Dakar STAGE 5 – Calama / Iquique

STAGE 5 – Calama / Iquique

Chaleco overtaken by Goncalvez, Peterhansel triumphant

After tackling the first dunes on the Personal Dakar Argentina Chile, Francisco Lopez thought he had won his fourth stage on the Dakar. But the time taken by Paulo Gonçalves, 4th to finish the special, was modified to take account of the assistance he gave to Olivier Pain, who crashed at the 231 km point. The Portuguese rider picks up his first victory on the Dakar as a result. In the car race, a BMW also won the day, with a 56th special stage victory for Stephane Peterhansel, who is starting to threaten the position of Carlos Sainz, still overall leader.

Francisco Lopez has made a habit of winning at least one stage at home since the Dakar has been hosted by his country. Last year, “Chaleco” missed out on this prestigious stage due to a navigational mistake. This time, after a faultless performance all along the 423 km of the Day’s special, the Chilean fans’ favourite offered himself a royal descent down to the now famous finish at Iquique, with its 3 in 10 gradient and many spectators. Success seemed to be on the side of Lopez, because when it came to totting up, he appeared to have won the stage by one second from Frans Verhoeven. The Dutchman could thus harbour legitimate regrets about the crash he suffered only 2 kilometres from the finishing line, condemning him to second place. However, in the end he picked up third place, because Paulo Gonçalves benefited from a correction of his time to win his first special. It is also the first victory for BMW on the Dakar since the era of Richard Sainct, who triumphed on a German-made bike in 1999 and 2000.

The state of play in the general standings requires a fair bit of explanation after today’s stage. Firstly, one of the Top 10 left the race just at the moment when he was at its forefront. Olivier Pain, who had just put in the best provisional time after 218 km, crashed at the 231 km point. With a broken wrist, the Yamaha rider was airlifted by the medical helicopter from the race route. The accident had a knock-on effect on the positions gained in Iquique. In fact, Marc Coma, who finished 13 minutes behind Lopez due to a fall at the start of the special (after 80 km) stopped and gave up some time, like Gonçalves, to help Olivier Pain. Provisionally 2nd in the general standings, the Spaniard benefitted from a correction to his result, enabling him to retain his position as leader, 10’14” ahead of Despres. Bearing in mind that the title holder received a ten minute penalty due to a lack of attention to the starting procedures on stage 4, the differences gained on the track are minimal between the two favourites. Lopez lies in 3rd position, 18’32” behind Coma, whilst the day’s hero is in 4th position, trailing the race leader by 21’42”.

The name of Patronelli has reappeared at the top of the quad general standings. After the withdrawal of Marcos, the winner in 2010, his older brother Alejandro grabbed a stage victory that enabled him to regain the lead in the event. His countryman Thomas Maffei, 2nd today, trails him by 1’27”.

In the car category, the first dunes of the rally also gave Stephane Peterhansel an idea of what could be possible on his terrain of choice. Taking advantage of a navigation mistake by both of his rivals, Sainz and Al-Attiyah, the Frenchman started to open up a gap over a long section which he covered alone in the lead, obtaining a lead of 2’45” at the midway point. However, the BMW driver, who is not infallible, was nearly caught at the final CP not long before the finish. This is where “Peter” started a festival of driving, reaching the finishing line with a lead of 1’24” over Al-Attiyah and 3’15” over Sainz. The Spaniard, who made the most of the Argentinean stages, and who was rewarded for his driving prowess at the limit of what is reasonable, holds on to the lead in the general standings, 2’26” ahead of Peterhansel. With this first victory in 2011 for the X-Raid team, the BMW X3 also climbs up a rung on the ladder, because Nasser Al-Attiyah trails Sainz by 2’33”.

Whilst Giniel De Villiers, 4th placed today, is still in with a shout for a place on the final podium, the gaps are starting to open up with the other pretenders. Guerlain Chicherit had already but his ambitions on the back-burner after his setbacks on the first day, but the series of mishaps continues for him. After 137 km, the Mini Countryman driver got stuck in a rut on what seemed a rather safe manoeuvre. His X-Raid team-mate, Leal Dos Santos, lent help to extract him from this sticky situation, but Chicherit and Périn struggled up to the stage finish, trailing their team leader by 30 minutes. In the general standings, behind “Peter” and the Race Touaregs, Krzysztof Holowczyc is maintaining an honourable performance level, but is 47’ behind Sainz, whilst Orlando Terranova, still in 6th, trails the leader by almost an hour.

They said…

Paulo Goncalves: “I think I rode it well”

“It was a very difficult stage, very long but also very beautiful. I think I rode it well. After the refuelling point, I stopped to help Olivier Pain who had fallen. The rules say we should stop. I waited for 4 to 5 minutes. The main thing is that he’s ok. So I’ll probably have some time taken off my end result. The bike worked well on the quick parts as well as the technical ones”.

Alejandro Patronelli: “That’s the Dakar”

“It was really tough, very tiring – exhausting, in fact. But that’s the Dakar and you have to fight to withstand the demands of the race. Tomas Maffei is doing well, which is normal, because he’s talented. He demonstrated that during the endurance race at Verano. I hope an Argentinean rider will win. I’m going to keep going at my pace and just hoping to finish”.

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Friday, 7th January > Leg 6: Iquique – Arica
“Guadal” as the locals say…

Road section, 265 km Special, 456 km

The exploration of the Atacama Desert this year brings the Dakar participants to Arica, the last town before the Peruvian border. For this large slice of desert before the rest day, the menu is full of dunes, whose sizes increase as the day passes by. But throughout the special stage, the riders and drivers will experience an alternation of sensations. After surfing on the dunes, most of them will get to grips with the unavoidable zones of fesh-fesh, or “guadal” as they are known in this part of the world. For the section of slaloming between dust and dry grass, patience is the competitors’ best ally.

The Personal Dakar Argentina Chile in figures :

9500 kms, including 5000 competitive kms over 13 stages
407 competitors at the start
2500 people at the bivouac
2000 breakfasts / 1600 rations / 1000 lunches and 2300 dinners/ bivouac
12000 bottles of water / bivouac
25 000 police officers and national security guards mobilised
350 000 safety flyers handed out along the route
1 000 000 persons on the start in Buenos Airs on the 1st of January 2011

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