Jan 9th, 2014 Dakar Rally Stage 5 Race Info & Discussion

Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 5 of the 2014 Dakar Rally. Robby Gordon recorded a 14th place finish in stage 4, and is now 4h16m behind. The first part of the special section of stage 5 is 211km, followed by a 111km 'neutral zone', then the last section is 246km (527km total).

2014 Stage 4 Photos

STAGE 5 TRACKING

STAGE 5: CHILECITO > TUCUMAN

Connection 384km | Special Stage 527km | Total 911km

COURSE OVERVIEW

After two race days with completely separate routes, everyone will gather together to tackle the longest stage of the rally. They will need to be extremely resistant to overcome these two sections of the special stage which will primarily feature sand. All day long the competitors will make headway on off-piste sections: those who have poorly assessed the limits of their engine will constantly be on the verge of overheating and all the more so, as the region’s temperatures are generally very high. At the bivouac in Tucuman, the candidates for the podium will have been whittled down to a select few, as many of them will no longer be a part of this elite group. For many others, their timing and mechanical mishaps will only become apparent in the middle of the night.

The GREEN section of the route is the connection , the RED is the Special Section of the stage.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dave Horwath on January 9, 2014 at 8:09am

Good Morning all!!!! Today's the day!!

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Permalink Reply by Scooter Wright on January 9, 2014 at 8:09am

Bummer about the hood issue yesterday,,, we could be allot closer to the front today if not for that.

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Permalink Reply by jeff.2066 on January 9, 2014 at 8:14am

Yeah - 10 or 15 minutes figuring the wires... imagine that time not lost!

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Permalink Reply by Scooter Wright on January 9, 2014 at 8:17am

cooling issue still there with the top on,,, probably will require a redesign of some kind for proper cooling.

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Permalink Reply by ROBERT SAVAGE on January 9, 2014 at 8:18am

think it's to early to pop and inspirational can of SPEED suns not up yet.

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Permalink Reply by Scooter Wright on January 9, 2014 at 8:22am

never to early for inspiration

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Permalink Reply by Jaci on January 9, 2014 at 8:23am

Suns up here. Go for it.

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Permalink Reply by Rob Hoban on January 9, 2014 at 8:19am

Should have made it to WP2 by now. Something is not right.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Meyer on January 9, 2014 at 8:23am

I agree. He was right behind Drabrowski at WP1 on course

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Permalink Reply by Xracer on January 9, 2014 at 8:23am

Relax it's a long day

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Permalink Reply by Jaci on January 9, 2014 at 8:20am

Damn, wonder what's going on with Coma?

Guess he's okay
10:24 - bike

002 - Coma finishes part 1

The Spanish KTM rider Marc Coma has just halted his stop-watch at 3:02'08", he is the first to complete the initial part of the day's special.

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Permalink Reply by Jaci on January 9, 2014 at 8:20am

09:09 - bike

010 - Bad luck for Gonçalves!

The leader at the first time check, Paulo Gonçalves, has stopped after 143 km of the special and his bike is on fire. Fortunately, the rider is unharmed.