– All the four AXION Mini All4 Racing pairings make it to the top 10
– Al-Attiyah now third in the overall standings
In the eighth stage – from Salta to Belén – Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and his navigator Mathieu Baumel (FRA) made perfect use of their sand experience. So, the pairing succeeded in not only winning the stage but also battling their way up to third position in the overall standings.
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) and Michel Périn (FRA) also didn’t encounter any major problems on their way across the dunes and crossed the finish line at the end of the 393-kilometre special stage in fifth position, with the other two AXION Mini All4 Racing teams finishing right behind them: Nani Roma / Alex Haro (both ESP) came sixth and Orlando Terranova / Ronnie Graue (both ARG) seventh.
Tomorrow, the teams will stay in the bivouac at Belén while the competitors will have to prove their skills on a loop not far from the Argentinean town. During the course of the 285-kilometre special stage, the drivers will have to cope with a mix of dunes, sand, hard terrain and river beds. The total mileage covered tomorrow amounts to 396 kilometres.
Result stage eight
1st N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 6h 32m 23s
2nd C. Sainz (ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) Peugeot – 4h 32m 35s
3rd S. Peterhansel (FRA) / J.-P. Cottret (FRA) Peugeot – 4h 32m 54s
4th C. Despres (FRA) / D. Castera (FRA) Peugeot – 4h 37m 03s
5th M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 4h 39m 05s
6th J. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) MINI ALL4 Racing – 4h 42m 34s
7th O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI ALL4 Racing – 4h 44m 00s…
Overall standings with eight stages contested
1st S. Peterhansel (FRA) / J.-P. Cottret (FRA) Peugeot – 26h 01m 44s
2nd C. Sainz (ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) Peugeot – 26h 03m 52s
3rd N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 26h 16m 27s
4th M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 26h 38m 26s…
10th J. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) MINI ALL4 Racing – 27h 30m 05s…
16th O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI ALL4 Racing – 28h 11m 16s…
Press Release,