Jan 16th Dakar Rally Stage 13 Race Chat

Join us for the Dakar Rally on Jan 16, 2009,right here and chat about the action during the 13th stage.Robby improved to 3rd overall after his 3rd place finish in stage 11.Two more stages to go !

Stage 13 - Friday, January 16

La Rioja > Cordoba

Connection: 161 km | Special: 545 km | Connection: 47 km | Total: 753 km

After having swallowed thousands of kilometers, participants will face a first-class physical challenge in this next-to-the-last stage. State-of-the-art pilots must maintain their position, while amateurs must avoid an excess of confidence. Errors can leave bitter memories, since this will be the day of cacti. At the bivouac, doctors will no doubt be called on to wield the tweezers. Finally, for the experts of traditional rallies, certain routes are part of the patrimony of the World Cup that takes place every year in Cordoba. Here, aficionados will guarantee a large popular fiesta.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by GrayAntiMatter on January 16, 2009 at 10:46am

A major failure or withdraw by anyone ahead of him and he's back in the top five from there...

Permalink Reply by TOG on January 15, 2009 at 9:28pm

wow. extra sleep is good to hear !

Permalink Reply by FlyHiFlyLo on January 15, 2009 at 9:43pm

Really? Running into the night?

Permalink Reply by GrayAntiMatter on January 16, 2009 at 10:48am

And they're running East now, aren't they? Just going to make things worse for the trucks.

Permalink Reply by Zane on January 15, 2009 at 9:43pm

The French Fry Guys are still alive in 74th today, 60th overall! Sorry, I just get such a kick out of this story...

Gas On Robby! Bring it home!

Permalink Reply by Keith on January 15, 2009 at 11:00pm

Cheeseburger, chip... no Pepsi..Coke.

LOL!

Permalink Reply by DB on January 15, 2009 at 9:50pm

I think impossible RG sit's back, not even in his vocabulary, he say's it himself- He want's to WIN Dakar, you never know, might not get a better opportunity, and it could be the last with the Hummer. He's this close, anthing can happen in this thing, and with this stage calling for Cacti and tweezer's, we all know that sounds like RG's backyard- He ain't going over his head, but he's going for it.

Permalink Reply by Matt on January 16, 2009 at 12:49am

Quick question, he can repair that burnt up clutch from stage 12, right?

Permalink Reply by Mario on January 16, 2009 at 2:25am

Yes. The support vehicles are at the La Rioja bivouac and all the teams can service their vehicles.

Permalink Reply by Riverside Racer on January 16, 2009 at 3:12am

Just after Midnight on the West Coast and I just got home from the LA Kings / Detroit Red Wings Game. I'll see if I can get tuned in before the stage is over.

GO RG !!!!!!

Permalink Reply by zoomsss on January 16, 2009 at 4:54am

Well.... I hate to be the fingers at the keyboard for this info... we are going to have to find a nickname for this Dakar, as it's probably going to go down in the record book as being the 'most adjusted' rally in the history.

I start reading an email alert on Roma to see if anymore info is out there on what happened to him and there was more info than I expected to get.

Now I'm off to check penalties, if there's any shown, I'll post, someone please check come morning too.
We are at 280 starters for Stage 13
Okay, adding on... No penalties showing for anyone on Stage 12 at this point

~from paddocktalk.com
Dakar 2009: Latest Update - Roma Loses Fourth Position On The Dangerous Special To LA Rioja

The Racing Lancer stops with technical problems. The special is stopped at kilometre 175 owing to some participants getting trapped in the dunes

The driver and co-driver in the Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart, Nani Roma & Lucas Cruz, lost any chance of a podium finish in the Dakar 2009 after their car stopped with technical problems 165km after the start of the 220km special that connected Fiambalá and La Rioja.

The pair in the only surviving turbo-charged Mitsubishi were being put under great pressure by the American Robbie Gordon aiming to get the podium finish occupied by the Spanish couple after the overall leader, Carlos Sainz, retired after an accident. Roma also nearly went off the road at the same point as Sainz, and 86km later his car stopped with technical problems.

A total of 132 motorbikes and quads, 89 cars and 56 trucks started the 12th leg that ended in La Rioja. A bad storm and constant rain in the morning meant that the suffocating heat of the previous day was lessened.

The original route was shortened by 33km last night after the organisers realised that the cars would have to go through a place of archaeological interest. In spite of the reduction in length the leg still had a difficult section through dunes with complicated navigation, but in the end it was neutralised at kilometre 175 because many teams were suffering delays in the dunes, between kilometres 140 - 170. Roma will shortly reach the bivouac in La Rioja and will have to wait to learn of the penalties imposed on the teams that did not complete the stage.

Tomorrow, Friday, sees the penultimate stage of this year`s Rally Dakar with a special of 545km, and a total distance of 753km, between La Rioja and Córdoba, the second most important city in Argentina. The organisers have compared this stage with the type of terrain found in the WRC – World Rally Championship. However the recent heavy rain in La Rioja and Córdoba means that the ASO has shortened the section that started to the south of Patquia to the east, direction El Chaco.

The leg will now start at control 4 (364km), and the teams will have to do a shortened special of 220km direction north on terrain where the Rally Argentina is held. It will finish just before reaching Villa Carlos Paz, the base for the WRC race to the west of Cordoba. The city of Córdoba is found in the foothills of the Sierra Chicas, at a height of 390m, alongside the Río Suquía, and is one of the oldest ex colonial capitals in the Spanish empire.

While I'm up and looking at new news ;) here's another article, on Stage 12
Gordon third in 12th stage, third overall at Dakar Rally~nol.com

Permalink Reply by zoomsss on January 16, 2009 at 5:10am

PS ;)
Go Robby!!!! .... and if you'd like to put yourself in a happy place b4 the stage starts, there's some wonderful, gorgeous and oh so spectacular pics that can be viewed on the link below, just put yourself in one of the pics and let out a big sigh ;) :) LOL!!!

http://www.dakar.com/2009/DAK/LIVE/us/1200/r1_5-la-galerie-photos.html

*if anyone can photoshop El Hummer in one of those pics, that would be cool, as none of the photographers seen fit to get a shot of Robby in those shots.... What, the Hummer too much of a BA looking truck to not look good in one, just 1 pic? *rolleyes*