13:59 Trucks Bekx fastest at CP1
At the first check point of the truck race (km 175), Hans Bekx
(DAF) has the best time so far. Second is Jan De Rooy (DAF) at
4'34, followed by Tchaguine (KAM) at 13'15 and Kabirov (KAM) at
19'15.
13:43 Cars 3 in the lead
After Jutta Kleinschmidt had made it to CP1 (km 175) alone in the
lead. At km 245, the German had been caught and overtaken by the
two Mitsubishi cars of Peterhansel and Alphand.
13:31 Cars Jutta fastest at CP1
At the first check point of the car special (km 175), Jutta
Kleinschmidt (VW) has the fastest time so far. The German driver
has a 5'12 lead on Luc Alphand (MIT) and 9'05 on her Volkswagen
team mate Bruno Saby.
Fourth is overall leader Stephane Peterhansel (MIT) at 9'35,
followed by Ari Vatanen (NIS) at 11'20.
13:22 DAKAR OFFICIAL RELEASE
DEATH OF FABRIZIO MEONI
It is with huge sadness that the rally was informed this morning of
the death of Fabrizio MEONI (n°4), one of the greatest rally-raid
champions ever, after a crash just after CP1, at km 184, at 10h15
(GMT) during stage 11 between Atar and Kiffa.
A medical helicopter of the organisation was immediately sent on
the scene of the accident at 10h36 (GMT) and the doctors treated
the champion for 45 minutes.
However, the two-time Dakar winner, aged of 47 years, died of his
injuries at 11h11 (GMT).
Fabrizio MEONI, a huge figure of the rally, was 2nd overall in the
bike standings, behind Cyril Despres and was competing on the race
for the 13th time.
His body was taken to Atar.
The entire Dakar caravan wishes to express its sincere condolences
to his family, his friends and his many admirers.
11:55 Cars Vatanen to help De Villiers
Taking off 2 minutes before his Nissan team mate, Ari Vatanen has
let De Villiers pass him before CP1, probably to help out in case
of a problem. Indeed, De Villiers is the best placed member of the
Nissan team, 4th overall.
11:47 Cars Roma stopped
At km 23, Spaniard Nani Roma had a major fright after a dune. The
Mitsubishi driver was then stuck in the sand for around 5
minutes.
11:43 Cars Mitsus together
At km 100 of the car race, both Mitsubishi vehicles of Peterhansel
and Alphand are driving together which means that Alphand has
gained two minutes on 'Peter'. Jutta Kleinschmidt is some 300m
behind.
11:34 Bikes Coma fastest at CP
At the first and only CP of the day (km 175), a group of 5 riders
arrived bunched (Meoni, Despres, Esteve, Frétigné, Coma) meaning
that Marc Coma, the latest starter, has the fastest time. Alfie Cox
made it to the CP on his own, slightly later.
11:21 Night watch
Mechanical worries, late arrivals, injuries, bad luck and
withdrawals
All you need to know about what happened on the
bivouac during the night.
21h15 Sousa relieved
Carlos Sousa, fourth overall before the start of the Atar-Atar
stage has lost all chances of making it on the podium in Dakar. «
We had a problem on the front right wheel. We therefore lost six to
seven hours. We were finally able to get the wheel of De Mevius who
had to retire after his crash. Luckily, Thierry (Delli-Zotti, his
co-driver) who is an excellent mechanic managed to repair and got
us out of this problem. Im really happy to have made it and to be
able to carry on, insisted the Portuguese.
21h35 G.De Rooy once again
Just arrived at the end of the special, Gerard De Rooy once again
had troubles during the stage that prevented him from competing
until the end with the Kamaz trucks. I managed a very good start
to the race but then broke down and lots twice as much time, first
of all because we had to try and repair and then because the truck
wasnt working as well. Anyhow, the most important thing now is
that we carry on having fun each day and that it lasts until
Dakar.
23h00 Some work at Mitsu
In the workshop of the Japanese brand, all are sad about Masuokas
withdrawal (the first since 1993) but the most important thing is
to take care of the two leading cars. The mechanics have done the
same checks on both Alphand and Peterhansels car after his
problems at the end of stage 8. Meanwhile, still no news from
Andrea Mayer, stopped on the special with electrical
problems.
23h30 VW with Jutta
Volkswagen has lost Juha Kankunnen, who crashed his car on its side
on a dune. The back of the Race Touareg being extremely damaged,
the Finn has decided to quit the race in Atar despite possibilities
to repair. Now all he teams expectations lie on the shoulders of
Jutta Kleinschmidt and everything will be done to help her remain
on the podium of the car race until Dakar.
2h30
Mitsu still at work
The work continues on Luc Alphands car that needs more are then
expected. The mechanics decide to take Peters Evo out ofr a test.
Andrea Mayer still hasnt made it to the bivouac or to CP2.
3h30 Late arrivals
116 bikes have made it to the finish out of the 126 that had
started the stage. None of the bikers are still on the road. In the
car race, 80 crews have arrived on the bivouac and 17 are still
expected. 32 trucks out of the 48 have made it to Atar.
07:25 CHANGES FOR STAGE 11 BETWEEN ATAR AND KIFFA
The weather conditions that have shaken the rally since the
beginning of the event have made the last stages a lot harder than
expected for the 2005 edition. Added to that, the information given
by the organisation opening teams indicate that the first half of
the special will be a lot tougher, especially if the weather
remains this way. La rally officials have therefore decided to
shorten stage 11 from Atar to Kiffa that was already expected to be
one the hardest of the event. The special will stop at the
originally planned CP2 shortening the distance from 656 km to
400,48km. From CP2, the competitors will head to the Kiffa bivouac
on a liaison via a asphalt road.
