The top 10 positions in this year's Dakar rally (after stage 1) are as follows:~
1. Al-Attiyah, Thörner BMW X3CC 2h36m15s
2. Sainz, Périn Volkswagen Race Touareg + 2:17
3. de Villiers, von Zitzewitz Volkswagen Race Touareg + 2:40
4. Miller, Pitchford Volkswagen Race Touareg + 4:21
5. Alphand, Picard Mitsubishi Racing Lancer + 4:44
6. Peterhansel, Cottret Mitsubishi Racing Lancer + 4:54
7. Terranova, Guehennec BMW X3CC + 5:09
8. Roma, Cruz Senra Mitsubishi Racing Lancer + 5:11
9. Holowczyc, Fortin Nissan Navara + 7:44
10. van Merksteijn, Chevaillier BMW X3CC + 10:39
Dieter Depping and Timo Gottschalk in their Volkswagen Race Touareg are 80th overall an hour and 31 mins behind the leader after a first stage filled with enermous highs and lows. Having lead for most of the way an electrical fault struck their Touareg abd sent them spiralling down the leader board. A philosophical Depping said "The start of the first stage ran positively. We found our pace quickly and were able to maintain it. I felt very comfortable in the Race Touareg again. However, 80 kilometres before the finish we had a technical and obvious electrical problem. The engine wouldn´t rev above 2,000 rpm anymore and so we lost an hour. Some of this also because we attempted to repair the problem with what we had on board and lost additional time as a result. However, all is not lost. The Dakar Rally still has a lot of challenges in store for us and our rivals."
Stage 2 Santa Rosa de la Pampa to Puerto Madryn starts today and offers over 235 kms of competitive driving to the teams. Volkswagen are hoping to capitalise on their excellent start (Depping will be hoping to claw some time back!!) whilst Nasser Al-Attiyah & Tina Thörner in their BMW X3CC will be hoping to extend their lead over former World Rally Champiuon Carlos Sainz.
1. Al-Attiyah, Thörner BMW X3CC 2h36m15s
2. Sainz, Périn Volkswagen Race Touareg + 2:17
3. de Villiers, von Zitzewitz Volkswagen Race Touareg + 2:40
4. Miller, Pitchford Volkswagen Race Touareg + 4:21
5. Alphand, Picard Mitsubishi Racing Lancer + 4:44
6. Peterhansel, Cottret Mitsubishi Racing Lancer + 4:54
7. Terranova, Guehennec BMW X3CC + 5:09
8. Roma, Cruz Senra Mitsubishi Racing Lancer + 5:11
9. Holowczyc, Fortin Nissan Navara + 7:44
10. van Merksteijn, Chevaillier BMW X3CC + 10:39
Dieter Depping and Timo Gottschalk in their Volkswagen Race Touareg are 80th overall an hour and 31 mins behind the leader after a first stage filled with enermous highs and lows. Having lead for most of the way an electrical fault struck their Touareg abd sent them spiralling down the leader board. A philosophical Depping said "The start of the first stage ran positively. We found our pace quickly and were able to maintain it. I felt very comfortable in the Race Touareg again. However, 80 kilometres before the finish we had a technical and obvious electrical problem. The engine wouldn´t rev above 2,000 rpm anymore and so we lost an hour. Some of this also because we attempted to repair the problem with what we had on board and lost additional time as a result. However, all is not lost. The Dakar Rally still has a lot of challenges in store for us and our rivals."
Stage 2 Santa Rosa de la Pampa to Puerto Madryn starts today and offers over 235 kms of competitive driving to the teams. Volkswagen are hoping to capitalise on their excellent start (Depping will be hoping to claw some time back!!) whilst Nasser Al-Attiyah & Tina Thörner in their BMW X3CC will be hoping to extend their lead over former World Rally Champiuon Carlos Sainz.
