Dakar – Terranova wins, hat-trick for the X-Raid team

For this tenth stage of the Dakar, there was the X-Raid team, and the others. On his BMW, Orlando Terranova almost led from start to finish, and here signs his very first stage victory in this 2013 edition, on his home soil, in Argentina.

Only the leader of the general classification, Stéphane Peterhansel, had the privilege of leading after passing the first checkpoint, during a first part of the stage run at a temperature approaching 1 degrees. From the second crossing point, it was the Argentinian who took control and never let up until the finish line.

But what we will remember from this event is this real group shot from the X-Raid team. In addition to the victory of Orlando Terranova in 3 hours, 57 minutes and 58 seconds, Nani Roma and Stéphane Peterhansel completed a podium entirely in the colors of Sven Quandt's team. From start to finish, the three men held each other in 2 minutes, never letting go. In fourth position, we find Giniel De Villiers. The South African is now second in the general ranking after the problems encountered yesterday by Nasser Al-Attiyah. Winner of the Dakar in 2009, he again conceded more than 3 minutes to Stéphane Peterhansel, who only had to continue to the end to claim a historic 11th victory.

On Wednesday, the 11th stage of the Dakar will be the last of this edition to be run entirely in Argentina. 481 kilometers long between La Rioja and Fiambala, a mecca of rally. It will be sectioned by 217 kilometers of timed sector and will offer a radically different environment compared to today, since the pilots will have to showcase their navigation skills in the Argentinian dunes.