Media Information
Dakar Rally 2018
10 January 2018
Dakar Rally 2018
–
Stage 4: San Juan de Marcona – San Juan de Marcona
- Mikko Hirvonen secures 4th place finish in Stage 4.
-
Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski
now 10th overall. - Al Rajhi and Garafulic begin fightback.
Munich. Delayed by heavy fog, Stage 4 finally got off to a
spectacular start with the car category getting under way in groups
of four, side-by-side. The noise of competition engines was pure
entertainment for the masses of spectators that lined the starting
point of a long stretch with ocean views. For the competitors it
signalled the start of another hot day and the prospect of 330km
special stage consisting of dunes, sand and soil interlaced with
stony areas.
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) and Andreas Schulz (DEU) in the all-new MINI
John Cooper Works Buggy were the first of the MINI Family to complete
Stage 4 and did so in style. At the end of the 440km stage, Hirvonen
was checked through as completing in 4th place.
Hirvonen: “Today was pretty good. We didn’t have a
lot of issues. Two times we had to turn back and try to find the
waypoint. There was also a lot of dust. I’m happy that we were able to
show the potential of the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy.”
Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) and Timo Gottschalk (DEU) in the second MINI
John Cooper Works Buggy also claimed a top ten stage finish with
9th place. With Rajhi driving at the same fast pace that
has made him a noted cross-country specialist, his MINI JCW Buggy is
now placed 23rd overall, which is a superb result given
that after Stage 3 it was classed 49th.
Yazeed Al Rajhi: “We stopped two times. One time to
replace the tyre, and another for a small technical problem. But all
in all it was much better day.”
Once again Jakub ‘Kuba’ Przygonski (POL) and Tom Colsoul (BEL) drove
at a measured pace to maintain their consistent performance so far. It
was a good tactic because it kept possible problems to a minimum and
rewarded the crew with 12th place at stage end. This result
now places them inside the top ten overall leaders at position 10.
Przygonski: “It was a tough and long day. A lot of
things happened on this stage. We had three punctures and, of course,
we had no spares remaining so we started to worry about this. We got
stuck in one canyon and the dunes were really soft, which meant
sometimes they were impossible to cross and we had to go around
because we couldn’t get up. Then there was the dust…”
Also in fighting mood was the crew of Boris Garafulic (CHI) and
co-driver Filipe Palmeiro (POR). Determined to make up for lost time
during Stage 2, the pair did exactly that by finishing today’s stage
in 14th. This places them 24th in the overall
race classification, up from 55th, and directly behind MINI
Family members Al Rajhi / Timo Gottschalk.
Orlando Terranova (ARG) and Bernardo Graue (ARG) were victims of a
racing incident, which saw them roll the MINI John Cooper Works Rally.
However, they managed to get underway again to complete the stage.
Stage 5, San Juan de Marcona – Arequipa will see competitors take in
666 kilometres of liaison and 268km of special stage. For more
information about Dakar 2018, please visit the host’s event home page
here.
Dakar Rally 2018
: MINI results after Stage 4
Pos
Driver
Co-driver
#
MINI
Team
Time
10
Jakub
Przygonski
(POL)
Tom Colsoul
(BEL)
312
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
Orlen Team
012:11:37
+01:35:30
12
Mikko
Hirvonen
(FIN)
Andreas Schulz
(DEU)
305
MINI John Cooper Works Buggy
X-raid Team
013:15:49
+02:39:42
23
Yazeed Al
Rajhi
(KSA)
Timo Gottschalk
(DEU)
314
MINI John Cooper Works Buggy
X-raid Team
019:45:06
+09:08:59
24
Boris
Garafulic
(CHI)
Filipe Palmeiro
(POR)
317
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
X-raid Team
023:48:10
+13:12:03
TBC
Orlando
Terranova
(ARG)
Bernardo Graue
(Arg)
307
MINI John Cooper Works Rally
X-raid Team
TBC