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23h50 - Day's Wrap

THE DAKAR CONCERTINA

Peugeot, Toyota team battles tighten

It seemed a concertina was at play as Spain’s Carlos Sainz dominated Thursday’s sixth stage of Dakar 2018, leading from the start as he opened up a four minute lead over Peugeot teammate and overall leader, Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel as the race crossed into the Bolivia and the extreme altitudes of the Andes. 

Peterhansel drove a measured day to fend off the chasing pack headed by Toyota Hilux duo, Qatari Nasser Al Attiyah and South African Dakar hero Giniel de Villiers. Mini driver, Finn Mikko Hirvonen ended fifth from Cyril Despres’ Peugeot and the third Toyota of Martin Ten Brinke, while Argentine driver and SA navigator Lucio Alvares and Rob Howie’s Toyota, Martin Prokop’s Ford F150 and Jakub Przygonski’s Mini closed off the top ten. 

The concertina effect came in the overal results as the day’s result served to close up the intra team rivalry between the Peugeots up front as second overall Sainz narrowed the gap to overall race leader Peterhansel to 16 minutes 25 seconds, while the Toyotas also closed in on each other, with ten Brinke, Al Attiyah and de Villiers now separated by all of fifteen minutes in the tussle for the final podium step.

South African duo Hennie de Klerk and Gerhard Schutte were meanwhile running in 28th in class in the TreasuryOne Amarok embroiled in a battle for overall the rookie lead with Pole Boris Vacuík’s Ford at the time of writing.

The motorcycles produced just as exciting a stage as Frenchman Antoine Meo powered his KTM to the win, 30 seconds clear of a provisional dead heat for second between Honda-mounted Argentine Kevin Benavides and KTM duo Toby Price and Matthias Walkner following a dogfight throughout the afternoon. Xavier de Soutrait was provisionally fifth for Yamaha ahead of van Beveren, Barreda and Guell, while Benavides moved into a slender 1 minute 50 second overall lead over van Beveren, who sat a further minute clear of Walkner, de Soultrait, Barreda and Price.

South African David Thomas was running 54th, Donavan van der Langeberg 61st, Willem du Toit 66th and Gerrie van der Byl 99th at the time of writing. Sady Wessel Bosman opted not to continue this morning following a brave effort toward the back of the bike field.

The bike route was shortened to start across the border as Dakar 2018 headed away from the coastal dunes of Peru up into the Bolivian Andes, with the whole of today’s stage run at altitudes peaking out at 4700 metres along the shores of Lake Titicaca and into Bolivia  en route to La Paz, where Dakar takes its traditional rest day on Friday. 

23h20 - cars: Peterhansel is first car home, but Sainz is four minutes faster when he arrives to take the stage win for Peugeof.

22h15 - cars: Sainz leads Peterhansel, Hirvonen, Al Attiyah, Hirvonen, de Villiers and ten Brinke out of sector 6 of 9

21h30 - cars: Finally the car stage resumes

21h00 - cars: Still no action on the car front after the border control since our last report at 17h00 SA time...

20h55 - bikes: Carreras and Quintanilla move into 4th and 5th with Argentine rider du Plessis looking set for a top five finish - none of which will have a major effect on the overall standings

20h45 - bikes: Wow - what a stage - Frenchman Antoine Meo powers his KTM to the win, 30 seconds clear of a provisional dead heat for second between Honda-mounted Argentine Kevin Benavides and KTM duo Toby Price and Matthias Walkner following a dogfight throughout the afternoon. Xavier de Soutrait was provisionally fifth for Yamaha ahead of van Beveren, Barreda and Guell, while Benavides moved into a slender 1 minute 50 second overall lead over van Beveren, who sat a further minute clear of Walkner, de Soultrait, Barreda and Price

20h45 - bikes: South African David Thomas was running 54th, Donavan van de Langeberg 61st, Willem du Toit 66th and Gerrie van der Byl 99th at the time of writing. Sady Wessel Bosman opted not to continue this morning following a brave effort toward the back of the bike field.

