2015 DAKAR Rally / 2014 DAKAR Series

[954Stealth]

Originally Posted by Blipit_

Stealth there is a really good video on Robby Gordon's youtube channel "planetrobbydotcom". It is Road to Dakar: Part 1, originally aired on NBCsports. It details building his new "Gordini", a shorter wheelbase truck. Going through testing, and all the prep leading up to 2015 Dakar.

I havent seen that I'll definitely check it out. Thanks, Blip!

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MINI has started the 2015 Dakar Rally with a stage win. Orlando Terranova (AR) and his co-driver Bernardo Graue (AR) in their MINI ALL4 Racing won the first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America.




Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (QT/FR) in the MINI ALL4 Racing had originally won the stage but were later penalized and are now down in seventh place overall.

The MINI duo Joan “Nani” Roma/Michel Périn (ES/FR), who won last year’s edition of the Dakar Rally, stopped ten kilometres into the stage and had to be towed to the bivouac by the service truck.

On day one the competitors had to cover a total of 833 kilometres which lead from Buenos Aires (AR) to Villa Carlos Paz (AR). They had to tackle a challenging first special stage after Saturday’s opening ceremony in the capital of Buenos Aires (AR). The start of the stage was located at the river delta of the Rio de la Plata right outside of Buenos Aires. The stage was a mixture of fast gravel sections and tight 90 degrees bends in the Argentinean countryside.

Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR) in the MINI ALL4 Racing are currently in a strong fourth position overall. The Dutch duo Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar are also in the top ten with their MINI ALL4 Racing car. They are currently in ninth position overall.

On Monday the competitors will face one of the toughest challenges of the whole Dakar Rally. Leg 2 (Villa Carlos Paz/San Juan) will include the longest special stage of the whole event – 518 kilometres in total. The stage will be held on hard terrain followed by dusty sections, dried river beds as well as a sandy stretch with high dunes and very fine sand to the finish.


Overall classification after leg 1 (Top 5).

01 Terranova/Graue - MINI ALL4 Racing - 1:13:12h
02 Gordon/Campbell - 1:13:54h
03 De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz - 1:14:02h
04 Holowczyc/Panseri – MINI ALL4 Racing - 1:14:06h
05 Spataro/Lozada - 1:14:08h

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and this guy got lost!



Read about it here:
http://www.motorsport.com/dakar/news...land-gets-lost

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Sadly, The Dakar Rally claimed its first life....

.....: Motorcyclist Michal Henrik dies in Dakar Rally

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Updated Rally news:
Following Monday's first real challenge of the 2015 Dakar for the ALDO Racing Team, Canadians David Bensadoun and Patrick Beaulé were back on track Tuesday for an easier stage 3 that took them from San Juan to Chilecito, Argentina where they crossed the finish line in 43rd position. Starting 51st on the day for a short 26-kilometre liaison that led them to a less intense 284-kilometre special stage, the Bensadoun-Beaulé tandem had no problem dealing with the red earth tracks, overlooking steep peaks and plunging down into canyons, that took them through one of the most beautiful regions of Argentina. Their day ended with a long 232-kilometre scenic journey in Chilecito.




Of the 137 cars that left Buenos Aires on Sunday for the start of the Dakar, three retired on the first day and 34 more did not show up this morning at the starting grid. Wednesday's Stage 4 will see the ALDO Team cross the Andes for the first time this year into Chile where they will finish their day in Copiapo.

Recap of Stage 2 on Monday
One of Bensadoun's nightmares materialized in stage 2 of the Dakar, when his ALDO Toyota Tacoma rolled over on its side near the end of the first real test for all competitors. Even though it was damaged, they continued on to San Juan to finish 57th overall, a slight slide from a 47th place finish on Sunday. The ALDO mechanics spent part of the night overhauling the Toyota which was on the starting grid on Tuesday morning.

ALDO Racing finish position following Stage 2: 57th

ALDO Racing overall standings following Stage 2: 51st

ALDO Racing finish position following Stage 3: 43rd

The next press release will be issue Thursday, January 8 following Stages 4 & 5 of the Dakar. In the meantime, media and fans should visit the ALDO Racing Facebook page at (https://www./pages/ALDO-Racing/1420010304880026) for daily updates, plus images and comments.

On Tap for Stages 4 & 5:

ARGENTINA - CHILE

STAGE 4, Day 4 - Wednesday, January 7: Chilecito - Copiapo

AT NIGHT THE ROUTE IS TWICE AS HARD!

