Dakar 2021

[dimviii]

Sébastien Loeb
I am delighted to announce that i will be driving for @BRaidXtreme
, an exciting new @dakar
team debuting at #Dakar2021


We are Bahrain Raid Xtreme
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjPDzccWsAAghW2?format=jpg&name=small

[dimviii]

KAMAZ surprises by leaving five-time winner Eduard Nikolaev out of the next Dakar


The Dakar in the truck category promises to lose big names in the 2021 edition. If a few weeks ago it was De Rooy who reported that his team was going to pause in the competition for economic reasons derived from the pandemic, now it has been KAMAZ Master which has confirmed that Eduard Nikolaev the one who will step aside, leaving the 36-year-old Russian pilot as one of the discards of the structure directed by Vladimir Chagin.

Instead, the Blue Armada will field four 43509 units from January 3 in Jeddah, the day on which the next edition of the Dakar will begin. The four will be piloted by Anton Sibalov, Dmitry Sotnikov, Andrei Karginov and finally Airat Mardeev, who returns to the competition after his absence in 2020 (as a curiosity, he was the driver in the vehicles authorized for the press), trying to reissue the triumph achieved in 2015, while Karginov will try to add his third touareg after those achieved in 2014 and 2020.

Obviously the race receives the shock of losing the five-time Dakar winner (one of them as Vladimir Chagin's mechanic), a Nikolaev who had participated consecutively in all the editions of the event since 2007 and who was called to become in the new Tsar of the truck category after the withdrawal of Chagin. Even so, Eduard will travel with the team and perform the duties of the right hand of the person in charge of the structure, a deputy position that Sergei Savostin had held until now, who will stay in Russia preparing the competition for 2021, which in principle should start soon with the Casualty schedule already revealed by the FIA.


Today we have five capable teams on the team. All the drivers are equally good and it is a perfectly competitive quintet. But we had to choose four teams to defend the colors of the Kamaz-Master team and the national auto industry in Dakar. It just came to our attention then. Finally, Eduard Nikolaev temporarily leaves the wheel of the competition truck. During the degree, it will help me solve technical and organizational problems. I think his many years of experience as a driver and mechanic will help. The Dakar needs to make the right decisions in an instant, that's the only way to win - Vladimir Chagin

The trucks will travel at the beginning of December for the first technical verification and to be loaded onto the ferry that will wait in the port of the French city of Marseille, but the real surprise will be to see how Nikolaev is left out of the game after what From the manufacturer's communication press department they point out that it was due to a “decision of the team management”, which has defined that Eduard was the pilot who will be left out in this year's rotation. An unprecedented event.

It will be a new test and a challenge for me. I will do everything possible and impossible to be useful to the team in the new position. I know the race from the coach's point of view. Many pilots have tried this role before me. For us it was Firdaus Kabirov, somewhere else for example Gerard de Rooy or Jordi Viladoms from KTM… They took a break and then came back. I think our team still has a lot ahead of it - Eduard Nikolaev

The trucks will bring news, since in the debut of the race in Saudi Arabia some overheating problems were discovered, both in the engine and in the tires, which is why we have worked both on the aerodynamics, and on the option to increase the reliability of the engine and also make the inflation and deflation system of the wheels faster.

KAMAZ engineers have also worked on design changes, including some developments in the reduction of unsprung masses and in the reduction of the center of gravity, however, not all solutions have been implemented due to the high costs involved in their implementation, as well as the teams are waiting for the FIA ​​to approve the new Cross-Country Rally World Championship next December, which will also have its own category for trucks. That is precisely one of the reasons given that at the last World Council the calendar for the Casualty World Cup was presented, but no mention was made of the rally program.
https://www.diariomotor.com/competicion/noticia/kamaz-deja-fuera-del-dakar-a-eduard-nikolaev/

[cobbdotclick]

This will be a good event or so I'm told!

