Dakar Rally 2008 - 2011
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Kibunango
Platinum Member
- Aug 29, 2006
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Dakar 2010-Dakar fan dies after first stage accident.
A female spectator was killed after a vehicle taking part in the gruelling Dakar Rally careered off the course and crashed into a group of fans on Saturday, medical sources said.
The accident happened during the opening stage of the 2010 event between Colon and Cordoba.
A number of other spectators were also hurt in the incident which involved a 4x4 vehicle driven by German-Swiss duo Mirco Schultis and Ulrich Leardi.
"Competitor number 418 (Schultis-Leardi) collided with a group of spectators at the 75km mark of the special stage outside the 'public zone' (a secured area reserved for spectators)," said a statement released by the organisers before the fatality was confirmed.
The Dakar Rally, which was switched to South America last year because of increasing security concerns in its traditional African home, is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous motorsport events in the world.
In the 2009 race, French motorcyclist Pascal Terry was killed while racing in the fourth stage.
According to an AFP count, Saturday's fatality brought the death count of people involved in the race since its inception in 1979 to 52 and the 16th spectator.
The accident happened during the opening stage of the 2010 event between Colon and Cordoba.
A number of other spectators were also hurt in the incident which involved a 4x4 vehicle driven by German-Swiss duo Mirco Schultis and Ulrich Leardi.
"Competitor number 418 (Schultis-Leardi) collided with a group of spectators at the 75km mark of the special stage outside the 'public zone' (a secured area reserved for spectators)," said a statement released by the organisers before the fatality was confirmed.
The Dakar Rally, which was switched to South America last year because of increasing security concerns in its traditional African home, is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous motorsport events in the world.
In the 2009 race, French motorcyclist Pascal Terry was killed while racing in the fourth stage.
According to an AFP count, Saturday's fatality brought the death count of people involved in the race since its inception in 1979 to 52 and the 16th spectator.
Kibunango
Platinum Member
- Aug 29, 2006
- 8,420
- 2,271
Despres and Al-Attiyah secure Stage 7 wins
9 Jan 2010, 6:30 AM
France's Cyril Despres won Stage 7 of the 2010 Dakar motorbike category, a stage in which defending champion Marc Coma returned to being his fiercest contender in the overall standings.
In the cars, Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah drove his Volkswagen Race Touareg to stage victory, while VW teammate Carlos Sainz retained the overall lead after the longest special stage of the race – a mammoth 600km special from Iquique to Antofagasta.
Some stages alone can represent several episodes of a race, which was the case for Stage 7 which took competitors back down the northern-Chile coast to a well-earned rest day in Antofagasta.
The sheer distance and a mix of different terrains made life very tough for those remaining in the race.
Coma and Despres, who had started first, paid the price with some hesitations in a vast sand dunes area. Riders behind them ended up catching up, and at the different intermediary check points both two-times winners ended up losing ground and giving opportunities to Pal Anders Ullevalseter (1st at CP1 and CP2), David Frétigné (1st at CP4) and Fransisco Lopez (1st at CP5 and CP6).
However in the last 150km the two masters of the bike race ended up putting a gap on the track again and got back to their natural positions.
Despite the pain inflicted by a broken shock absorber earlier on, Despres crossed the finish line with the best time of the day and won his 22nd stage on a Dakar.
"I am tired and on top of all, at kilometre 150 I entered a large ditch and exploded the hydraulics of my shock absorber," an exhausted Despres said.
"Since then I have been riding on a spring. I took all the shocks in my arms, my wrists, my neck. It was really hard before but it became close to unbearable at this point.
"The gap between me and Marc is small. The bike did not suffer despite the loss of hydraulics. I will have to look at all the screws and bolts but the bike took me here and that's good. The rest day will be welcome."
The Frenchman kept his lead in the overall standings, one hour and six seconds ahead of nearest rival Coma, who he identified as his prime contender.
"It was a very long day. But it's over. We made it to the rest day," said Coma.
"We will be able to tend to the bike. We made it half way through the raid. Today, I had to be mindful of the speed to spare my tires. It was pretty hard in the dunes where I got a bit lost."
The Spaniard reigning champion is now ahead of Helder Rodrigues and Chilean local hero Lopez in the standings after suffering engine problems and a time penalty for speeding earlier in the race.
