OH HO HERE WE GO!
author: Leon Botha
El Torrovich or better know as Carlos Sainz started yesterday (Friday 15 Jan 2010) morning in his dress suit and bowler hat from the valet parking area leading the 2010 Dakar by no less than 5m 20s from his Qatari rival and also team "mate" Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Anyone who thinks that the 13th and penultimate stage of the Dakar was an breeze would have thought again if they were strapped into the bucket seat of any of the vehicle that participated.
The top speeds of the leaders were tyre bursting quick and they hung onto speeds in excess of 180km/h for long stretches building atom bomb quality dust plumes into the air. This made it virtually impossible to pass, let alone make up time and pass!
That is exactly what old "Nash" did. He clawed his way through the dust - reeled in his Majesty Spanish Lord Sainz and knocked on his door - literary - to pass!
Och man! Now miester Sainz is truly peesed off!
"Yesterday I drive hees dusta! 120 kilomeetres! Today he bimps me! My team mate he bimped mee! No…No..No! You don’t bimp me! Me Carlos unbimpible! Then he pass mee! He make zigga-zagga to make zee dust manufacture! No…No…No! You don’t manufacture zee dust for Carlos! No..no!
"You ask me I theenk I won event? No I don't theenk I won event …yet!"
I (leon not Carlos) used to have a clothing factory many years ago (as always) and the factory was situated next to an Italian who drove a Ferrari and manufactured genuine Italian tiles from genuine South African clay. The Italian honoured us with a visit once about every three months to check the factory out.
This specific day when I arrived at my factory a few customers parked in my normal parking place and I decided to use one of the Italian's 8 parking spots for a few minutes.
Zieg Heil Mossulini and all that jazz!
Out of the blue and typical of my luck, I had hardly entered my office to start a news day's work when I heard the sweet sound of an angry Ferrari engine tap-tapping at 7500 to 9000 rpm!
This was the first time I ever parked on the silly little man's parking and here he was! Caught me out!
I went out just to greet, curtsy, fart once or twice and at the same time to apologise for making it difficult to park his Ferrari in the remaining 7 places!
When I came through the door into the open the little blimp stood next to my well used BMW already with his hands on his hips and his right leg slightly wide and forward like Napoleon Bonaparte who was also about a bombshell high.
He welcomed me with that typical frown between the eyes you see so many times when a four foot three inch little man are faced with the problem of how to look important in company!
He shouted at me, pressing his short little finger sort of next to my left one and I promptly took him behind the scruff of his neck and the rim of his pants and threw him over the BMW's bonnet before I removed my car from his parking lot.
Now if uncle Carlos has half the ability of my long gone neighbour to make a noise then he must have made a lot of noise yesterday!
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Now tell me .. and stop smiling:"Did you bump him or not?"
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Nasser simply said that Carlos did not allow him to pass under very difficult circumstances - something that was confirmed by Stéphane Peterhansel and many others - and that he managed to do so right near the end of the stage.
The gap between the Carlos and the Jackal is now only 2m 48s while today on the last official stage they have to cover a Special Stage of 206km which means that Al-Attiyah has to chip off 1.22s per kilometre from an upset Spaniard's time.
That's nothing you say?
I agree but then you do not need Sainz in the car you have to catch! Make no mistake and jokes aside - Sainz is, has always been and will probably be a great driver for a few years to come.
No matter how Prima Donnish he can be - that is simply part of his make up and although I don't like his type (probably because of my Ferrari neighbour) I love him to pieces. Give us 10 Carlosietjies in South Africa rallying and we have a game on our hands!
The rest of the Dakar story of yesterday is not really important and all that remains to say before today's last stage is that Kris Nissen will probably shoot Al-Attiyah if he screws up and then he and the whole Volkswagen team will rush back to wherever their drawing boards are to start making serious plans to get on to par with the losing BMW team!
Whoever manufactured the drive shaft on Stéphane Peterhansel's BMW that broke during the event will probably receive the Mother Marvel Award from Volkswagen for a deed well done!
Read this carefully and without taking anything away from a brilliant team - if they finish in a 1-2-3 position today they can count their BMW dished out blessings!
Saturday, 16 January 2010 - Special Stage 14 from Santa Rosa La Pampa to Buenos Aires (Argentina) will stretch over a 166km open section followed by a 206km stage and another 335km open section, which is a total of 707km. That is a quick Pretoria Margate trip!
After travelling from Santa Rosa de la Pampa competitors reach Trenque Lauquen at the start of the special stage.
The event will reach a climax today and all eyes will be on the battle between Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Carlos will have no option but to throw everything he has behind his bid, while Al-Attiyah will not hold back a millisecond!
All this while - I tell you - they have been placed under instructions to bring those cars home in one piece!
The stage finishes at San Carlos de Bolivar
The competitors can also expect a mad build up of spectators who will be out on the route to see the spectacle and cheer on their hero - Carlos Sainz!
After the special a liaison stage of 335 km awaits the exhausted teams, back to the Dakar village in Buenos Aires to prepare for the official ceremonial finish at La Rural on Sunday.
OVERALL STANDINGS AFTER SS13
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1
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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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26:21:23
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00:00:00
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2
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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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26:32:26
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00:02:48
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3
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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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26:43:29
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00:31:48
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4
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307
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CHICHERIT (FRA)
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THOERNER (CHE)
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BMW
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28:24:17
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02:16:49
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5
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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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28:24:33
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04:02:42
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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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MITSUBISHI
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28:42:21
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04:26:32
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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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VOLKSWAGEN
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29:30:21
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05:09:14
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8
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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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29:44:58
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06:01:02
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9
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310
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NOVITSKIY (RUS)
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SCHULZ (DEU)
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MITSUBISHI
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30:38:44
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06:02:55
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10
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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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30:46:33
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06:09:09
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11
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313
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LAVIEILLE (FRA)
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FORTHOMME (BEL)
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BMW
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30:50:06
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06:34:38
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12
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300
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DE VILLIERS (ZAF)
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VON ZITZEWITZ (DEU)
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MITSUBISHI
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30:52:56
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07:16:54
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13
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332
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BARBOSA (PRT)
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RAMALHO (PRT)
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MITSUBISHI
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31:01:48
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08:52:57
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14
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311
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TERRANOVA (ARG)
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MAIMON (FRA)
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BMW
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31:27:33
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09:22:25
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15
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318
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MISSLIN (FRA)
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POLATO (FRA)
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VOLKSWAGEN
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31:30:28
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13:46:48
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16
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336
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LEAL DOS SANTOS (PRT)
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FIUZA (PRT)
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SMG
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31:32:45
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14:49:15
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17
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323
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ERRANDONEA (AND)
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GARCIN (FRA)
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MITSUBISHI
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31:33:49
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17:13:24
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18
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325
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HENRARD (BEL)
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BEGUIN (BEL)
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TOYOTA
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31:56:29
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19:10:15
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19
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317
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VAN DEIJNE (NLD)
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ROSEGAAR (NLD)
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Fast - Speed
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34:32:43
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20:29:51
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20
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338
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GIBON (FRA)
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MIURA (JPN)
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BOWLER
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35:51:56
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21:14:21
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