20h25 - bikes: 15 seconds cover leader Price, Meo and Benavides through the final checkpoint...

20h00 - bikes: CP3 - now Price leads Benavides and Meo by just 20 sec, Soultrait Guell and Walkner

19:45 - bikes - Barreda loses time leaving Price, Benavides and Guell in pursuit of leader Soultrait 

19h30 - bikes: The motorcycles are well into their shortened stage with de Soutrait and Barreda fighting out a Yamaha-Honda due up front ahead of Quintanila, Aubert, Price and Lady hero Lala Sanz

18h05 - cars: Hennie de Klerk and Gerhard Schutte bring the TreasuryOne Amarok into the border control in 30th

18h00 - cars: While Sainz will set off from the border control with a reasonable lead over Peterhansel, Peterhansel, Attiyah, Hirvonen, de Villiers, ten Brinke and Terranova will be split by a little over a minute. Should prove an interesting dice to La Paz... 

17h00 - cars: Sainz is first to reach the neutralization point for the border crossing to Bolivia - he's now a minute and 47 sec clear of Peterhansel with Al Attiyah provisionally third ahead of de Villiers and Ten Brinke - the Toyotas have traded places behind the Peugeots so far today withthe Minis of Hirvonen and Terranova also in the fight.

16h25 - cars: Carlos Sainz was quickest through today's first sector of eight, 42 seconds clear of Peugeot teammate and overall leader Stephane Peterhansel with the Toyotas of Nasser Al Attiyah and Giniel de Villiers in close attendance

13h20 - bikes: The first part of the bike stage over a 4 700 metre pass has been cancelled for the bikes with competitors currently on the link stage that will take them to the second part of the special, which Joan Barreda will kick off at 18h30 SA time. The car stage remains unchanged.

11h20 - cars: Perhaps the most exciting news yesterday is however that of TreasuryOne Motorsport crew Hennie de Kerk and Gerhard Schutte ending up 37th on the day to move their Amarok up to 33rd overall and second overall of Dakar's 2018 rookies - just 10 minutes behind the leading debutants.

11h10 - cars: Giniel de Villiers enjoyed a better day Wednesday, coming home third on the day to jump back from 8th to fifth overall behind SA team Gazoo Toyota teammates Bernhard Ten Brinke and Nasser Al Attiyah - all three cars still running strong in spite of a skewed paying field, while archrivals Peugeot, tyre pressure regulation advantage and all, are down to three cars, one of which is well behind, while the Mini attack has been decimated in the opening four days. South African navigator Rob Howie reading notes for Toyota driver Alvares, ended 16th on the day to move up to 15th overall.

11h05 - bikes: SA's other three motorcyclists, David Thomas brought his Husqvarna home a fine 47th, while Donovan van de Langeberg ended up 58th, and Willem du Toit 78th - they currently respectively lie 48th, 65th and 66th overall. 

11h00 - all: Al the South Africans racing Dakar this year once again reached the finish last night - most notably Lesotho-based Wessel Bosman who was last home last night in 114th, 12 hours behind day's winner Barreda and Gerry van der Byl, two positions and 30 minutes earlier. They currently sit 111th and 114th overall.

10h15 - all: It's all change today as Dakar 2018 heads away from the coastal dunes of Peru up into the Bolivian Andes, with the whole of today's stage run at atitudes of 3900 metres (more than twice that of Johannesburg) and more, peaking out at 4700 metres (well beyond twice the elevation of the highest point in SA!) It's a late start today, with the first car away 16h30 SA time and the bikes getting away three hours later, after the crews have climbed up the escarpment before racing along the shores of Lake Titicaca, with a break along the way to cross the border to Bolivia  en route to La Paz, where Dakar takes its traditional rest day on Friday. Be sure to follow the action as it unfolds this evening right here on TreasuryOne's Motorsport Media Live Blog...

ENDS

Issued on behalf of Dakar 2024 Daily News

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