VW dominance continues
Meanwhile, Volkswagens fill the top three places in the car category overall standings with Carlos Sainz leading from teammates Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mark Miller. Just 11 minutes separates Sainz from Al-Attiyah, with a further 11 minutes back to Miller in third.
BMW's leading driver Stephane Peterhansel is in fourth overall after finishing second on Stage 7, however he is more than two hours adrift of the leading trio.
"I am surprised we did such a great time because we spent 200km in other drivers' dust, but for the last 150km we kept a good pace and navigated well," said Peterhansel.
"We have downgraded our ambitions of course. We were going for victory but now it's more complicated. So I want to drive as fast as possible and take the X3 to the best possible position in the standings.
"We might even be in the top five or in the top three. We will see."
Day eight on the Dakar is the rest day at the halfway point, before competitors take on a further seven stages on their way back to the finish in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Source: SBS Dakar Rally 2009
9 Jan 2010, 6:30 AM
France's Cyril Despres won Stage 7 of the 2010 Dakar motorbike category, a stage in which defending champion Marc Coma returned to being his fiercest contender in the overall standings.
In the cars, Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah drove his Volkswagen Race Touareg to stage victory, while VW teammate Carlos Sainz retained the overall lead after the longest special stage of the race – a mammoth 600km special from Iquique to Antofagasta.
Some stages alone can represent several episodes of a race, which was the case for Stage 7 which took competitors back down the northern-Chile coast to a well-earned rest day in Antofagasta.
The sheer distance and a mix of different terrains made life very tough for those remaining in the race.
Coma and Despres, who had started first, paid the price with some hesitations in a vast sand dunes area. Riders behind them ended up catching up, and at the different intermediary check points both two-times winners ended up losing ground and giving opportunities to Pal Anders Ullevalseter (1st at CP1 and CP2), David Frétigné (1st at CP4) and Fransisco Lopez (1st at CP5 and CP6).
However in the last 150km the two masters of the bike race ended up putting a gap on the track again and got back to their natural positions.
Despite the pain inflicted by a broken shock absorber earlier on, Despres crossed the finish line with the best time of the day and won his 22nd stage on a Dakar.
"I am tired and on top of all, at kilometre 150 I entered a large ditch and exploded the hydraulics of my shock absorber," an exhausted Despres said.
"Since then I have been riding on a spring. I took all the shocks in my arms, my wrists, my neck. It was really hard before but it became close to unbearable at this point.
"The gap between me and Marc is small. The bike did not suffer despite the loss of hydraulics. I will have to look at all the screws and bolts but the bike took me here and that's good. The rest day will be welcome."
The Frenchman kept his lead in the overall standings, one hour and six seconds ahead of nearest rival Coma, who he identified as his prime contender.
"It was a very long day. But it's over. We made it to the rest day," said Coma.
"We will be able to tend to the bike. We made it half way through the raid. Today, I had to be mindful of the speed to spare my tires. It was pretty hard in the dunes where I got a bit lost."
The Spaniard reigning champion is now ahead of Helder Rodrigues and Chilean local hero Lopez in the standings after suffering engine problems and a time penalty for speeding earlier in the race.
VW dominance continues
Meanwhile, Volkswagens fill the top three places in the car category overall standings with Carlos Sainz leading from teammates Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mark Miller. Just 11 minutes separates Sainz from Al-Attiyah, with a further 11 minutes back to Miller in third.
BMW's leading driver Stephane Peterhansel is in fourth overall after finishing second on Stage 7, however he is more than two hours adrift of the leading trio.
"I am surprised we did such a great time because we spent 200km in other drivers' dust, but for the last 150km we kept a good pace and navigated well," said Peterhansel.
"We have downgraded our ambitions of course. We were going for victory but now it's more complicated. So I want to drive as fast as possible and take the X3 to the best possible position in the standings.
"We might even be in the top five or in the top three. We will see."
Day eight on the Dakar is the rest day at the halfway point, before competitors take on a further seven stages on their way back to the finish in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Source: SBS Dakar Rally 2009
Byabato Kilama
Member
- Jun 13, 2007
- 10
- 1
Kibunago twashukuru sana kwa habari. Nina swali hile safari rally ilifia wapi na bongo rally gani ni maharufu au inajulikana kimataifa
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