Jan 4th , 2011 Dakar Rally Stage 3 Race Info & Discussion

Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 3 of the 2011 Dakar Rally.Robby Gordon will start at 8:39am/et & Eliseo Salazar will start at 8:40am/et. Raceday chat will also be available throughout the entire 2011 Dakar Rally.

STAGE 3 TRACKING

STAGE 3: San Miguel de Tucuman>San Salvador de Jujuy

Connection 231km | Special Stage 500km | Total 731km

COURSE OVERVIEW

To reach Jujuy, the special stage has been split into two parts, separated by a neutralised section. On the first part, the bikers will again be racing on their own track, plunging into the desert canyons where the red of the sand and cliffs is the dominant colour. There is a striking contrast with the second timed portion: the race moves to earthen tracks and the vehicles will disappear into thick green forest. The trucks have been excused from this challenge, deemed too dangerous for the windscreens which are at the same level as tree branches.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by J.R. Sands on January 3, 2011 at 8:15pm

Thanks TOG, I see the Tarmac section of the stage is neutral as in speed section? RG lost an hour today. But the best is yet to come. Come on sand!!!

Permalink Reply by joseph on January 3, 2011 at 8:21pm

its a bird its a plane its an hour back its superman gas on mother trucker go robby 12 days of xmas left having a ball

Permalink Reply by TOG on January 3, 2011 at 9:43pm

wow..Robby will start at 8:39 am/et & Eliseo will start at at 8:40 am/et .... Considering Robby is ranked 21st overall & Eliseo is ranked 128th overall, pretty cool they got to go 1 minute apart.

Permalink Reply by J.R. Sands on January 3, 2011 at 10:51pm

The start will be interesting

Permalink Reply by Kevin Meyer on January 4, 2011 at 12:11am

From Dakar.com

Three different specials are on the day’s menu, with a route specific to the bikes and quads, one for the cars and finally a third for the trucks, who will only battle it out over the first 226 kilometres of the route. Indeed, this 3rd stage will be made up of two separate timed sections with a neutralised part scheduled after 170 km.In total, the bikers will be faced with a 524-km special, as opposed to 500 for the cars and 226 for the trucks. More importantly, the terrain will vary from section to section, with a sandier first part and a more mountainous forested second part.These conditions should light the fire of the duel between the two elite KTM riders, with leader Cyril Despres ahead of his rival Marc Coma by 2’35 in standings.As for the car race, after two successive stage victories by the leader Carlos Sainz (VW), all the rest hope that Stephane Peterhansel (BMW) will take advantage of the first stretches of sand to claw back some time on the native of Madrid, preventing him from opening up a big gap at the top of the general standings. A watchful eye should also be cast on the performance of Robby Gordon, who cannot wait to get his Hummer on the sandy terrain.

The site still showing some love for our man Rob.

Permalink Reply by geothermaljones on January 4, 2011 at 10:46am

I think ASO knows, if DAKAR is run in S.A. they need the U.S. fans. Robby is going to drag American race fans into DAKAR in a big way. If the mfgrs start showing interest, more will follow. Too bad DAKAR & American TV can't get it together.

If NASCAR's recent history is any sign, many fans are going to be looking at other race series. I'd taken to Rally America until it's recent changes.

Permalink Reply by Dave Shaw on January 3, 2011 at 10:25pm

good news

Permalink Reply by Bruce Smith on January 3, 2011 at 10:34pm

How many cars start in front of RG tomorrow?

Permalink Reply by Dave Shaw on January 3, 2011 at 10:48pm

i would think 46 cars might be wrong

Permalink Reply by R. ALDRIDGE on January 3, 2011 at 11:26pm

Well, looking for silver linings in the clouds: 1) The Hummers start together so an incident like yesterday will be solved in 3 minutes, not 45. 2) I see a little sand starting to creep into the profile, better times ahead (pun intended).

Permalink Reply by squidward on January 4, 2011 at 6:20am

Where can i find this map above? On the dakar page there is only one without the details!

Permalink Reply by Jaci on January 4, 2011 at 8:03am