Stage 14 Santa Rosa to Buenos Aires notes

Stage 14 - Santa Rosa to Buenos Aires
Saturday, January 16

* Liaison : 166 km
* Speciale : 206 km
* Liaison : 335 km
* Total : 707 km

Breaking news per ASO Dakar website:
Times given in G.M.T. -3

20:05 - Car
303 - CARLOS SAINZ WINS THE 2010 DAKAR!...

Two-times WRC champion in 90 and 92, Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (VW) will have had to wait for his fourth attempt to finally win the most prestigious of all rally raids. Leader in the general standings since stage 5 and winner of two stages in this 32nd edition, Carlos Sainz wins in 47h10'00, 2'12 only ahead of his teammate Naseer Al-Attiyah (VW), and 32'51 ahead of his other teammate US driver Mark Miller (VW). It is therefore a triple victory for Volkswagen to gets here a third title in the Dakar after winning in 1980 and 2009... Ranking fourth 2h17'21 behind the winner is Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel (BMW), who finishes almost 2h ahead of his teammate and countryman Guerlain Chicherit (BMW), who finishes fifth.

20:04 - Bike
2 - CYRIL DESPRES WINS THE 2010 DAKAR!

The winner of 2 special stages in this 32nd edition and the leader in the general standings since stage 3, Frenchman Cyril Despres (KTM) is the winner of the 2010 Dakar 1h02'52 ahead of Norwegian rider Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM), and 1h09'48 ahead of Chilean rider Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez Contardo (Aprilia). The now Andorran resident rider wins the rally raid for the third time after two previous victories in 2005 and 2007 and gives KTM the possibility of joining Yamaha at the top of the number of Dakar final victories with 9 raids won for each of them!

20:02 - Truck
501 - ONE VICTORY AND MANY RECORDS FOR CHAGIN!

With a final time of 55h04'47, Russia's Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) wins the 2010 Dakar in the truck category, 1h13'08 ahead of his teammate and countryman Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) and 10h43'20 ahead of Dutchman Marcel Van Vliet (Ginaf)... The "Tsar" gets his sixth victory in a Dakar after winnint the 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 editions and catches up with Czech driver Karel Loprais in terms of final victory records. Additional cherry on the cake, with 9 new stage victories this year in special stages, Chagin becomes the absolute stage victory record holder in the Dakar with a total of 56 stages won, i.e. one more than French driver Stephane Peterhansel... 9 stage victories in this 32nd edition that allow the Russian to also establish a record of number of truck stage victories in the same edition of a Dakar. Finally, this victory by Chagin is also the ninth victory of Kamaz in a Dakar, another record; the team from Tatarstan has - by the way - also won ALL the special stages of this 32nd edition.

19:52 - Quad
251 - MARCOS PATRONELLI WINS THE QUAD RAID

After finishing second in 2009, Argentine rider Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) wins the 2010 Dakar in the quad category finishing 2h22'59 ahead of his older brother Alejandro patronelli (Yamaha), and 5h 07'31 ahead of Spain's Juan Manuel "Pedrega" Gonzalez Corominas (Yamaha). Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris) stays in fourth place in the final standings 4'12 ahead of Polish rider Rafal Sonik (Yamaha).

19:40 - Car
Stage 14 summary

Pending validation by the race marshalls, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) wins his third stage in the 32nd Dakar, his eighth in any Dakar, 36" ahead of Spain's Carlos Sainz (VW), and 43" ahead of French driver Guerlain Chicherit (BMW)... In the Open category, no surprise as US driver Robby Gordon (Hummer) wins his 13th stage out of 14 with the 7th fastest time at scratch... Finally, in production, French driver Jean-Pierre Strugo (Nissan) gets his first stage victory in the category in this 32nd edition, 30" ahead of his countryman Frederic Chavigny (Nissan), and 2'19 ahead of Japan's Jun Mitsuhashi (Toyota)...

19:37 - Bike
Stage 14 summary

Pending validation by the race marshalls, Portuguese rider Ruben Faria (KTM) wins his first special stage in this 2010 Dakar, his third stage victory in any Dakar, 3'45 ahead of Norway's Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM), and 3'57 ahead of another Portuguese rider, Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha)...

15:20 - Truck
Stage 14 summary

Pending validation by the race marshalls, Russian driver Ilgizar Mardeev (Kamaz) wins his first stage on the 32nd Dakar with a time of 1h41'36, and finishes 2'04 ahead of Dutchman Wulfert Van Ginkel (Ginaf), and 2'20 ahead of Czech driver Martin Macik (Liaz)...

15:15 - Quad
Stage 14 summary

Pending validation by the race marshalls, Polish rider Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) wins his second stage in this year's 32nd Dakar. With a time of 1h45'27, the Pole arrived 4'03 ahead of Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris), and 7'46 ahead of Argentine rider Sebastian Halpern (Yamaha)...

