Media Information
Dakar Rally 2018
14 January 2018
Dakar Rally 2018
–
Stage 7: La Paz – Uyuni
- Two MINI crews complete Stage 7 with top ten placings.
-
MINI crew Przygonski / Colsoul achieve a top six finish with
fourth place. -
Garafulic / Palmeiro fight hard for ninth place result at
end of Stage 7.
Munich. Stage 7 started with all competitors in good spirits
and refreshed following the official rest day in the Dakar bivouac
situated in the area of Bolivian city La Paz. At 3,625 metres
altitude, the La Paz bivouac ensured competitors were treated to
spectacular views and, of course, some well-deserved sleep. At the
same time the MINI racing vehicles were checked and prepared ready
for the restart of Dakar with Stage 7.
From the moment the auto competitors completed the liaison stage and
the start of the off-road special stage, the sand and dunes of
Bolivia’s plains began to affect the competitors and the outlook of
the racing. Soft sand amongst the areas of camel grass caused problems
for many crews, including the five crews of the MINI Family, with
their cars frequently getting stuck,
If the sand conditions were bad then the rain that followed made
conditions even worse. Muddy terrain became very slippery and large
puddles of water began to form to hide large rocks that would
ultimately damage cars of the less than lucky competitors.
Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski (POL) and Tom Colsoul (BEL) in their MINI
John Cooper Works Rally fared best of the MINI Family and were the
first MINI crew to make it to the end of Stage 7 with a hard fought
fourth place. This result means that the MINI John Cooper Works Rally
(#312) crew maintained their overall position of sixth.
Boris Garafulic (CHI) and co-driver Filipe Palmeiro (POR) was the
second MINI crew to successfully complete the 727km of Stage 7. The
MINI John Cooper Works Rally (#317) crew arrived at the Uyuni finish
point in ninth place to lift them to 22nd in the overall
race category.
The remainder of the MINI crews were significantly delayed during
Stage 7. Whether this was due to the conditions or for other reasons
is unclear due to the fact communication systems in the mountain
regions is limited. However, Dakar race control was informed that the
MINI John Cooper Works Rally crew of Orlando Terranova (ARG) and
co-driver Bernardo Graue (ARG) completed the stage in 31st place.
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) / Andreas Schulz (DEU) finished seven places
behind in 38th and 4hrs behind the first car to finish the
stage. Unfortunately, the crew of Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) / Timo
Gottschalk (DEU) were not classified in the stage results.
Stage 7 is also known as a Marathon Stage. This means the crews are
subject to no outside assistance and have to service their own
vehicles in the Uyuni bivouac ahead of Stage 8. With heavy rain
forecast in the region, Stage 8 could also prove to be a hard race.
MINI Family reports: Stage 7
Jakub Przygonski
“It was a long and tough day, more than 400km. Today was a racing
stage for us because we were fighting with another competitor for the
400km we were together, a bit like motocross, but it was nice and we
enjoyed the stage. But there was a lot of water, water crossing and
there was really soft dunes through the Camel grass, which was
terrible. The car is ok and this is most important on this marathon
stage because we have no mechanics and we have to do the work by
ourselves. For now it looks good. Tomorrow will be a really long stage
and for sure fast. It was raining and I think the rain and the surface
water is always hard because the muddy conditions are not so easy to
drive on.”
Boris Garafulic
“It was good; very demanding; very hard. A tough, hard day but I’m
happy to be here. I think some of the other guys will have had
problems because it was very demanding with the soft sand. The car is
ok. We and the car are ok and right now we have to do the maintenance
bit. As for tomorrow’s race? I don’t know – we have to take it day by day.”
Next stage: Stage 8, Uyuni- Tupiz. For more information about Dakar
2018, please visit the host’s event home page here.
Dakar Rally 2018
: MINI standings after Stage 7
Pos
Driver
Co-driver
#
MINI
Team
Time
6
Jakub Przygonski
(POL)
Tom Colsoul
(BEL)
312
MINI John Cooper Works
Rally
Orlen
Team
024:00:40
+02:19:02
20
Mikko Hirvonen
(FIN)
Andreas Schulz
(DEU)
305
MINI John Cooper Works
Buggy
X-raid
Team
030:20:14
+08:38:36
22
Boris
Garafulic
(CHI)
Filipe Palmeiro
(POR)
317
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
X-raid Team
026:40:38
+10:24:46
32
Orlando
Terranova
(ARG)
Bernardo Graue
(ARG)
307
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
X-raid Team
039:29:25
+17:47:47
TBA
Yazeed Al
Rajhi
(KSA)
Timo Gottschalk
(DEU)
314
MINI John Cooper Works Buggy
X-raid Team
TBA