The competitors will have to prove they are worthy of entering Chile! A very early start and a climb to a height of 4,800 metres will precede the border crossing at Paso San Francisco. The really challenging section will begin with a gradual warm-up on the mining tracks, up to 45 degrees Celsius, before drivers are faced with the reality of the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world. The route here is open and sandy. Over the course of the last 40 kilometres, the giant dunes and basins of Copiapo will have to be tackled and for many, this will be at night. Overcoming them will require finesse and instinct. Liaison sections: 594 km - Special stage: 315 km - Total: 909 km

CHILE

STAGE 5, Day 5 - Thursday, January 8: Copiapo - Antofagasta

CREATING THE SURPRISE

This is the first of the rare special stages in which all categories will compete. At the start of the race, the most confident drivers will be able to take advantage of the fast tracks to try to move up in the overall standings. But the temptation to do so may be risky because of the fog, and the hard-to-handle fesh-fesh areas where absolute self-control is the only guarantee of success. Overtaking here requires precision handling to the extreme. Liaison sections: 239 km - Special stage: 458 km - Total: 697 km

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Wednesday (Leg 4 - Chilecito/Copiapo) the drivers will cross the border to Chile. Stage four will be started up in the Andes at an altitude of just over 3,000 metres and will be characterized by twisty mountain roads at the beginning. Later they have to cross large dunes with extremely fine sand before reaching the finish line in Copiapo, which is located at an altitude of approximately 1,000 metres above sea level.



Overall classification after leg 3 (Top 5).

01 Al-Attiyah/Baumel - MINI ALL4 Racing - 9:21:26h
02 De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz - 9:26:18h
03 Terranova/Graue – MINI ALL4 Racing - 9:39:31h
04 Sainz/Cruz - 9:40:58h
05 Al Rajhi/Gottschalk - 9:41:34h


Coming up.

Day 4 (07 January 2015).
Start/finish: Chilecito/Copiapo (Leg 4)
Total distance: 909 km, Special stage: 315 km, Liaison: 594 km


MINI ALL4 Racing 2015 Dakar Rally Lineup.

Monster Energy Rally Raid Team.

#300 Nani Roma/Michel Périn (ES/FR)
#305 Orlando Terranova/Bernardo „Ronnie“ Graue (AR/AR)
#306 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR)

X-raid Team.

#310 Vladimir Vasilyev/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RU/RU)
#314 Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NL/NL)
#319 Boris Garafulic/Filipe Palmeiro (CL/PT)
#329 Aidyn Rakhimbayev/Anton Nikolaev (KZ/RU)
#332 Zhou Yong/Andreas Schulz (CN/DE)
#334 Stephan Schott/Holm Schmidt (DE/DE)

Qatar Rally Team.

#301 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (QT/FR)

[954Stealth]

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by 954Stealth

All4 Racing's Mini

Looks exactly like the Mini from my wife !
And as always thanks for sharing...And not to forget => "Happy New Year my friend" .

[954Stealth]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Looks exactly like the Mini from my wife !
And as always thanks for sharing...And not to forget => "Happy New Year my friend" .

I hope she doesn't drive it like that!!!!

Happy New Year to you too

[954Stealth]

Stage 4:

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[ortho281]

Love watching the Dakar. Nice post!

[954Stealth]

These are little out of order so sorry for that

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Stage 4 .... Mini clinches!!

Munich (DE). The MINI ALL4 Racing has once again proven its excellent drivability and reliability under tough conditions: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QT) and his co-driver Mathieu Baumel (FR) have clinched yet another stage win at the 2015 Dakar Rally. The duo was quickest on leg four from Chilecito (AR) to Copiapo (CL), extending their lead in the overall classification to 8:15 minutes.






Joan “Nani” Roma (ES) and his co-driver Michel Périn (FR) complemented the first one-two victory for MINI at this year’s Dakar. The very experienced duo, who won the Dakar Rally last year, scored an excellent second place and moved up another eleven places in the overall classification. They are currently in 44th place.

Stage four was started high up in the Andes mountains at an altitude of over 3,000 metres above sea level. At the beginning the drivers had to master twisty and very challenging mountain roads before crossing the border to Chile.

The following downhill ride to today’s finish line in Copiapo, which is located at an altitude of approximately 1,000 metres above sea level, turned out to be another tough challenge for all participants. On the final stretch of today’s stage the drivers had to tackle the high dunes around Copiapo. Many drivers got stuck and lost precious time.

Orlando Terranova/Bernardo Graue (AR/AR) in their MINI ALL4 Racing were first car on the road today. Unfortunately they hit a stone right after the first checkpoint and lost a lot of time. However, they are still in the race. Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NL/NL) finished in 10th place and are now in a strong 6th position overall. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR), who finished 12th today, are also in an excellent 5th position overall.