[dimviii]

https://www.motorsport.com/dakar/news/loeb-prodrive-bahrain-testing-roma/4912675/

[Mirek]

Not really 2021 but rather 2022 news. During the opening ceremony of a new Magna Energy Storage / HE3DA battery factory it was stated that Loprais's team will is building an electrical truck with the aim to test it on Dakar in 2022. The truck was presented only as a picture full in HE3DA colors.

[Tom206wrc]

Cyril Desprès back in a Peugeot 3008 DKR :cool:

[Mirek]

Buggyra team with some new big names.

Ignacio Casale/Álvaro León - Tatra (very interesting crew since both won Dakar in their categories before) - with manual gearbox
Martin Šoltys/TBD/TBD - Tatra - with automatic gearbox (first time)
Josef Macháček/TBD - Can-Am DV21 (DV means David Vršecký as chief designer)
Tomáš Enge/Markéta Skácelová - Can-Am DV21

Macháček (4x winner of quads), Casale (4x winner of quads) and León (1x winner of SxS) have together 9 Dakar titles. For Enge it's first Dakar.

[Mirek]

All 21 crews with some Czechs on board (7 bikes, 1 quad, 3 cars, 9 trucks, 1 classis)

Bikes: Engel (KTM), Michek (KTM), Brabec (KTM), Pabiška (KTM), Podmol (Husqvarna), Lhotský (Husqvarna), Krejčí (KTM)

Quads: Kubiena (Yamaha)

Cars: Prokop/Chytka (Ford), Zapletal/Sýkora (Ford), Ouředníček/Křípal (Toyota)

SxS: Macháček/Vyoral (Can-Am), Enge/Skácelová (Can-Am).

Trucks: Macík/Tomášek/Švanda (Iveco), Loprais/Pokora/Kandí (UAE) (Praga), Šoltys/Schovánek/Šikola (Tatra), Valtr/Kaplánek/Miškolci (SR) (Iveco), Tománek/Kašpárek/Stross (Tatra), Tomeček/Lála (Tatra), Randýsek/Regnier (FR)/Martin (FR) (Man), van den Brink (NL)/de Graaff (NL)/Kozlovský (Renault), Casale (CHL)/León (CL)/Čapka (Tatra)

Classic: Klymčiw/Vlček (Škoda 130 LR)

[Sulland]

New from 2021 is the Classic car category, for cars made before year 2000.

Will have their own route, I am guessing a bit easier than the other categories, and they will run it as a regularity rally.

Info: https://www.dakar.com/en/dakar-classic

Entry List: https://storage-aso.lequipe.fr/ASO/motorSports_dak/dakar2021-engages-classic.pdf

Cool with the Czech guy in a Skoda 130LR. A car that was on my wanted list on the 80s.

[dck1989]

Audi announce plans for fully electric car for 2022 event. "on Dirtfish website"

[pantealex]

Audi announce plans for fully electric car for 2022 event. "on Dirtfish website"

https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/press-releases/audi-to-compete-in-dakar-rally-13440
Official from AUDI

[Rally Power]

Audi announce plans for fully electric car for 2022 event. "on Dirtfish website"

It’s not a fully electric car, it’s a hybrid car; in Audi’s PR (pantealex posted the link), it’s said it’ll use a TSFI engine as a converter.

Anyway, the best part of the announcement is at the end of the PR: Audi will also develop a LMDh proto for Le Mans (WEC) and Daytona (IMSA). That’s great!

[the sniper]

Ogier to Audi in 2022?

Too soon...? :D

Great that Audi are swapping FE for two proper programs.

[Rally Power]

Great that Audi are swapping FE for two proper programs.


Interesting: BMW is also leaving FE. https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/bmw-to-end-formula-e-programme-/4920008/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-6

No official info on the future of MINI Dakar program after ‘21, but rumours are saying Xraid can become Audi’s partner.

