Bloggin' is Racin'

No change in standings as Dakar Rally approaches finish

2009 Dakar Rally, Argentina-Chile
Stage 13: La Rioja to Cordoba

For the penultimate stage of this year's Dakar Rally, the theme was preservation and, for the winning driver in the car class, redemption.
The car class standings saw no change as the Volkswagen team banded together to run the shortened special (137 miles) as a group. All three VWs finished in the top 10, with German Dieter Depping in fourth, American Mark Miller seventh and overall leader Giniel de Villiers of South Africa in eighth. The VW strategy allowed de Villiers to maintain more than a two-minute lead over Miller in the standings. 
Spain's Nani Roma, who dropped out of the top five in the overall standings after having engine problems in his Mitsubishi in Stage 12, earned his first stage win. Roma finished 7 minutes, 18 seconds ahead of the Nissan of Polish driver Krzysztof Holowczyc.
NASCAR star Robby Gordon, above, remains third overall in his Hummer despite finishing 16th Friday, 22:49 back of Roma. According to dakar.com, Gordon stopped for about 20 minutes because of mechanical problems early in the special. He now trails de Villiers by 1:27:13.
In motorbikes, Spain's Marc Coma maintained his very comfortable 90-minute lead with a second-place result Friday. Coma's main rival, Cyril Despres, won the stage, but only by 1:45 over Coma. It was Despres' fifth stage win of this rally and 21st in his Dakar career.
Go here for more news, complete results and standings.

-- Michele Vincze
Photo: The Associated Press

Gordon third as overall leader Sainz drops out

2009 Dakar Rally, Argentina-Chile

Stage 12: Fiambala to La Rioja

The 2009 Dakar Rally has not been kind to the favorites in the car class, and Thursday it was overall leader Carlos Sainz, above, who was forced to withdraw. The Volkswagen driver had a 27-minute edge on teammate Mark Miller after Stage 10 and the canceled Stage 11, but made a mistake early in Stage 12 and wound up in a ravine. The accident left his co-driver, Michel Perin, with an arm injury and left Sainz wondering what might have been after dominating this race with six stage wins. 

It was a bittersweet day for the Volkswagen team, however. South Africa's Giniel de Villiers took advantage of some driving errors by his American teammate Miller to win the stage and leapfrog into the overall lead. Miller was second on the stage and remains second overall, but only 2 minutes, 35 seconds behind. Things should get interesting as the two VW drivers battle for the title in the rally's final two stages.

NASCAR star Robby Gordon also gained ground at Sainz's expense with a third-place result, despite getting stuck on a bed of rocks and burning out the clutch in his Hummer. Gordon said he could use only first gear for the final 50 miles of the special. Gordon did, however, climb to third overall in the standings after Thursday's effort and put himself in great position to earn an overall podium finish despite being 1:18:52 out of the lead. His next closest rival, Ivar Erik Tollefsen of Norway, is almost six hours back in fourth. Former fourth-place driver Nani Roma, the last real hope for Mitsubishi in this rally, had mechanical problems.

"We are right where we want to be going into the last days of the Rally, so I would not count out Team Dakar USA just yet," Gordon said on his website. "Until Carlos Sainz rolled his race vehicle in a ravine today, he had run a flawless race and everyone would have thought that he had it locked up. It is the Dakar Rally and anything can happen."

In motorbikes, Frenchman Cyril Despres earned another stage win, but gained minimal ground on overall leader Marc Coma, who finished second only 1:23 back. Despres' victory moved him into second overall, but he still must make up almost 90 minutes to beat Spain's Coma in the rally's last two stages.

Go here for more news, full results and standings.

-- Michele Vincze
Photo: The Associated Press

Gordon just loses out in duel with Sainz

2009 Dakar Rally, Argentina-Chile
Stage 10: 275-mile loop around Copiapo, Chile

Day Two in the Atacama Desert was shortened by 125 miles because of difficult terrain, but that didn't stifle the leaders in the car class. NASCAR star Robby Gordon, right, recorded his best result of the event, finishing second in his Hummer, a mere 21 seconds behind stage winner Carlos Sainz (Volkswagen).
Gordon was actually the provisional leader through two check points, but finally gave way to Sainz in the final segment of the special. American Mark Miller finished third in his Volkswagen, 7:39 behind his teammate.
"We had a good day," Gordon told dakar.com. "We managed to have a problem-free stage that will have no consequence. We caught up with Miller around CP2. I remained pretty careful on the bumps on the way back. We are just loosing about 20 seconds, so it’s meaningless. As soon as we are on faster trails, they (the Volkswagen) shake us off. They have so much more power than we do!"
It was Sainz's fourth consecutive stage win and sixth in the 2009 Dakar Rally. The victory allowed Sainz to extend his overall lead over second-place Miller to 27:31. South Africa's Giniel de Villiers rounds out an all-VW top three in the overall standings, with Mitsubishi's Nani Roma in fourth and Gordon still in fifth, but 1 hour, 34 minutes, 38 seconds back.
The top five will remain such after Wednesday, as Dakar Rally officials announced late Tuesday that Stage 11 is canceled because of heavy fog forecast on the route over the San Francisco Pass at 15,400 feet through the Andes. The competitors will travel to Fiambala, Argentina, as a group. Read more here.
In motorbikes on Tuesday, overall leader Marc Coma of Spain and France's Cyril Despres each made navigational errors, but recovered to finish in the top 10. Coma was was seventh and now holds a lead of 1:24:50 over France's David Fretigne, who finished 15th Tuesday. Despres finished sixth, but remains third overall, more than 90 minutes behind Coma. Jordi Viladons of Spain won the stage, followed by France's Alain Duclos and Pals Ullevalseter.
Spanish rider Cristobal Guerrero was involved in an accident Tuesday and was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Copiapo, Chile. The Associated Press reported that hospital director Dr. Anita Quiroga said surgeons drained fluid from Guerrero's brain. The rider was stabilized, but Quiroga called the next 24 hours “crucial to determine his prospects.”
Go here for more news, complete results and standings.

-- Michele Vincze
Photo: The Associated Press