2011 Dakar Rally: Stage Two
- Source: Agencies
- [16:41 January 04 2011]
- Comments
Liu Kun of the Rely-doublestar in the 2011 Dakar Rally
Stage two and the 2011 Dakar Rally swings north through Argentina. Another stage whose nature played into the hands of the WRC drivers, and another day run in heavy rain continued to whittle down the potential winners, with severe delays for some of the front running car entrants that already appear to have crippled their chances of class victory.
Cars: A Second For Sainz
VW driver Carlos Sainz increased his lead in the fledgling class standings for the car entrants, taking a second win as yesterday's runner-up Stephane Peterhansel lost a further 1m34 to the Spaniard, though he held to second overall.
It was, predictably another benefit for the diesel powered VW and BMW entrants, Nasser Al-Attiyah splitting Sainz and Peterhansel, taking second in his Touareg, with 2009 champion Giniel de Villiers taking fourth on the stage.
However, the fourth VW was the first to hit trouble. Just 45km into the 324km stage Mark Miller crashed, severely damaging his car – a broken windscreen, the bonnet ripped off and the right side door refusing to close. 20 minutes lost after the crash were compounded by another 17 minute halt later in the stage and the damage to the car forcing the American to continue the stage off the pace, the day ending with the loss of over 50 minutes.
"In a bend, we skidded and lost control of the car," Miller describes the moment his Dakar went awry. "We rolled before we could get back on the track. After that, we had to stop and repair, especially the power steering. It was a really bad day for me. We'll be able to continue, but now we'll be driving to help the others now".
It was not a good day for Americans in the cars as Hummer driver Robby Gordon also struggled, his 2WD car again ill-suited to the wet trails of the day. An off on a corner lodged the Hummer against a rock, Gordon having to enlist local help – people and a Fiat Panda, in a shade of orange deliciously close to that of the Hummer – to put him back into the rally. He ended the stage 55 minutes adrift of the ultimate stage time, the popular driver's aims to keep with 10 minutes of the lead a distant hope after just two days. Hummer misery did not stop at Gordon, his teammate (former F1 driver Eliseo Salazar) losing four-and-a-half hours on stage today.
Moving in the other direction – forwards after a slow first day – was Guerlain Chicherit. The Frenchman claimed the seventh fastest time on stage in his Monster Energy backed MINI, behind his BMW X3 driving X-Raid Team teammates Orlando Terranova and Krzysztof Holowczyc who took fifth fastest on stage and fifth fastest overall respectively with Miller's demise.