15:00 - Car
342 - Strugo wins the last stage in the production category!...

Tireless driver Jean-Pierre Strugo (Nissan), who was racing his 24th Dakar this year, reminded his adversaries of his presence by winning the last special stage in this 32nd edition in the production category arriving 30" ahead of his countryman Frederic Chavigny (Nissan), and 2'19 ahead of Jun Mitsuhashi (Toyota)... Nothing to worry about however for the Japanese driver who wins the raid in the category 6h43'27 ahead of Spain's Xavier Foj (Toyota), and 14h24'18 ahead of Frenchman Chavigny.

14:40 - Truck
501 - CHAGIN WINS THE DAKAR OF ALL RECORDS FOR HIM!

With a final time of 55h04'47, Russia's Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) wins the 2010 Dakar in the truck category, 1h13'08 ahead of his teammate and countryman Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) and 10h43'20 ahead of Dutchman Marcel Van Vliet (Ginaf)... The "Tsar" gets his sixth victory in a Dakar after winnint the 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 editions and catches up with Czech driver Karel Loprais in terms of final victory records. Additional cherry on the cake, with 9 new stage victories this year in special stages, Chagin becomes the absolute stage victory record holder in the Dakar with a total of 56 stages won, i.e. one more than French driver Stephane Peterhansel... 9 stage victories in this 32nd edition that allow the Russian to also establish a record of number of truck stage victories in the same edition of a Dakar. Finally, this victory by Chagin is also the ninth victory of Kamaz in a Dakar, another record; the team from Tatarstan has - by the way - also won ALL the special stages of this 32nd edition.

14:30 - Truck
505 - In the end, the last one goes to Mardeev...

The only Kamaz driver who had not won any special on this 32nd Dakar, Russian driver Ilgizar Mardeev (Kamaz) has done so in the very last stage finishing 2'04 ahead of Dutchman Wulfert Van Ginkel (Ginaf), and 2'20 ahead of Czech driver Martin Macik (Liaz)...

14:15 - Truck
505 - Mardeev plays troublemaker for the "Tsar"...

Against all odds, as the first 4 trucks clear km 177 of this 14th and last special stage in the 2010 Dakar, it is now Russian driver Ilgizar Mardeev (Kamaz) who is best provisional time 26" ahead of his teammate and countryman Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz), and 37" ahead of the leader in the general standings, his other countryman and teammate Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz).

14:00 - Truck
501 - Chagin rules...

Solid leader in the general standings more than 1h11 ahead of his countryman Kabirov (Kamaz) at the start this morning, Russian driver Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) has no intention of giving anyone the opportunity to win the last stage of this 32nd Dakar. After the first 5 trucks cleared CP1 (km 121), the "Tsar" held provisional best time respectively 36" and 1'16 ahead of his two teammates and countrymen Firdaus Kabirov and Ilgizar Mardeev (Kamaz).

13:50 - Car
303 - CARLOS SAINS WINS THE 2010 DAKAR!...

Two-times WRC champion in 90 and 92, Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (VW) will have had to wait for his fourth attempt to finally win the most prestigious of all rally raids. Leader in the general standings since stage 5 and winner of two stages in this 32nd edition, Carlos Sainz wins in 47h10'00, 2'12 only ahead of his teammate Naseer Al-Attiyah (VW), and 32'51 ahead of his other teammate US driver Mark Miller (VW). It is therefore a triple victory for Volkswagen to gets here a third title in the Dakar after winning in 1980 and 2009... Ranking fourth 2h17'21 behind the winner is Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel (BMW), who finishes almost 2h ahead of his teammate and countryman Guerlain Chicherit (BMW), who finishes fifth.

13:45 - Car
306 - Al-Attiyah gets the last stage and Sainz the Dakar!

The first 4 cars have just finished the 14th and last special stage of the 2010 Dakar and Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) wins the stage, his fourth stage victory in the 2010 Dakar and his 7th stage victory in any Dakar, 36" ahead of his main contender and teammate Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (VW), and 43" ahead of Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit (BMW)... In the general standings, it is therefore Carlos Sainz who wins this 32nd Dakar, just 2'12 ahead of his Qatari contender.

13:30 - Car
306 - Nasser is gaining ground but...

The first 4 cars have cleared km 177 of today's special stage and Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) is still in the lead with best provisional time now 24" ahead of his prime contender and leader in the general standings Spain's Carlos Sainz (VW), and 31" ahead of Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit (BMW). With less than 30 km to go to the finish line however, all hopes of the Qatari to snatch the rally victory from the hands of the Spaniard... legally at least... have now vanished.

13:20 - Truck
501 - Chagin for number 10...