[dimviii]

https://rallyinsight.com/2020/12/27/meeke-has-long-term-focus-on-fascinating-dakar/

[drive]

Interesting: BMW is also leaving FE. https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/bmw-to-end-formula-e-programme-/4920008/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-6

No official info on the future of MINI Dakar program after ‘21, but rumours are saying Xraid can become Audi’s partner.

it is official, only not XRaid as such - Quandt (owner of XRaid) created new company Q Motorsport - press realease:

Neuburg a. d. Donau, December 11, 2020 – Audi will compete in the Dakar Rally for the first time with an innovative prototype in 2022. The race in the world’s toughest cross-country rally will be carried out in cooperation with the newly-founded Q Motorsport GmbH based in Trebur (Germany).


“By cooperating with Q Motorsport, we are sticking to our philosophy that has proven itself at Audi over many years,” says Julius Seebach, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and responsible for motorsport at Audi. “The development of the Dakar prototype with its innovative drivetrain concept is being carried out in-house. We are contesting the race together with an experienced partner. The Q Motorsport team contributes an enormous amount of specific experience from cross-country motorsport.”

Q Motorsport GmbH was founded by Sven Quandt and his two sons Thomas and Tobias Quandt. As a driver, Sven Quandt won the T1 Marathon Cup in 1998. In the same year, his team GECO Raid celebrated a 1-2-3 victory in the T1 classification of the Paris–Dakar Rally. From November 2002 to the end of 2004, Quandt was the head of motorsport at Mitsubishi Motors. At the same time, he began to build up the X-raid Team, which celebrated five victories in the Dakar Rally and won the FIA World Cup for cross-country rallies eleven times.

“With Q Motorsport, we want to break new ground in cross-country motorsport independently of and parallel to X-raid,” says Sven Quandt. “The world is changing and the Dakar must also prove that it can be sustainable and continue to point the way forward. This is exactly what Q Motorsport wants to demonstrate together with Audi.”

[Co-driven]

And funny thing is that Quandt is one of the families that "owns" BMW. Sven's sister is part of the counsil of the whole company.

[dimviii]

krismeeke.com
@krismeeke

Spare tyre caught fire..
Burnt electrics.
Over and out for today.
Waiting on tow rope to the Bivouac.

Really enjoyed it up to that.
We’ll get a fix tonight.
Back at it tomorrow.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eq0HhJJXIAEcNsc?format=jpg&name=medium

[EstWRC]

Sainz and Al-Rajhi got lost for a long time, Loeb losing much with final 2 checkpoints, i suspect puncture again cause his route looks normal on the map.

[dimviii]

Sainz and Al-Rajhi got lost for a long time, Loeb losing much with final 2 checkpoints, i suspect puncture again cause his route looks normal on the map.

3 punctures today,and another 3 punctures yesterday.
https://twitter.com/DanosElena/status/1346414733872738305

[Mirek]

Was it mentioned here that this year all cars have limited top speed to 180 km/h? That affects mostly the big RWD buggies. With their big wheels and long suspension travel they were able to run faster top speeds than 4WD with very limited suspension travel and smaller wheels.

[Sulland]

What do you know of these guys Mirek, friends of yours?

https://scontent.fosl3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/128751135_182312073572331_574314592076460686_n.jpg ?_nc_cat=109&ccb=2&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=KAwudYhkknwAX8x2CXu&_nc_ht=scontent.fosl3-2.fna&oh=1ea67ef4fce8c300781139299cfbd385&oe=601849F1

[Mirek]

What do you know of these guys Mirek, friends of yours?

https://scontent.fosl3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/128751135_182312073572331_574314592076460686_n.jpg ?_nc_cat=109&ccb=2&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=KAwudYhkknwAX8x2CXu&_nc_ht=scontent.fosl3-2.fna&oh=1ea67ef4fce8c300781139299cfbd385&oe=601849F1

No, but Klymčiw is quite well known Dakar guy. He did Dakar on a motorbike several times, he was able to run among the top 20 while being a privateer but he crashed several times very heavily and almost died of his last accident. He can't ride a bike anymore. Last year he was a team manager of a bike team and this year he along with another Dakar ex-biker drives this historic event for fun.

