– Sainz defends overall lead
– Final leg for the drivers tomorrow
Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) and Paulo Fiuza (POR) claimed their fourth stage win in the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy on the eleventh leg to Haradh. With this win, they were able to come as close as six seconds to Nasser Al-Attiyah who currently holds second place overall. Carlos Sainz and his co-driver Lucas Cruz (both ESP) finished third in their MINI JCW Buggy and defended their lead in the overall standings.
Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski (POL) and Timo Gottschalk (GER) had another good day today. The MINI John Cooper Works Rally crew took fifth place on the stage. A great day also for Alexander Dorosinskiy (RUS) and Oleg Uperenko (LVA), who finished 14th in the MINI ALL4 Racing. Orlando ‘Orly’ Terranova and Bernardo ‘Ronnie’ Graue (both ARG) came home 16th in their MINI JCW Rally.
Peterhansel’s stage win today was the eighth in total for the Bahrain JCW X-raid Team at this year’s Dakar. The Frenchman was tenth onto the stage, but soon established himself at the top of the timing sheets and went on to take the stage win. « The stage was tougher than we expected, with soft sand and precipitous dunes, » said Peterhansel. « You really had to concentrate hard and we pushed from the word go. We are still in for a tough battle with Nasser for second place. I am pleased that we are among the leaders. »
Sainz had several difficulties today: yesterday’s victory meant he had the dubious honour of being first onto the stage, whilst at the same time attempting to keep the gap back to Al-Attiyah in the overall standings as large as possible. « We opened the stage today, and you are always a little more cautious in that case, » said the Spaniard. « You can see the tracks from the motorcycles, but that does not mean that they are suitable for the cars. The route was not easy, with a number of dunes that fell away sharply, on which it would have been easy to make a mistake. I am pleased that we have survived the marathon leg. The important thing now is to focus on tomorrow. »
Przygonski was the second car into the penultimate leg and finished fifth without encountering any major problems. « Today’s stage was not easy and there were a lot of difficult dunes, » said the Pole. « We pushed hard and soon got into a good rhythm. The second week has been much better for us and we are trying to gain as much experience as possible for next year. »
Tomorrow’s leg is the twelfth and final one of the Dakar 2020 in Saudi Arabia. It takes the competitors to Qiddiya, a city near the Saudi capital Riyadh. After a 73-kilometre liaison stage, the drivers must complete a final 374 kilometres against the clock. In the afternoon, the drivers will also complete a lap of the Qiddiya Grand Prix circuit. This does not count towards the rally classifications. They can then look forward to the final podium in the evening.
Dakar Rally – Result SS11
1. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / P. Fiuza (POR) MINI JCW Buggy – 4h 14m 11s
2. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) Toyota – 4h 14m 21s
3. C. Sainz (ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) MINI JCW Buggy – 4h 22m 14s
4. B. Ten Brinke (NDL) / T. Colsoul (BEL) Toyota – 4h 24m 25s
5. J. Przygonski (POL) / T. Gottschalk (GER) MINI JCW Rally – 4h 24m 50s…
14. A. Dorosinskiy (RUS) / O. Uperenko (LVA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 4h 43m 02s…
16. O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI JCW Rally – 4h 51m 19s…
18. D. Krotov (RUS) / D. Tsyro (UKR) MINI JCW Rally – 4h m s…
20. V. Zala (LTU) / S. Jurgelenas (LTU) MINI JCW Rally – 4h 59m 10s…
26. Y. Seaidan (KSA) / A. Kuzmich (RUS) MINI JCW Rally – 5h 17m 27s…
Dakar Rally – Overall result after SS11
1. C. Sainz (ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) MINI JCW Buggy – 41h 37m 51s
2. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) Toyota – 41h 48m 08s
3. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / P. Fiuza (POR) MINI JCW Buggy – 41h 48m 14s
4. Y. Al-Rajhi (KSA) / K. Zhiltsov (RUS) Toyota – 42h 25m 48s
5. G. De Villiers (ZAF) / A. Haro (ESP) Toyota – 42h 44m 25s…
7. O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI JCW Rally – 43h 04m 35s…
9. Y. Seaidan (KSA) / A. Kuzmich (RUS) MINI JCW Rally – 45h 22m 32s…
14. A. Dorosinskiy (RUS) / O. Uperenko (LVA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 46h 40m 11s
15. V. Zala (LTU) / S. Jurgelenas (LTU) MINI JCW Rally – 47h 26m 42s…
18. D. Krotov (RUS) / D. Tsyro (UKR) MINI JCW Rally – 49h 08m 37s…
20. J. Przygonski (POL) / T. Gottschalk (GER) MINI JCW Rally – 50h 09m 12s…
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