Already the winner of 9 special stages on this 2010 Dakar and turned - along the way - record holder of the number of stage victories in any Dakar, Russian driver Vladimir Chagin checked in the lead at km 66 of this last special stage with a 22" lead on his two lieutenants Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) and Ilgizar Mardeev (Kamaz), who both got the same time to the second and a 1'48 lead over Czech driver Martin Macik (Liaz).

13:05 - Car
306 - Al-Attiyah takes 18"

The first 4 cars have cleared CP1 (km121) of this last special stage and it is still Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) who gets the best time but only 18" ahead of his main contender and leader in the standings Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (VW), and 28" ahead of France's Guerlain Chicherit (BMW). Moreover, the Qatari just went straight at km 136 of the day's special and had to reverse before starting again hence losing some precious seconds. On top of that, the wind is fairly strong on the day's stage and the drivers are almost not bothered by the dust of the cars ahead of them.

12:50 - Quad
251 - MARCOS PATRONELLI WINS THE QUAD RAID

After finishing second in 2009, Argentine rider Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) wins the 2010 Dakar in the quad category, 2h22'59 ahead of his older brother Alejandro Patronelli (Yamaha), and 5h 07'31 ahead of Spanish rider Juan Manuel "Pedrega" Gonzalez Corominas (Yamaha). Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris) ends up keeping his fourth place in the standings 4'12 ahead of Polish rider Rafal Sonik (Yamaha).

12:45 - Car
303 - Sainz only loses 4" on the first 66 km!...

The first 4 cars have just cleared km 66 of the last special stage of the 2010 Dakar and even if Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) gets best provisional time so far, the Qatari is only 4 short seconds ahead of his main rival for final victory, his Spanish teammate Carlos Sainz (VW). Provisional third time so far 13" behind goest to French driver Guerlain Chicherit (BMW).

12:40 - Quad
252 - Sonik wins the last special stage

Winner of the first stage of this 32nd Dakar, Polish rider Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) had another go at victory for this last stage where he gets the best time at the finish line 4'03 ahead of Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris), and 7'46 ahead of Argentina's Sebastian halpern (Yamaha)... As for the leader in the standings, Argentine rider Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) he got to the finish 18'25 after the Pole and wins his first Dakar in the category.

12:35 - Truck
500 - IT'S A GO FOR TRUCKS!

The winner of stage 13 yesterday, Russian driver Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) started 16th of the truck/car pack at 12:33 as scheduled. The title holder was followed 1' later by the leader in the general standings, his teammate and countryman Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz).

12:15 - Car
301 - IT'S A GO FOR CARS!

The winner of stage 13, Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel (BMW) kicked off the last special stage of this 32nd Dakar at 12:09 as scheduled. The Vesoul driver was followed 2' later by Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW)... Let us recall that before the last 206km in the general standings, raid leader and Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (VW), who will start fourth on track today, at 12:15, only had a 2'48 lead over his teammate and nevertheless biggest rival Nasser Al-Attiyah.

12:10 - Quad
252 - All hopes are gone for Sonik...

As the first 4 quads cleared CP2 (km 201) of the last special stage, Polish rider Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) was still in the lead with best provisional time 3'59 ahead of French rider Christophe Declerck (Polaris) and 7'43 ahead of Argentine rider Sebastian Halpern (Yamaha). However, the lead of the Pole - just a few km from the finish line - remains insufficient to allow him to steal back the 7'31 he needs to pass Declerk and get to fourth place in the standings.

11:45 - Quad
252 - Sonik keeps pushing in the lead

The first 8 quads have cleared CP1 (km 121) of this last special stage and it is still Polish rider Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) who gets best provisional time now 2'06 ahead of Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris) and 5'56 ahead of Argentine rider Sebastian Halpern (Yamaha). In the general standings, Rafal is only 5'25 behind Declerck who is ranking fourth.

11:40 - Bike
12 - Fretigne saves his fifth place in the general standings...

Disadvantaged by the slightly lower top speed of his Yamaha 450, French rider David Fretigne gave a true demonstration of tightrope walker today to improve his air penetration coefficient... and it was the right thing to do because at the end of the last 202 km the Yamaha rider only lost 21" to his main contender, Malian-French rider Alain Duclos (KTM) with a restrained KTM 690. Hence, in the general standings, Fretigne keeps his fifth place 36'23 behind Portugal's Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha), but 2'39 ahead of Duclos, who finishes sixth of the rally raid.

11:35 - Bike
2 - CYRIL DESPRES WINS THE 2010 DAKAR!

The winner of 2 special stages in this 32nd edition and the leader in the general standings since stage 3, Frenchman Cyril Despres (KTM) is the winner of the 2010 Dakar 1h02'52 ahead of Norwegian rider Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM), and 1h09'48 ahead of Chilean rider Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez Contardo (Aprilia). The now Andorran resident rider wins the rally raid for the third time after two previous victories in 2005 and 2007 and gives KTM the possibility of joining Yamaha at the top of the number of Dakar final victories with 9 raids won for each of them!

