– Third place on Thursday for Peterhansel and Boulanger
– Terranova and Graue finish sixth
The fifth leg of this year’s Dakar rally, from Riyadh to Al Qaisumah, saw Stéphane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger (both FRA) extend their overall lead, courtesy of third place on Thursday’s stage. The MINI JCW Buggy crew completed the 456-kilometre stage 2:13 minutes ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah, who lies second overall in his Toyota. Argentineans Orlando Terranova and Ronnie Graue finished sixth in the MINI JCW Rally, a result that sees them climb into eighth place in the overall standings.
Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (both ESP) were once again out of luck on day five. Early navigation issues resulted in them losing roughly 30 minutes on the leaders. Although the MINI JCW Buggy duo was able to reduce their deficit to 15 minutes, they still had to settle for eighth place. The two Spaniards remain in third place overall.
Peterhansel managed to catch Al-Attiyah, who had started before him. However, in order to avoid taking any risk, he opted to remain close to the Qatari. As the two rivals were the first onto the route, the other competitors were able to benefit from the tracks they laid and could consequently set a faster pace. Peterhansel and Boulanger eventually came home in third place.
Stéphane Peterhansel: « That was a proper Dakar leg: the navigation was really tough and the dunes were not easy. We also had more sections with big stones. To be honest, it was not nice to drive, but it was a challenge – like a leg of the Dakar should be. »
The crews continue to Hail tomorrow, where they will spend the rest day on Saturday. Before then, they must tackle another 448 kilometres against the clock. According to the organisers, tomorrow’s entire stage is on sand.
Result of SS5
1. G. De Villiers (RSA) / A. Haro (ESP) – Toyota – 5h 09m 25s
2. B. Baragwanath (RSA) / T. Perry (RSA) – Toyota – 5h 10m 23
3. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / E. Boulanger (FRA) – MINI JCW Buggy – 5h 11m 50s
4. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) – Toyota – 5h 14m 03s
5. M. Prokop (CZE) / V. Chytka (CZE) – Ford – 5h 14m 31s…
7. O. Terranova (ARG) / R. Graue (ARG) – MINI JCW Rally – 5h 18m 49s…
9. C. Sainz /ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) – MINI JCW Buggy – 5h 24m 44s…
12. V. Vasilyev (RUS) / D. Tsyro (UKR) – MINI JCW Rally – 5h 32m 56s…
16. G. Spinelli (BRA) / Y. Haddad (BRA) – MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 50m 22s…
20. D. Krotov (RUS) / O. Uperenko (RUS) – -MINI JCW Rally – 6h 00m 46s…
33. V. Khoroshavtsev (RUS) / A. Nikolaev (RUS) – MINI JCW Rally – 2h 59m 54s
Overall standings after SS5
1. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / E. Boulanger (FRA) – MINI JCW Buggy – 18h 28m 02s
2. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) – Toyota – 18h 34m 13s
3. C. Sainz /ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) – MINI JCW Buggy – 19h 16m 15s
4. J. Przygonski (POL) / T. Gottschalk (GER) – Toyota – 19h 32m 51s
5. M. Prokop (CZE) / V. Chytka (CZE) – Ford – 19h 38m 34s…
8. O. Terranova (ARG) / R. Graue (ARG) – MINI JCW Rally – 19h 58m 07s…
11. V. Vasilyev (RUS) / D. Tsyro (UKR) – MINI JCW Rally – 20h 15m 12s…
15. G. Spinelli (BRA) / Y. Haddad (BRA) – MINI ALL4 Racing – 21h 00m 31s…
25. V. Khoroshavtsev (RUS) / A. Nikolaev (RUS) – MINI JCW Rally – 22h 13m 20s…
34. D. Krotov (RUS) / O. Uperenko (RUS) – MINI JCW Rally – 26h 15m 08s