[Mirek]

Big crash of Van den Huevel from yesterday. At 2:03 some car hits the crashed truck while tre crew is still trying to get out of the cabin. Scary.
https://www.facebook.com/bigtruckmagazine/videos/403667864193234/

[dimviii]

any French speaking mate to translate why Loeb took 5 min penalty?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErEZ_jhXMAEegZe?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErEZ_jjXYAEzw_a?format=jpg&name=large

[EstWRC]

here dimviii https://dirtfish.com/motorsport/dakar/loeb-blasts-dakar-incompetence-after-five-minute-penalty/

[Co-driven]

Is the Official Notice Board available somewhere?

[EstWRC]

Loeb and Sainz already lost before first waypoint and losing a lot.

[Mirek]

Very brutal stage today. A lot of crews out or in troubles.

[dimviii]

Like Sébastien Loeb, Carlos Sainz has not been one of those drivers who has expressed his dissatisfaction with something in public on many occasions. The Madrilenian only expressed his discomfort when he felt that he had been seriously affected by some situation in which he had not had any responsibility, something that we saw for example with the famous fall in the dry river when he was piloting the 2009 Volkswagen Race Touareg, or years later when it damaged the front suspension of the MINI in a danger that according to the Spanish couple was not well indicated.

Today has not been a good day for Sainz and Cruz, as neither have the previous three. Again a problem with navigation has made them fit in a good amount of lost minutes and not only that, but they have had to face three-quarters of the stage with practically the knife between their teeth. Upon his arrival at the finish line, the two-time WRC Champion and three-time Dakar Rally winner was very disappointed and critical of the organizers.

Sainz has pointed out that the organized ones are making a mistake in the way they present the race and that the ASO rally-raid is mutating more in a Gymkhana than in what this adventure was initially: “I think we have to look at it , because this is becoming more of a gymkhana than a rally-raid. I have done fourteen Dakar and what I am seeing so far is not a rally ... I don't like it. Never in my life had I lost myself twice in a row in half an hour. "With so many participations in the event, Sainz himself is included in the problem, and it is that little by little he has turned from a foreigner to a true Dakarian.

anger-mini-dakar-2021-aso-sainz-peterhansel

It's a lottery, it's about finding a small loophole ... it's not driving, I'm demoralized and disgusted. Everybody gets lost, everybody looks for WayPoints ... this is not what I like. This is not the Dakar - Carlos Sainz

And the organization, which had to design a mostly new route compared to last year, has not been in the best conditions to design the itinerary either. They were asked for a slower race, with more weight from the navigation and slower averages. To achieve this, ASO has designed a route in which each WayPoint is a navigation trap and in which you practically have to slow down the speed of the car as much as possible so as not to travel a few meters that will make you completely lose your way. That is the Gymkhanero point that the pilots do not seem to like, as well as that sense of adventure that has been lost and that impatiently awaits the arrival of other countries. The race has become a slalom in which you practically have to find some invisible “cones” in the middle of nowhere.
Stéphane Peterhansel's complaints also to listen to:

Leaders of the general classification despite not having achieved even a stage victory, but in the cabin occupied by Stéphane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger there also seems to be a high degree of anger in front of the organization. Monsieur Dakar has acknowledged that the test has become "highly dangerous" due to the high average speeds that are occurring during the days of this first week.

The Frenchman affirms that despite the attempts of his former co-driver to break the rhythm of the race with these "gymkhanas" of which Sainz speaks, the average speeds are still excessively high due to the pace of the main competitors ... All this at Despite the fact that a maximum speed has even been set for the T1 and T2 cars at 180 km / h. When in two days you find Sainz, Peterhansel and Loeb publicly showing their anger with your career, then it is something you have to rethink.

