If the 2012 Dakar Rally serves up half of the drama we witnessed last year, fans of endurance racing will be in for another treat. Let’s recap some of the stories that shaped the podium places at the 2011 Dakar…
Cars
The Volkswagen Race Touareg bowed out of the Dakar Rally in fine style as it filled every spot on the podium. Nasser Al-Attiyah (also pictured, top) recorded his first Dakar victory as he fended off his team-mates Giniel De Villiers and Carlos Sainz, finishing second and third respectively. Carlos Sainz had looked on course for a second Dakar victory but his challenge got caught up in the dunes of Copiapo. Despite this set back Carlos still managed to take his total of stage wins at the Dakar to 24 during last year’s race. In fact, during the 2011 Dakar Rally 12 out of the 13 stages were won by a Volkswagen Touareg. The biggest threat to Volkswagen’s dominance came from Stephane Peterhansel but the former champion was forced into fourth place by a series of punctures. There was disaster for Guerlain Chicherit as he rolled his X-Raid Mini on the rest day and saw his race end there and then. Polish driver Krzysztof Holowczyc gave a better performance for the X-Raid Team as he came over the Buenos Aires finish line in fifth place.
Nasser Al-Attiyah (© Volkswagen Motorsport/Red Bull Content Pool_
Bikes
Once again Marc Coma and Cyril Despres stood head and shoulders above the competition. It was Marc Coma who eventually won the duel, his third Dakar victory, meaning that the last six editions of the desert classic have been won by him or Cyril. Cyril’s challenge was hit by a 10-minute penalty on an early stage and further damaged by a navigational mistake on the way to Chilecito. Marc maintained his advantage by winning five stages before crossing the finish line 18 minutes ahead of his rival. Further back Chaleco Lopez held a 45-minute lead over Helder Rodrigues going into the final stage, then disaster struck for the Chilean biker. A problem with Chaleco’s suspension saw him passed by Helder and knocked off the podium. Johan Street, Paulo Goncalves and Frans Verhoeven also impressed along the route with stage wins. Cody Quinn’s ninth place was the best rookie performance in 2011 while Laia Sanz completed her first Dakar in a very respectable 39th place.
Marc Coma (© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool)
Quads
The name of Patronelli was at the top of the quad race leaderboard for the second consecutive year in 2011. 2010 champion Marcos Patronelli was forced to retire on stage four, but family pride was restored by older brother Alejandro. Alejandro Patronelli has the honour of riding quad #250 this year thanks to leading the 2011 Dakar from the eighth stage onwards. The local crowds also cheered home Argentinian Sebastian Halpern in second place. Just like the bike race, there was drama on the final stage for the quads. Lukasz Laskawiec passed Christophe Declerck to snatch the final podium place by 52 seconds. A tightly contested quad race saw a total of seven different stage winners and also witnessed Camelia Liparoti become the first woman to finish in the top 10.
Alejandro Patronelli (© Leonardo Dell'Aquila)
Trucks
The truck race of the 2011 Dakar Rally truly was the end of an era as Vladimir Chagin signed off with his seventh overall victory at the desert classic. Last year’s race was also the final appearance of Firdaus Kabirov who finished second as the torch is now passed to a new generation of Russian truckers. Despite Team Kamaz completing a one-two-three-four finish there were a few scares along the way for the almighty blue blunderbusses. Ales Loprais ended Kamaz’s winning streak of 24 consecutive Dakar stage victories with his triumph on stage six. The Tatra driver proved the win was no fluke when he also won stage seven. However, mechanical problems eventually saw Loprais’ threat subside along with the challenges from Gerard De Rooy and Wilfert Van Ginkel. It was the MAN truck of Franz Echter that managed to stay the closest to the Kamaz machines as the German recorded a fifth-place finish in 2011.
Vladimir Chagin (© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool)
Keep your eyes open for preview features in the days leading up to the start of the Dakar Rally 2012 on Redbull.com's 2012 event page
Want more?
- Watch highlights from Dakar 2011
- Crunch the Dakar Rally's vital stats
- Red Bull Roadbook | 2012 Dakar Rally Route: Part 1
- Red Bull Roadbook | 2012 Dakar Rally Route: Part 2
- Red Bull Roadbook | 2012 Dakar Rally Route: Part 3
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