I’ve been chasing the 2010 Dakar rally for the last five days as a guest of VW Motorsport. I joined the ultra-professional team at the rally’s half way point at Antofagasta on the Chilean coast.
Unfortunately one does not get to really witness the daily action as the special stages are a closely guarded secret until the previous evening, which makes choosing a viewing spot a bit of lottery. And not to mention the fact that special stages wind through the countryside that is usually only accessible by a specialised off-road machine, such as a rally vehicle. However, I have been privy to the behind the scenes action within the VW outfit, and some of the feelings about the different drivers from within the team.
Let me start off by saying that all the drivers and co-drivers are approachable and for the most part friendly. And I really appreciated the fact that I was recognised and welcomed by local lads Giniel de Villiers and Ralph Pitchford. And since I have been a part of the “crew” for the better part of a week now Mark Miller and Nasser Al-Attiyah have also started to recognise the South African guy.
I write this at the end of the day that saw the race and supporters cross from Chile back into Argentina. The day started for all rally personnel traversing Paso Libertedores in the Andes quite close to the Western hemisphere’s highest peak, Aconcagua (6962 metres).
We went from 6,5 degrees C to 38 deg C in a matter of hours.
And as the temperature outside rocketed so too did the race action. Race leader Carlos Sainz had his lead halved when he suffered two slow punctures on day’s special stage. As it stands Sainz’s team-mate Al-Attiyah is now within five minutes of the race leader.
There are just three days of race action left and even though the VW team are still not celebrating a victory – ask anyone within the team about the 1-2-3 at the finish and the only answer (in heavily accented German) one receives is “There is still a long way to go, and anything can happen” – it is likely that the winner will be driving a blue car.
Defending champ De Villiers was essentially removed from contention early on, which left his team-mates to battle for victory. As it turns out American Mark Miller and co-driver Pitchford are slightly behind on the leaderboard 23 mins in arrears. If reliability is not an issue top step on the podium could well come down to Sainz and his Qatari team-mate. Speaking to members of the team it seems that a win for Miller or more so Al-Attiyah would be highly popular.
Seemingly stages 12 and 13 are going to be “make or break” for the newest member of VW’s driving strength. He has less to lose and the dunes of special stage 13 are well suited to his fast, fearless driving style. Even Giniel agrees that Nasser reads the dunes very well and is extremely fast in the sandy stuff.
So, it’s all to play for in the world’s most gruelling off-road event, and by the time I return to my desk the champagne bottles will be empty, the trophy engraved and the plans will already be underway for the 2011 Dakar Rally.
(Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz were slowed down by two punctures on Stage 11 yesterday as Team X-Raid’s Guerlain Chicherit and Tina Thoerner tasted their first victory of this year’s event. Orlando Terranova and Maimon Pascal piloted their Mitsubishi Lancer to second, 30 seconds behind the X3 CC, while de Villiers and von Zitzewitz were a further nine seconds behind in third.
The 12th stage consists of 796 km, with a 476 km-long timed section. After 204 km into the special, competitors will return to the tarmac to pass through a nature reserve, and continue off-road after 334 km on the way to San Rafael – ed)