Today has been very fast. We did 337 km of special in 2h36min10sec. Average speed is impressive! Despite David Castera's idea of designing a route that constantly breaks the rhythm to reduce speed, the truth is that the level of competition is so high that the average speed is even higher than last year. It gets a bit dangerous when you push the limit and today we were almost always on the limit. In the old days, 50 percent of all contenders would be eliminated from the race due to driving errors or technical problems, but today it has become much less common - Stéphane Peterhansel
https://www.diariomotor.com/competicion/noticia/cs-santosh-en-coma-inducido-dakar-2021/

[EstWRC]

ridiculous....

if such a big names, Sainz, Peterhansel and Loeb complain then something must be wrong.

Loeb again with 3 punctures today, a nightmare dakar so far for him.

[Mirek]

On the other hand I don't know what could be done against those high speeds. You can't build a hundreds of kilometers long stage in the desert without it being fast. It's impossible. You can do that on some twisty mountain roads but then there is no navigation and everybody complains in different manner again (like they did about the "WRC" stages in Argentina).

When I listen Czech crews (third largest national presence in the entry field) I don't see any exceptional criticism. There is something here and there but nothing extraordinary. Just the stuff you listen every year. The only thing which I can hear there too is that the navigation is extremely tricky for the front runners who often get lost but it didn't sound that negative. It's often more in amusing way.

[Co-driven]

I also think that the more experienced crews are still adapting themselves to the fact that now they can't use their "mapmen", which were a big advantage the big teams had in the past.

[focus206]

Is there something different this year compared to the usual Dakar? I've read about the speed limit, but did something change in the navigation too, that is causing these complaints?

[Mirek]

Is there something different this year compared to the usual Dakar? I've read about the speed limit, but did something change in the navigation too, that is causing these complaints?

AFAIK Since last year they get the roadbook only before the start so that they can't prepare beforehand or have someone checking the route with hellicopter. That was a huge advantage of the works and big teams over the privateers which they don't have now (still they have better machinery and service of course). Last year year's edition was however relatively easy so nobody complained that much.

Regarding speed limit - it was introduced for cars (all have max. top speed 180 km/h). That limit isn't slowing 4WD much but affects big RWD buggies significatnly because the speed they could keep over long straights was their main advantage (thanks to the large diameter wheels and long suspension travel).

New 160 km/h speed limit for bikes was planned but in the end it wasn't introduced. Per our TV the works bikers set top speed around 175 km/h while privateers usually don't reach more than 165-170 km/h.

[focus206]

AFAIK Since last year they get the roadbook only before the start so that they can't prepare beforehand or have someone checking the route with hellicopter. That was a huge advantage of the works and big teams over the privateers which they don't have now (still they have better machinery and service of course). Last year year's edition was however relatively easy so nobody complained that much.

Regarding speed limit - it was introduced for cars (all have max. top speed 180 km/h). That limit isn't slowing 4WD much but affects big RWD buggies significatnly because the speed they could keep over long straights was their main advantage (thanks to the large diameter wheels and long suspension travel).

New 160 km/h speed limit for bikes was planned but in the end it wasn't introduced. Per our TV the works bikers set top speed around 175 km/h while privateers usually don't reach more than 165-170 km/h.
I see, thanks. But when Sainz refers to this edition "like a gymkhana", what does he mean? Maybe that waypoints are small and "hidden"? In the last Truck Highlights on YT, you can see 4 or 5 trucks going back on their own tracks, maybe searching for waypoints they missed...

[Mirek]

Yes, sometimes they have problems to find the waypoints but that happened in the past too, just maybe not that often. Also take into account that due to the geography South America was probably easier for navigation (large parts of the rout were just easy follow the road sections). On the other hand in old the African Dakar navigation used to be very difficult.