On Thursday the Dakar will face another tough adventure. The drivers have to cut across the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth, on their way from Copiapo to Antofagasta. The 458 kilometre long stage will mainly be characterized by very fine sand (called fesh fesh) as well as gravel and a lot of massive stones covered with desert sand.

Overall classification after leg 4 (Top 6).

01 Al-Attiyah/Baumel - MINI ALL4 Racing - 12:30:44h
02 De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz - 12:38:59h
03 Al Rajhi/Gottschalk - 12:54:17h
04 Ten Brinke/Colsoul - 13:13:16h
05 Holowczyc/Panseri – MINI ALL4 Racing - 13:14:14h
06 Van Loon/Rosegaar – MINI ALL4 Racing – 13:15:58h

Coming up.

Day 5 (08 January 2015).
Start/finish: Copiapo/Antofagasta (Leg 5)
Total distance: 697 km, Special stage: 458 km, Liaison: 239 km

MINI ALL4 Racing 2015 Dakar Rally Lineup.

Monster Energy Rally Raid Team.

#300 Nani Roma/Michel Périn (ES/FR)
#305 Orlando Terranova/Bernardo „Ronnie“ Graue (AR/AR)
#306 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR)

X-raid Team.

#310 Vladimir Vasilyev/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RU/RU)
#314 Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NL/NL)
#319 Boris Garafulic/Filipe Palmeiro (CL/PT)
#329 Aidyn Rakhimbayev/Anton Nikolaev (KZ/RU)
#332 Zhou Yong/Andreas Schulz (CN/DE)
#334 Stephan Schott/Holm Schmidt (DE/DE)

Qatar Rally Team.

#301 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (QT/FR)

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Bmw Press Release:

Fifth stage win for MINI at the 2015 Dakar Rally // Vasilyev claims victory at stage five // Six MINI ALL4 Racing finish within the top ten.
(BMW Pressgroup, 09.01.2015)



Munich (DE). Vladimir Vasilyev and his co-driver Konstantin Zhiltsov in the MINI ALL4 Racing have won stage five at the 2015 Dakar Rally. The two Russians, who won the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies in the MINI ALL4 Racing in 2014, turned out to be the best navigators on the challenging 458 kilometre long special stage, moving up four places in the overall classification. They are now in a strong seventh position.

Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (QT/FR) were fourth quickest today and extended their lead in the overall classification. The experienced offroad duo, which finished 3rd overall last year, is now 10:35 minutes ahead of their closest rivals De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz.

On leg five the Dakar had to master the unforgivable Atacama Desert in Chile. The 697 kilometre-long route lead from Copiapo to Antofagasta. The special stage was held on loose gravel as well as huge dunes with extremely fine “fesh fesh” sand at an altitude of up to 3,000 metres above sea level. The constantly changing soil was extremely demanding for the tires, thus a lot of drivers suffered tire failures.

“The stage was really hard – not easy – with a lot of fesh-fesh,” Al-Attiyah said. “In the last 10 kilometres we got a flat tyre, so then we changed the wheel, it only took us 1m35s which is quite fast. I’m quite happy to finish the day with just one puncture and without any trouble with the car. I’m glad I did not win the stage, because tomorrow will be very difficult and I would like someone else other than Mathieu and myself to open the road.”

MINI made the best out of the tough conditions and finished the day on a high note: Six MINI ALL4 Racing cars were within the top ten, including Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR) who were seventh quickest and moved up to fourth place overall.

“We had a trouble-free day and did not even encounter a puncture,” Holowczyc said. “Some sections of the stage represented a tough test for the body as the car was given a good shaking. But there also were nice technical and flowing sections that were big fun.”

Joan ”Nani” Roma (ES) and his co-driver Michel Périn (FR) finished in 8th position. Roma said: “We had three punctures during the final kilometres. One in the dust of Orlando, and the other two slightly later. Very annoying as the MINI ran really well, apart from the punctures.”

Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NL/NL) were in ninth moving up another place in the overall classification. They are now in an excellent fifth position. Orlando Terranova/Bernardo Graue (AR/AR) in the MINI ALL4 Racing completed the top ten today. “Actually, it was a really nice stage but it also was dangerous as the air was filled with dust,” Terranova said. “Therefore, overtaking was really difficult.”

Leg six on Friday will lead from Antofagasta further north to Iquique. The 277 kilometre long stage six will be comparatively short but very intense. The drivers have to master large dunes with fine sand again. Navigation will be the key factor to success as many of the dunes will look the same.



