2018 Dakar Rally: Peterhansel lost an hour on Stage 13, Ten Brinke is out
The Stage 13 of 2018 Dakar Rally which took place between San Juan and Cordoba was the one of the most dramatic in the 40th edition of the world’s toughest cross-country race. Two of five top drivers faced big problems which resulted in a retirement for Bernhard ten Brinke (#309 Toyota) and one-hour time loss for Stephane Peterhansel (#300 Peugeot).
The fastest on the Stage 13 was Nasser Al-Attiyah (#301 Toyota) while the overall rally leader Carlos Sainz (#303 Peugeot) stayed on the top after today’s sixth-fastest time.
Carlos Sainz is entering the last day with a comfort lead
The 929-km long stage was divided to 560 kilometers of link section and two-part 369-km long timed section. On the first part of timed section, Peterhansel had an accident which caused a big loss of time, moving him from second place overall to the fifth place. Bernhard ten Brinke was the fastest and he jumped to third place in general standings.
Unfortunately for the Dutchman, the #309 Toyota Hilux suffered a terminal mechanical failure after 570 kilometers of the stage, forcing him to retire from the race just one day before the end. One Toyota’s misfortune became another Toyota’s fortune, securing Nasser Al-Attiyah’s fourth stage victory.
Ten Brinke was leading the stage until unfortunate retirement
Despite Ten Brinke’s retirement, Toyota recorded 1-2-3 victory at Stage 13. Eleven minutes behind Al-Attiyah, Lucio Alvarez scored his career-best Dakar Rally result with the second-fastest stage time in the #318 Overdrive Toyota.
Giniel de Villiers (#304 Toyota) was the third fastest today, two minutes behind Alvarez. Jakub Przygonski (#312 Mini) was the fourth-fastest while his teammate Mikko Hirvonen brought his #305 Mini JCW Buggy to the fifith place today.
Lucio Alvarez scored the second-fastest time at Stage 13
In the general standings after thirteen stages, Carlos Sainz is 46min18sec ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah. Giniel de Villiers is third, one hour twenty minutes behind Sainz. Stephane Peterhansel is fourth, just eight minutes behind De Villiers.
All other Top 10 competitors progressed for one place: Jakub Przygonski (5th), Khalid Al Qassimi (6th), Martin Prokop (7th), Peter van Merksteijn (8th) and Sebastian Halpern (9th). Ten Brinke’s retirement promoted Lucio Alvarez to the tenth place overall.
Check the full results after Stage 13
On January 20, the last day of the rally, a loop stage near Cordoba is on a schedule. The stage is 120 km long and it’s hard t believe that Carlos Sainz can lose his second Dakar Rally victory in a career.
Photos: Marcelo Maragni, Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool, Florent Gooden/DPPI, A.Vialatte/@world,
