Dakar / SS12: First stage win for Mikko Hirvonen
– Three AXION MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles make it to the top five, today
– Al-Attiyah still second in the overall standings
Today, Mikko Hirvonen gave the AXION X-raid Team the third stage win in the 2016 Dakar. Together with his French co-driver Michel Périn, the Finnish MINI ALL4 Racing driver won the 12th and penultimate stage, from San Juan to Villa Carlos Paz. At the end of the special stage with its distance of nearly 500 kilometres, their team-mates Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and Mathieu Baumel (FRA) crossed the finish line just nine seconds behind them to finish second. Nani Roma / Alex Haro (both ESP) also made it to the top five by finishing fifth. Meanwhile, Orlando Terranova and Ronnie Graue (both ARG) lost a lot of time behind Robby Gordon but finished seventh, nevertheless.
Tomorrow, the final stage, featuring a 180-kilometre special stage, will take the field back to Rosario where the competitors will cross the finish podium in the afternoon. But these 180 kilometres once again will be quite a challenge: tight, winding, rocky, sandy… This special stage has got it all. And so, anything can happen.
Result stage 12
1st M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 34m 17s
2nd N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 34m 26s
3rd L Poulter (ZAF) / R. Howie (ZAF) Toyota – 5h 35m 02s
4th G. DeVilliers (ZAF) / D. v. Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota – 5h 35m 14s
5th J. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 37m 26s
…
7th O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 40m 17s
Overall standings after 12 stages (for the latest version click here)
1st S. Peterhansel (FRA) / J.-P. Cottret (FRA) Peugeot – 43h 27m 42s
2nd N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 44h 08m 41s
3rd G. De Villiers (ZAF) / D. von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota – 44h 34m 58s
4th M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 44h 39m 24s
5th L. Poulter (ZAF) / R. Howie (ZAF) Toyota – 45h 03m 58s
6th J. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) MINI ALL4 Racing – 45h 15m 20s
…
12th O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI ALL4 Racing – 48h 41m 34s