11:25 - Bike
19 - And the last stage goes to... Faria

The first 8 bikes have now come to the end of the 14th and last special stage of the rally raid and Portuguese rider Ruben Faria (KTM) is the day's winner, his third stage victory in a Dakar and his first stage victory in the 2010 edition 3'45 ahead of Norway's Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM), and 3'57 ahead of Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha).

11:20 - Bike
4 - Ullevalseter... in the meantime... waiting for Faria...

the first 4 bikes have just finished the 14th and last special stage of the 32nd Dakar and for the time being, it is Norway's Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) who gets best provisional time 49" ahead of Malian-French rider Alain Duclos (KTM), and 1'20 ahead of French rider Cyril Despres (KTM), who is the winner of the 32nd Dakar in the bike category.

11:17 - Bike
19 - Faria, best time at CP2

After starting 10th this morning for the last special stage of the Dakar, Portuguese rider Ruben Faria (KTM) just cleared CP2 with best provisional time 3'43 (!) ahead of Norwegian rider Ullevalseter (KTM).

11:15 - Bike
5 - Second fastest time for Rodrigues in front of Duclos at CP2

More bikes have cleared CP2 (km 201) of this last special stage and it is now Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha) who is the second fastest on track behind Ullevalseter (KTM), but 48" ahead of Malian-French rider Alain Duclos (KTM), new third position.

11:00 - Bike
4 - Ullevalseter... in the meantime...

The 3 first bikes have just cleared CP2 (km 201) of this last special stage and Norwegian rider Pal Anders Ullevalseter is in the lead 1'15 ahead of the leader in the general standings, Frenchman Cyril Despres (KTM), and 1'36 ahead of Spanish rider Marc Coma (KTM).

10:45 - Quad
252 - Sonik evicts Declerck...

Ranking fourth in the quad standings at the start this morning but only 7'31 ahead of Polish rider Rafal Sonik (Yamaha), Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris), who started first in the morning just before the Pole, has as sole goal of the day to defend his fourth place... However it might be tricky because at km 66 of this last special stage, it is precisely the Polish rider who gets best provisional time 1'37 ahead of the Frenchman and 4'39 ahead of Argentinean Sebastian Halpern (Yamaha).

10:40 - Bike
12 - Fretigne is resisting against Duclos...

One of the battles to follow on this last day of the Dakar is the struggle for fifth place in the bike general standings held this morning by French rider David Fretigne (Yamaha), but only 3'00 ahead of Alain Duclos (KTM). At CP1, the Malian-French rider who is riding a restrained 690cc had only stolen four small seconds from his rival riding a 450cc Yamaha.

10:35 - Bike
19 - Best time for Faria at CP1

The first 8 bikes have cleared CP1 (km 121) of this last special stage and it is now Portuguese rider Ruben Faria (KTM) who gets best provisional time 1'53 ahead of his countryman Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha) and 2'25 ahead of Norwegian rider Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM).

10:15 - Bike
4 - Rodrigues in the lead at km 66

The first 5 bikes have cleared km 66 of the last special stage of the 2010 Dakar and it is Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha)who gets best provisional time 13" ahead of Norwegian rider Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) and 47" ahead of Chile's Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez Contardo (Aprilia). It is to be noted however that the Iritrack of the leader in the general standings, Frenchman Cyril Despres (KTM) is presently not giving the rider's position.

10:10 - Quad
258 - IT'S A GO FOR QUADS!

The winner of yesterday's stage 13, French rider Christophe Declerck (Polaris) started 26th in the bike/quad pack opening the special stage in the quad category this morning at 10:01AM as scheduled. He was followed 4'30 later by Polish rider Rafal Sonik (Yamaha), who started 35th of the pack.

09:35 - Bike
4 - READY, STEADY, GO!

Good morning everybody. After yesterday's stage 13, 187 teams - 88 bikes, 14 quads, 57 cars and 28 trucks - were allowed to start the 14th and last stage of the Dakar this morning and it is Norwegian rider Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) who kicked off the day's special stage at 09h30, as scheduled. He was followed 2 minutes later by the leader in the general standings, Frenchman Cyril Despres (KTM).

19:12
STAGE 14: SANTA ROSA - BUENOS AIRES

707 km are on the menu of the 14th and last stage of this 32nd Dakar, that should be the stage of a nice show-down nevertheless as the gaps in the standings are still pretty small in cars and bikes... On the menu today: 206km of special stage on nice fast tracks without any major difficulty but the pressure of the last kilometers of the race. The finish line of the rally raid will be in San Carlos De Bolivar; after that the contenders will have a 335km liaison to get back to Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires, where the end of the rally raid will be celebrated on Sunday with a podium ceremony for all of those who finished the 2010 edition of the Dakar.

-source: aso