Camelia Liparoti and Annett Fischer (Yamaha YXZ1000R-Yamaha Powered by X-Raid Team) finished in 13th place in the special at 1:04 am behind the American Seth Quintero, winner of the stage. Mattias Ekstrom and Emil Bergkvist (Yamaha YXZ1000R-Yamaha Powered by X-Raid Team), out of the general classification, crossed the finish line in 8th place at 38’30 minutes!
In the provisional, Camelia Liparoti and Annett Fischer are firmly established in 2nd place in the general classification at 2:01 behind the Czechs Josef Machacek and Pavel Vyoral.
Mattias Ekström: « For me, that was by far the best leg of the Dakar. The scenery was great and then you had these amazing dunes – I really liked that. The stage was definitely demanding and we lost a lot of time in the dust at the start, but it went very well from about the halfway point.. »
Camelia Liparoti: « It felt like we had hundreds of kilometres of stony routes again today. After that, we finally arrived at the great dunes. We got through them nice and quick, and had a lot of fun. However I then hit a stone and picked up two punctures in one go. We lost a bit of time there, but that was okay. Tomorrow is the last leg and I always get a bit emotional – happy to have made it and sad that it is over at the same time. »
Annett Fischer: « Today we had a really nice stage! Because of the really late starting time this morning, we just managed to get out of the dunes in daylight. This meant there was a real dusky atmosphere! The dunes were not just beautiful, they were the most difficult ones of the whole rally as well! The hidden rocks in the middle of the dunes are very tricky, dangerous, and something very unique here in Saudi. The last 60 km we had to drive in complete darkness! »
As Ekström rejoined the rally within the “Dakar experience” today, he is no longer listed in the overall standings for the T3.1 light prototypes.
T3.1 light prototypes – result of SS11
1. S. Quintero (USA) / D. Zenz (GER) – OT3 – 4h 58m 17s
2. K. Meeke (GBR) / W. Rosegaar (NDL) – PH-Sport – 5h 16m 19s
3. L. Baud (FRA) / L. Minaudier (FRA) – PH-Sport – 5h 19m 38s
4. J. Bergounhe (FRA) / J. Brucy (FRAU) – PH-Sport – 5h 26m 42s
5. C. Gutierrez (ESP) / F. Cazalet (FRA) – OT3 – 5h 29m 11s…
8. M. Ekström (SWE) / E. Bergkvist (SWE) – Yamaha YXZ1000R prototype – 5h 36m 47s…
13. C. Liparoti (ITA) / A. Fischer (GER) – Yamaha YXZ1000R prototype – 6h 03m 08s…
T3.1 light prototypes – overall standings after SS11
1. J. Machacek (CZE) / P. Vyoral (CZE) – Can-Am – 56h 37m 21s
2. C. Liparoti (ITA) / A. Fischer (GER) – Yamaha YXZ1000R prototype – 58h 39m 15s
3. P. Pinchedez (FRA) / V. Ferri (FRA) – Pinch Racing – 59h 22m 31s
4. J.-L. Pisson (FRA) / V. Sarreaud (FRA) – PH-Sport – 59h 23m 40s
5. S. Quintero (USA) / D. Zenz (GER) – OT3 – 59h 44m 59s…