behind, it looked as though the fans might get the race they wanted. Despite Peterhansel pulling a U-turn to offer assistance and holding back due to the team orders, Roma urged the Frenchman on. Peterhansel took the stage win and took over the lead of the race. After the stage, a MINI spokesman called the pass acceptable due to the breakdown and no further action would befall Peterhansel. The question was, who would be allowed to win the rally in the final thirteenth stage.
Come light of the thirteenth day of competition, the cars engaged in battle one last time on the rather short 157-kilometre stage. Peterhansel’s lead was a feeble 26-seconds, but he was the far superior driver in the closing stages of the rally. Then it happened, there couldn’t have been a worst way to end such a heroic charge; Peterhansel pulled to the side of the road metres ahead of the finish line in order to wait for Roma. Roma went flying past to take the victory. Peterhansel made due with runner up in the overall standings while Nasser Al Attiyah conserved a sweep of the podium for MINI.
In another hard fight, this uninterrupted by politics, De Villiers hauled in the MINI of Terranova to steal fourth position, dropping his Toyota right in the middle of a sea of MINI’s, stealing a clean sweep of the top six. As for the lone standing Canuck, Matt Campbell endured the conditions and brought his Jimco home in a respectable 49th place in the overall standings, 2nd in the OP1 class.
It was unfortunate to have what could have been one of the greatest fights for victory in such an iconic event be tarnished by something so bureaucratic as team orders. Robbing fans of a proper racing finish in the name of corporate exposure and image when the MINI team safely held six of the top ten placing’s in an unbreakable grasp pollutes the integrity and honour of the event. Teammates battling teammates just doesn’t have the same excitement as two rival teams fighting it out. Regardless, the Dakar was still able to prove that it is one of the greatest sporting events on Earth. Lets hope another manufacturer gets onboard to take on those mighty MINI’s.