[dimviii]

these are some quotes from today stage Nr 5
seems it was a lot tricky at first kms.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manuel Andujar: “Tricky navigation”

“The stage was really hard with tricky navigation. It was tricky on the first 150 kilometres, but I think I rode well and I’m happy with today’s stage. In the first kilometres I made a mistake but I was able to fix it really quickly, get back on the right route and get it done”

Stéphane Peterhansel: “Really complicated”

“Today was a real Dakar stage: really complicated with the navigation but also not easy in the dunes; some rocky plateau, some tracks with really big rocks... not really nice to drive. At the end it was not beautiful landscape and not nice to drive, but it was selective, a really selective stage like it always is on the Dakar”.

301| NASSER AL-ATTIYAH
Nasser Al-Attiyah: “We lost maybe eight or nine minutes”

“It was not easy to open. We saw a lot of bikes coming and we got confused. At the beginning, we lost maybe eight or nine minutes. I’m happy to have got here finally.

339| BRIAN BARAGWANATH
Brian Baragwanath: “We went slow to go faster”»

“Today we went slow to go faster. We calmed down and tried to just look at the navigation. Taye Perry did a very good job. It’s the first time for us in a big race like this to be navigating like this. Navigation on this Dakar has been super tough. We made some big mistakes on stage two. We missed a way point and...

304| GINIEL DE VILLIERS
Giniel De Villiers: “Today everything seemed to click”

Today’s winner achieved his success thanks to his caution in tackling the navigation. As a result, he picked up the 16th stage victory of his career on the Dakar.

“I must say that since the beginning things have not really been going our way, but today everything seemed to click. Alex did a great job with the navigation today. We took it a little bit calmer at the beginning just to make sure we got all the points. In some places the navigation was really, really difficult. This morning we went a little bit wrong, but not too seriously.

88| JOAN BARREDA BORT
Joan Barreda: “One of the most demanding physically”

“Today was a really difficult stage, really hard. One of the most demanding physically. On the last section, there were a lot of dunes and also at the beginning with a lot of tricky navigation. We had some problems, but other riders arrived and we rode in a group. Conejo was in front for a lot of the time and did very well with the navigation today”.

4| JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO
Ignacio Cornejo: “It’s a long time since I can remember a stage as tough as this one”

“It was a tough stage. It’s a long time since I can remember a stage as tough as this one. There was everything: rocks, trails, dunes, fast parts, tricky navigation... I think I did a good job with the navigation - I didn't get lost at the beginning where everyone got lost and I made up a lot of time to the guys that started in front of me very quickly. So, I started...

47| KEVIN BENAVIDES
Kevin Benavides: “I kept pushing with a lot of pain”
“It was a really hard day for me. At the beginning I got lost like all the riders, but after that I started to push a lot. On one dune I jumped, a big jump, and I crashed because I hit another big one with the front wheel. I banged my head like this and broke the GPS and everything. I cut myself too and started to lose a lot of blood. There was also some pain around my ankle. In the end, I continued...

[dimviii]

Is there something different this year compared to the usual Dakar? I've read about the speed limit, but did something change in the navigation too, that is causing these complaints?

if i am not mistaken from this year the roadbook is a tablet,and not a book?

[dimviii]

I see, thanks. But when Sainz refers to this edition "like a gymkhana", what does he mean? Maybe that waypoints are small and "hidden"? In the last Truck Highlights on YT, you can see 4 or 5 trucks going back on their own tracks, maybe searching for waypoints they missed...


https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-motorSports-dak-jpg/05121004-eva-3037/29826/0:0,1200:800-1000-0-70/c3937
https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-motorSports-dak-jpg/05121004-eva-2984/29824/0:0,1200:800-1000-0-70/adfb5
https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-motorSports-dak-jpg/05121004-eva-2958/29822/0:0,1200:800-1000-0-70/0f553
https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-motorSports-dak-jpg/05121004-eva-2884/29817/0:0,1200:800-1000-0-70/dc446
https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-motorSports-dak-jpg/05121004-eva-2933/29819/0:0,1200:800-1000-0-70/b439b

[focus206]

Looks like a trasure hunt! I remember drivers driving in circles or going back in past editions, but this edition seems something else.