Overall classification after leg 5 (Top 5).
01 Al-Attiyah/Baumel - MINI ALL4 Racing - 16:53:26h
02 De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz - 17:04:01h
03 Al Rajhi/Gottschalk - 17:13:55h
04 Holowczyc/Panseri – MINI ALL4 Racing - 17:42:21h
05 Van Loon/Rosegaar – MINI ALL4 Racing – 17:46:51h


Coming up.

Day 6 (09 January 2015).
Start/finish: Antofagasta/Iquique (Leg 6)
Total distance: 649 km, Special stage: 255 km, Liaison: 392 km


MINI ALL4 Racing 2015 Dakar Rally Lineup.

Monster Energy Rally Raid Team.

#300 Nani Roma/Michel Périn (ES/FR)
#305 Orlando Terranova/Bernardo „Ronnie“ Graue (AR/AR)
#306 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR)

X-raid Team.

#310 Vladimir Vasilyev/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RU/RU)
#314 Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NL/NL)
#319 Boris Garafulic/Filipe Palmeiro (CL/PT)
#329 Aidyn Rakhimbayev/Anton Nikolaev (KZ/RU)
#332 Zhou Yong/Andreas Schulz (CN/DE)
#334 Stephan Schott/Holm Schmidt (DE/DE)

Qatar Rally Team.

#301 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (QT/FR)

Find more photos and videos in high resolution of the Dakar participants in the MINI ALL4 Racing on the BMW Media Website by clicking here.

Media contact.BMW Sports Communications
Danilo Coglianese
Telephone: +49-176-601-72405
E-mail: danilo.coglianese@bmwgroup.com
Media website: www.press.bmwgroup-sport.com

[954Stealth]

Munich (DE). Nasser Al-Attiyah (QT) and his co-driver Mathieu Baumel (FR) continue to be the men to beat at this year’s Dakar Rally. The successful duo also won stage ten in the MINI ALL4 Racing at the toughest challenge in motorsports extending their lead in the overall classification. It was their fourth stage win at this year’s Dakar. They are now leading De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz by 28:22 minutes.



Orlando Terranova/Bernardo Graue (AR/AR) perfected the MINI one-two win today finishing 1:35 minutes behind Al-Attiyah/Baumel. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR) were in seventh place today and are still in a strong fourth place overall.

Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NL/NL) finished eleventh just outside the top ten. However, the Dutch duo is still in fifth place overall. Meanwhile, Joan “Nani” Roma/Michel Périn (ES/FR) experienced a difficult day. The 2014 Dakar winners crashed after 193 kilometre and were unable to continue.

On Wednesday the drivers had to master another tricky special stage on their way from Calama in Chile to Salta in Argentina. Very fast gravel roads at an altitude of over 4,000 metres were a tough challenge for the engines and drivers alike.

The thin air had a big influence on the physical condition of the drivers as well as on the engine power. However, the MINI ALL4 Racing again proved to be a reliable and strong car under these extreme circumstances.

Stage eleven on Thursday will be held at a much lower altitude of 1,500 metres at the maximum. The just 194 kilometre-long stage, which is part of leg eleven from Salta (AR) to Termas de Rio Hondo (AR), will consist of very fast roads often lined with trees. The drivers will have to be very vigilant again.

Overall classification after leg 10 (Top 5).
01 Al-Attiyah/Baumel - MINI ALL4 Racing - 35:19:37h
02 De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz - 35:47:59h
03 Al Rajhi/Gottschalk - 36:02:45h
04 Holowczyc/Panseri – MINI ALL4 Racing - 36:43:19h
05 Van Loon/Rosegaar – MINI ALL4 Racing - 38:10:50h


Coming up.

Day 12 (15 January 2015).
Start/finish: Salta/Termas de Rio Hondo (Leg 11)
Total distance: 524 km, Special stage: 194 km, Liaison: 326 km


MINI ALL4 Racing 2015 Dakar Rally Lineup.

Monster Energy Rally Raid Team.

#300 Nani Roma/Michel Périn (ES/FR)
#305 Orlando Terranova/Bernardo „Ronnie“ Graue (AR/AR)
#306 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR)

X-raid Team.

#310 Vladimir Vasilyev/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RU/RU)
#314 Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NL/NL)
#319 Boris Garafulic/Filipe Palmeiro (CL/PT)
#329 Aidyn Rakhimbayev/Anton Nikolaev (KZ/RU)
#332 Zhou Yong/Andreas Schulz (CN/DE)
#334 Stephan Schott/Holm Schmidt (DE/DE)

Qatar Rally Team.

#301 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (QT/FR

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Whoops

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Stages 7 & 8 Highlights

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Stage 9

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10

and Tom rolled his buggy!