Jan 3rd, 2012 Dakar Rally Stage 3 Race Info & Discussion

Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 3 of the 2012 Dakar Rally. Robby Gordon finished 3rd during stage 2 & Nasser Al Attiyah won the stage. Al Attiyah begins this stage at 10:18am/et & Gordon starts his at 10:24am/et. Raceday chat will be available throughout the entire 2012 Dakar Rally. Raceday chat now works on the Ipad & Iphone.

STAGE 3 TRACKING

STAGE 3: San Rafael > San Juan

Connection 291km | Special Stage 208 | Total 499km

COURSE OVERVIEW

The Andes Cordillera, ever-present throughout the 2012 Dakar, is very demanding for the drivers. The crossing of rivers and the many holes and stones that the drivers will have to avoid during the day's special stage, will make the terrain particularly gruelling. The sturdiness of the engines will be put to the test if the drivers do not remain attentive. But the altitude and the reliefs provide both magnificent landscapes, with every shade of red possible, and small acrobatic challenges, such as a steep climb that the motorcyclists will definitely have to finish in first gear.

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Permalink Reply by Gary on January 3, 2012 at 3:40pm

Really ticks me off that the buffoons over at SpeedTV have not mentioned the rally once on their web site nor on TV as to where RG and Nassar are running. What kind of a motorsports channel is that anyway.????

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Permalink Reply by NIKAL on January 3, 2012 at 3:56pm

Speed TV has become the autosport version of MTV. Once upon a time MTV was about music, video's and bands. Now they are about jersey shore, knocked up teem moms and Real World teen shows. Speed TV is more focused on shows like Pink's and Barret Jackson vs real racing that is going on around the world. The best thing Speed has going IMO is the Truck series. If it was not for that I would not even waist my time to see what is on that channel.

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Permalink Reply by TOG on January 3, 2012 at 4:03pm

well said

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Permalink Reply by David Z on January 3, 2012 at 4:43pm

Hit the nail on the head. Speed TV (Speedvision) went to crap when FOX bought it.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Kenyon on January 3, 2012 at 4:57pm

and Na$crap (minor investor)

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Permalink Reply by Robby2Win7 on January 3, 2012 at 5:40pm

I remember when Speedvision would show flag-to-flag coverage of th 24 hours of Lemans, and I would stay up for all of it.......

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Permalink Reply by Ken on January 3, 2012 at 5:14pm

I remember when you used to be able to watch swamp buggies, mud bogs and tractor pull in the early days of that channel

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Permalink Reply by Ben Cartwright on January 3, 2012 at 5:29pm

I agree, but SpeedTV is still a great channel during the racing season, nobody else shows Grand Am, F1, or Trucks.

The problem is the rest of their programming is complete crap, they used to show old racing documentaries but not anymore.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Shaw on January 3, 2012 at 3:50pm

i know mike there not in the big stuff yet

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Permalink Reply by Jimmy Wright on January 3, 2012 at 4:07pm

Overall, Robby gained ~2 min on the leader?

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Permalink Reply by Bonzai on January 3, 2012 at 4:14pm

Yes and Nasser gained ~2min too

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Permalink Reply by Ed Fifield on January 3, 2012 at 4:21pm

That was a big day for both cars at RGM. I gotta believe that Nasser feels much better about his chances then after the first stage. Things are looking up for both cars. It looks like Robby is only 54 seconds back. That is a big deal!