– Mikko Hirvonen finishes fourth in stage seven
– Part one of the marathon stage completed
The seventh stage of the 2017 Dakar Rally, taking the field from La Paz, yesterday’s venue of the rest day, to Uyuni, represented the first part of the marathon stage. Tonight, the pairings have to work on their cars without the support of their teams and mechanics to prepare them for tomorrow’s stage to Salta, Argentina.
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) and Michel Périn (FRA) took their MINI John Cooper Works Rally to fourth place in today’s special stage. Their team-mates Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA) / Timo Gottschalk (GER) and Orlando Terranova (ARG) / Andreas Schulz (GER) finished eighth and tenth respectively, with Boris Garafulic (CHI) and Filipe Palmeiro (POR) in their MINI ALL4 securing the ninth position, right between them.
Following the torrential rain that fell on the previous days, the stage from La Paz to Uyuni was shortened. Instead of the scheduled 322 kilometres, the competitors had to cover just 161 kilometres in today’s special stage.
“With 40 kilometres covered we drove too far to the left,