Great solidarity in the X-raid MINI JCW Team at Dakar

Jan 09, 2019

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Dakar Rally SS2:
Sixth place for Despres after stopping for Peterhansel
Sainz finishes home eighth
After yesterday’s short stage, the second special stage from Pisco to San Juan de Macrona marks the “real” start of the 2019 Dakar. Cyril Despres and Jean-Paul Cottret (both FRA) set the sixth-fastest time in their MINI John Cooper Works Buggy. Spanish pair Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz finished eighth. Their French team-mates, Stéphane Peterhansel and David Castera got stuck on the stage and had to settle for 17th place.

Sainz and Cruz started today’s stage in second place, making navigation more of a challenge for them than the subsequent crews. Particularly as they were not able to follow the tracks of the motorcycles today. “We also had issues with the tire pressure system early on,” said Sainz. “Despite that, we were still able to reel in Nasser and then stuck with him.” The Spanish duo currently lies sixth in the overall standings.

Despres and Cottret were tenth going into the stage and managed to work their way up through the field. However, when they then saw their team-mates Peterhansel and Castera in trouble, they showed great team spirit and helped them out. “On the whole, that was a good leg,” said Despres, who is ninth overall. “I am happy with the MINI and the set-up, which we worked on yesterday. You can complete countless test kilometers in Morocco, but the dues here in Peru are simply different. I helped out Stéphane later in the stage, as our team spirit has been a big advantage in the past.”

It was not an easy day for Peterhansel and Castera. “We had a few electrical problems at the start of the stage – nothing serious, but that caused me to lose my concentration a little,” explained Peterhansel. “Later, we got stuck in a stupid place. Fortunately, Cyril pulled us out. We may have lost a bit of time, but without his help we would probably still be stuck there.” The Frenchmen are now 13th overall.

Tomorrow’s stage takes the competitors to Arequipa. In total, 798 kilometers are scheduled, 331 of those against the clock – just slightly fewer than today.
Rally Dakar – Result SS2
1. Sebastien Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (FRA) Peugeot – 3h 26m 53s
2. Nani Roma (ESP) / Alex Haro (ESP) MINI JCW Rally – 3h 27m 01s
3. Bernhard Ten Brinke (NLD) / Xavier Panseri (FRA) Toyota – 3h 28m 13s
4. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota – 3h 28m 24s
5. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (GER) MINI JCW Rally – 3h 29m 26s
6. Cyril Despres (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) MINI JCW Buggy – 3h 30m 07s
7. Harry Hunt (GBR) / Wouter Rosegaar (FRA) Peugeot – 3h 30m 17s
8. Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Lucas Cruz (ESP) MINI JCW Buggy – 3h 31m 33s
9. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) / Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS) Toyota – 3h 32m 29s
10. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota – 3h 34m 30s
…
17. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / David Castera (FRA) MINI JCW Buggy – 3h 42m 02s

Rally Dakar – Overall result after SS2
1. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota – 4h 32m 45s
2. Bernhard Ten Brinke (NLD) / Xavier Panseri (FRA) Toyota – 4h 33m 13s
3. Nani Roma (ESP) / Alex Haro (ESP) MINI JCW Rally – 4h 33m 27s
4. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (GER) MINI JCW Rally – 4h 33m 35s
5. Sebastien Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (FRA) Peugeot – 4h 34m 41s
6. Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Lucas Cruz (ESP) MINI JCW Buggy – 4h 35m 13s
7. Harry Hunt (GBR) / Wouter Rosegaar (FRA) Peugeot – 4h 35m 23s
8. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota – 4h 36m 11s
9. Cyril Despres (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) MINI JCW Buggy – 4h 36m 13s
10. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) / Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS) Toyota – 4h 36m 28s
…
13. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / David Castera (FRA) MINI JCW Buggy – 4h 46m 40s

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