– Third place for Carlos Sainz
– Tough start to week two of the Dakar
After Saturday’s rest day, stage six of the 2019 Dakar took the crews from Arequipa to San Juan de Marcona. The Tanaca dunes proved particularly challenging for the competitors. Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (both ESP) finished third, followed by the French duo of Cyril Despres and Jean-Paul Cottret.
Luck was not on the side of Stéphane Peterhansel and Davide Castera (both FRA), who had to settle for sixth place today.
Sainz was extremely quick today, but was not able to make the most of his performance: « I had to stop for three flat tires, » said the Spaniard. « The tire pressure system did not work properly. I then had to drive with a high tire pressure, which made the day very difficult, as we had to find a suitable route. »
Despres and Cottret followed the two Spaniards over the finish line. The French pair was also in excellent form today: « Tanaca is a special place – a bit like Fiambala in Argentina. The dunes are very soft, so you are always afraid of getting stuck, » explained Despres. « That was actually my best day so far – until we lost our way looking for a waypoint. That moment turned a good day into a mediocre day. » Despres now lies fifth in the overall standings.
Peterhansel was very unfortunate, losing a lot of time when he became stuck in the dunes. « I got stuck shortly before the end of the first part of the special stage, » said the Frenchman. « After that, I pushed hard. However, we then had two punctures. It was not a good day. It will now be very hard to catch Nasser. » The Frenchman slipped back into third place overall after today’s struggles.
Tomorrow’s stage is a loop around the bivouac in Marcona. The competitors face a total of 386 kilometers, 323 of which are against the clock.
Rally Dakar – Result SS6
1. Sebastian Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (FRA) Peugeot – 3h 39m 21s
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota – 3h 41m 38s
3. Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Lucas Cruz (ESP) MINI JCW Buggy – 3h 46m 17s
4. Cyril Despres (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) MINI JCW Buggy – 3h 52m 26s
5. Nani Roma (ESP) / Alex Haro (ESP) MINI JCW Rally – 3h 52m 29s
6. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / David Castera (FRA) MINI JCW Buggy – 3h 58m 10s
7. Martin Prokop (CZE) / Jan Tomanek (CZE) Ford – 3h 58m 43s
8. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota – 4h 02m 50s
9. Bernhard Ten Brinke (NDL) / Xavier Panseri (FRA) Toyota – 4h 06m 50s
10. Stephane Henrard (BEL) / Gatien Du Bois (BEL) Dunbee – 4h 39m 55s…
Rally Dakar – Overall result after SS6
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Mathieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota – 21h 01m 31s
2. Sebastian Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (FRA) Peugeot – 21h 39m 14s
3. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / David Castera (FRA) MINI JCW Buggy – 21h 42m 45s
4. Nani Roma (ESP) / Alex Haro (ESP) MINI JCW Rally – 21h 46m 55s
5. Cyril Despres (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) MINI JCW Buggy – 22h 25m 06s
6. Kuba Przygonski (POL) / Tom Colsoul (BEL) MINI JCW Rally – 23h 04m 41s
7. Martin Prokop (CZE) / Jan Tomanek (CZE) Ford – 23h 32m 33s
8. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (GER) MINI JCW Rally – 25h 06m 31s
9. Bernhard Ten Brinke (NDL) / Xavier Panseri (FRA) Toyota – 25h 20m 15s…
tba. Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Lucas Cruz (ESP) MINI JCW Buggy – 26h 19m 32s
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