[Mirek]

if i am not mistaken from this year the roadbook is a tablet,and not a book?

Yes but I don't think this makes a difference.

By the way Benavides won this stage with a big crash and finished with broken nose.

[Sulland]

They can choose to have the roadbook in several formats, analogue and digital. Top notch, and dig roadbook is cool.

[Mirek]

Looks like a trasure hunt! I remember drivers driving in circles or going back in past editions, but this edition seems something else.

According to the interviews with our crews (which I watched now) it was only the first waypoint today which was tricky and caused this funny photos and videos. There was a hidden turn somewhere between the cliffs which majority of competitors missed and had to go back and search for it. Otherwise in all those interviews there were nearly no complaints towards the organizers. Mostly they were happy with today's stage.

Big crash of Lategan. He has a broken collarbone. The co-driver is ok.
https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1347115263548940293

[dimviii]

Looks like a trasure hunt! I remember drivers driving in circles or going back in past editions, but this edition seems something else.

this picture it represent it better

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErJ9fsAXIAIehf_?format=jpg&name=4096x4096

[dimviii]

open the sound to listen the v8 at full chat
https://twitter.com/TobyMoody/status/1347401366571016192

[EstWRC]

broken suspension arm for Loeb, waiting for assistance

[dimviii]

Dakar stage six shortened after navigation issues

Event organizer announces stage changes after a 'significant number' of crews encounter problems

https://dirtfish.com/motorsport/dakar/dakar-stage-six-shortened-after-navigation-issues/

[dupanton]

Peterhansel and Al Attiyah never lost half an hour with a navigational error. I think it's down to experience. Guys like Sainz and Loeb only do 1 rally raid a year, they could also practice more...

[Co-driven]

Peterhansel and Al Attiyah never lost half an hour with a navigational error. I think it's down to experience. Guys like Sainz and Loeb only do 1 rally raid a year, they could also practice more...

I agree with you, but just remember that Peterhansel has 30+ plus years competing on Dakar, Al Attiyah has less time but has a lot of experience in dunes.

I don't think there would be a lot of difference for Loeb and Sainz even if they competed on all World Cross Country events during the year...

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1347539584901664771

[drive]

They can choose to have the roadbook in several formats, analogue and digital. Top notch, and dig roadbook is cool.

priority drivers have to use only digital roadbook, rest using old paper ones. Priority drivers has paper roadbook sealed in the envelope, just in case if tablet version fails - otherwise they cannot use it. Everybody gets roadbooks only 20min before the stage start - to prevent 'big boys' using mapmans services as been years before when roadboks were given in the evening (mapmans overnight used to go step by step searching for shortcuts and difficult navigation parts) - that made even playing field for everybody, and now not only 'the rest' sometimes makes navigational errors as used to be every year, but leaders get navigation wrong sometimes also. And some of them are not happy :)

its a bit of Lottery now as co-drivers could easy make a mistake, but that is part of the game called Dakar ....

[dimviii]

Nasser after today stage,about tyres

The three times winner of the rally has reached the rest day in second position in the general standings, almost 6 minutes behind Stéphane Peterhansel.

“It was not easy. We had two punctures. The tyres still aren’t helping us, like last year. I am really disappointed with the BFGoodrich tyres. Normally we have good tyres for this year and this Dakar. Compared to the buggy, it's completely, totally different. Still, we are second overall and next week we will try to do our best. It’s not been an easy week for everybody. A lot of people made mistakes and we are lucky that we didn’t make any big mistakes. Now I’m in a good position, in second place overall and next week will be very important. We’ll try to do our best”.

