Peterhansel had to win the special

After leaving San Salvador de Jujuy in the morning under threatening skies, the competitors completed a long route of 554 km, a large part of which crossed the Andes at altitudes exceeding 4000 meters.

Published on 05/01/2011 à 21:48

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Arriving in Chile, 207 km of special awaited them on the first desert tracks. A land that Stéphane Peterhansel was waiting for…

Clocked in fifteen seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz at the first intermediate, the Frenchman increased his gap to 55 seconds on the Spaniard and on Al-Attiyah at the end of the first 146 kilometers, relegating De Villiers (Volkswagen) and Chicherit (Mini) to two minutes. As Peterhansel's first stage victory loomed, he unfortunately suffered a puncture.

“Until now, I was losing time during the technical stages,” he explained upon arrival. “We have started the first stages of the desert. Very rough terrain, a very high altitude... This means that our car is working well, and that we are also good at navigation. But forty kilometers from the finish, we had a puncture. A nail in the middle of the desert. It's really bad luck. It took us two or three minutes to change the wheel. This is what we are missing to win the stage. So, it?s not a strategy to start third for tomorrow. But, we can imagine that it?s not that bad. We can get back a few precious minutes.”

Finally the Frenchman finished 3rd in today's stage, leaving Carlos Sainz to win for the third time since the start of the rally. The 2010 winner significantly increases his lead in the general classification. He is now 4'24" ahead of his teammate Al-Attiyah and 5"41 over Peterhansel who knows he can count on a BMW X3 CC capable of beating the Race Touareg on this type of terrain. Especially since it is Carlos Sainz who will open the track tomorrow.

Guerlain Chicherit put in a great performance, placing 7th in the stage. Little by little, he returned to the general classification, where he now occupies 9th position.

This evening, in Calama, a major abandonment is to be deplored. Robby Gordon's. After going off the road, followed by a mechanical problem on his impressive Hummer H3 during the 2nd day of racing, the American had to give up on the connecting course just a few kilometers from the start of the special.