Volkswagen maintains lead with Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (E/E) in the Race Touareg 3 as Dakar Rally enters second half.
However, with victory on the day in the seventh stage in Chile their team mates Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk (Q/D) have moved to within 1 minute 22 seconds to the Spaniard in the overall standings. In their battle for the lead the two Race Touareg 3 have moved further ahead of their closest pursuer Stéphane Peterhansel in the X-raid-BMW. The Frenchman is already 21 minutes 11 seconds off the lead.
Al-Attiyah celebrated his second stage victory of the rally ahead of Carlos Sainz on the way to Arica from Antofagasta – for Volkswagen it was already the sixth win on the seven stages to date. In the process Al-Attiyah halved the gap to Sainz. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZA/D) completed the successful day in third 2 minutes 56 seconds behind. Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA) got lost in the team’s fourth Race Touareg 3 and lost 39 minutes 11 seconds as a result.
The character of today’s stage resembled the recently driven sixth stage; however the teams completed the route in the opposite direction. A serpentine downhill section to conclude the stage proved so narrow that the drivers had to reverse in some of the corners. The accompanying service fleet also mastered a known route in the opposite direction. The sporting events forced the organiser to change the route: Many teams only reached the bivouac extremely late on the rest day due to a difficult stage. To make the start of the second rally week easier for them, those responsible shortened the original 611 kilometre long seventh stage to 273 kilometres. As a result, the teams already reached the stage finish close to the Rio Loa with its view across the Pacific. It is the only river with its source in the Andes and which does not completely evaporate in the Atacama Desert as it meanders to the sea.
Number of the day
The Volkswagen Motorsport team doctor carries 143 different medicines with him for medical emergencies and for treating typical small "Dakar” wounds: Ointments, pills, medicine for intravenous administration and drops.
Quotes after leg 7 http://www.volkswagen-motorsport.com...st=538&id=4241
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera visits bivouac http://www.volkswagen-motorsport.com...st=538&id=4240