[dimviii]

Sainz about this year navigation after ss 6

“Today the stage was more in the sand and on sandy tracks, so it was not so difficult for navigation, really. There were not many places where you could get it wrong, so everything was good. On one day I lost thirty minutes, on another thirty minutes too and on another day six minutes, so more than an hour in all. I’m not so happy with Lucas and myself, I’m not so happy with how we’ve been doing. I think we could have done a better job. Not with the navigation like it is here, but when there is a lot of tension and plateaux with many tracks and secret way points and all that, we didn’t understand it very well. We need to analyse really carefully because now there is a different philosophy for the road-book. My best moment is maybe today and the worst is all the rest of the days – I have been losing a lot of time, so it’s not easy”.

[Co-driven]

priority drivers have to use only digital roadbook, rest using old paper ones. Priority drivers has paper roadbook sealed in the envelope, just in case if tablet version fails - otherwise they cannot use it. Everybody gets roadbooks only 20min before the stage start - to prevent 'big boys' using mapmans services as been years before when roadboks were given in the evening (mapmans overnight used to go step by step searching for shortcuts and difficult navigation parts) - that made even playing field for everybody, and now not only 'the rest' sometimes makes navigational errors as used to be every year, but leaders get navigation wrong sometimes also. And some of them are not happy :)

its a bit of Lottery now as co-drivers could easy make a mistake, but that is part of the game called Dakar ....

Besides that, not mobile devices allowed, crews must put it in a box before start of the stage and it's sealed by a marshal. At the end of the stage, in front of the marshal, they can open it. They are also subjected to random scrutiny, even with metal detectors, to check if any one of the crew is carrying one secret device.

[dimviii]

puncture at almost full speed for Yazeed Al Rajhi
https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1347584847766835200

[Mirek]

Loeb still in the dunes...

Prokop today 2 punctures and 3 broken driveshafts (third some half kilometers before finish).

[dimviii]

Loeb still in the dunes...


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErOdxgpW8AUoT6C?format=jpg&name=large

[Mirek]

I know it's just a regulatrity event but still today was the first ever (sort of) Dakar stage victory for Škoda by Ondřej Klymčiw :D The rally B-class 130LR which was never designed for off road events is the far lowest car of the whole entry field but on the other hand it proves that it was an extremely reliable and tough car.

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1349086672386928640

[Mirek]

How to win a stage without windshield (luckily for them they started first and kept being first). Watch at 3:30.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW8XmP0OOWo&feature=youtu.be

[Mirek]

Thierry Sabine, the founder of Dakar rally, tragically died exactly 35 years ago.
https://www.ewrc.cz/clanek/35676-thierry-sabine-otec-dakaru-35-let/

[Sulland]

I know it's just a regulatrity event but still today was the first ever (sort of) Dakar stage victory for Škoda by Ondřej Klymčiw :D The rally B-class 130LR which was never designed for off road events is the far lowest car of the whole entry field but on the other hand it proves that it was an extremely reliable and tough car.

Love that he chose an old Skoda!
As he says, if you make a miss, then it is no longer regularity when you are catching up. Then you drive as fast as you can, or dare!
Been there, done that!

hopefully the classic class will grow next year!

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EruSPY1WMAEiOyf?format=jpg&name=large

[Mirek]

Unfortunately French biker Pierre Cherpin, seriously injured in stage 7, passed away during the airlift to France.

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1350172975312613379

[dimviii]

heli touching a competitor vehicle

https://twitter.com/voiceofrally/status/1350377876596682752

[Mirek]

Ken Block testing Extreme-E car during Dakar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1SrE_cBoTc

[MartijnS]

That’s from last year ^.

Kevin Abbring tested the new electric car of GCK Motorsport for about 10 days or so during Dakar.

[dimviii]

How a veteran conquered Dakar

One of the closely watched participants in this year’s Dakar Rally was a ŠKODA 130 LR. Although it took part in the veterans’ category and had an experienced crew, it was this ŠKODA model’s first-ever start in the desert race.

https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/motorsport/how-a-veteran-conquered-dakar/?utm_source=twitter