HALLSPEED AND COX - INCREDIBLE JOURNEY!
author: Leon Botha
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Alfie Cox in 2007 - winning at Sun City
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Birthday boy, Alfie Cox will today (Wednesday 6th Jan 2010) start one of the most difficult and longest stages of the 2010 Dakar in fifth position overall.
Alfie who turns 47 today did exceptionally well yesterday to make up two more places moving into the top five positions overall on this tough event.
Despite having problems on the previous stage due to a fuel pump, Alfie did not miss a beat in the South African built Nissan yesterday and said that once again his co-driver Jürgen Schröder performed like a pro!
Giniel de Villiers posted fifth fastest stage time yesterday which is a bit of a surprise as one would expect him to go flat out to try and upset the BMW applecart. Thinking about it, it may be a better guess to say that he might be under instruction to assist any one of the top three Volkswagens if they pick up problems? We may therefore not see any stage wins from him? Giniel is currently in 20th spot and should gain two positions today but the three hour gap to the leaders may prove insurmountable?
Up in front Stéphane Peterhansel extended his lead over second placed Carlos Sainz and he lost the stager to Robby Gordon in the Hummer by only 1 second. The fact that Gordon can run at that pace is actually surprising as that Hummer looks out of control half the time?
Stéphane Peterhansel is now leading the event by 7m36s from Carlos Sainz and by 9m56 from Al-Attiyah.
Mark Miller and South African Ralph Pitchford are holding onto 4th overall.
Due to the fact that many competitors were still out in the stages the organisers were again forced to make changes to the stage yesterday and while the start was delayed by 90 minutes the stage ended at checkpoint three.
Competitors drove 394km to the start of the special stage, crossing the border into Chile in the process.
The first 37km of the special stage was rocky, rough mountain terrain, crossing the highest point in the day’s stage over the Andes, starting at 2300m above sea level, climbing steep to over 3000m before dropping right down to 1600m. The next 53km was fast dirt tracks with hanging dust, affecting visibility. Then the gradual drop through the dunes to 300m above sea level started. In some places the talcum powder like fine sand or ‘fesh-fesh’ as it is called in Africa sucked in vehicles and made the going very strenuous. Many vehicles had to be towed out.
Today will be the first of the real tests (believe it or not) on this year's rally and do not be surprised if you see a few changes at the end of this 668 km Stage 5 later tonight. The Special stage today, the second longest of the 32nd Dakar is 483km long.
On the agenda are the foothills of the Atacama Desert that will offer contenders a varied route alternating between fast sections and boulder sections with e.g. the crossing of two very "rocky" off-road sections and the discovery of the Chilean fesh-fesh - a particularly soft terrain that feels almost like flour.
Riders and drivers are in for a long day and their main aim will be to spare themselves and their machines in this first "truly long" endurance-focused special stage of the 32nd Dakar.
Overall Results for Cars after Special Stage 4
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Pos.
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No.
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Driver
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Co-Driver
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Make
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Time
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Trailing
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1
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301
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PETERHANSEL (FRA)
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COTTRET (FRA)
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BMW
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10:54:50
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2
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303
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SAINZ (ESP)
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CRUZ (ESP)
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VOLKSWAGEN
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11:02:26
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00:07:36
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3
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306
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AL-ATTIYAH (QAT)
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GOTTSCHALK (DEU)
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VOLKSWAGEN
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11:04:46
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00:09:56
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4
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305
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MILLER (USA)
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PITCHFORD (ZAF)
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VOLKSWAGEN
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11:14:15
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00:19:25
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5
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329
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COX (ZAF)
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SCHRÖDER (DEU)
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Nissan Overdrive
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11:54:20
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00:59:30
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6
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308
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HOLOWCZYC (POL)
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FORTIN (BEL)
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Nissan Overdrive
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11:55:28
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01:00:38
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7
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314
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SOUSA (PRT)
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BAUMEL (FRA)
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MITSUBISHI
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11:57:50
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01:03:00
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8
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302
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GORDON (USA)
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GRIDER (USA)
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HUMMER
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11:59:43
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01:04:53
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9
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322
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SPINELLI (BRA)
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PALMEIRO (PRT)
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MITSUBISHI
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12:11:13
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01:16:23
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10
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312
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NEVES (BRA)
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MAESTRELLI (BRA)
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VOLKSWAGEN
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12:15:25
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01:20:35
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