Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 4 of the 2012 Dakar Rally. Robby Gordon finished 5th in stage 3 & Nasser Al Attiyah finished 3rd. Al Attiyah begins this stage at 10:33am/et & Gordon starts his at 10:39am/et. Raceday chat will be available throughout the entire 2012 Dakar Rally. Raceday chat now works on the Ipad & Iphone.
STAGE 4: San Juan > Chilecito
Connection 424km | Special Stage 326 | Total 750km
COURSE OVERVIEW
The most experienced drivers will be able to enjoy counting the dried-up rivers that they will cross during the day. They will also have time to admire the spectacular canyons of the Province of Rioja, but it is in their best interest to remain extremely vigilant. Nobody will be able to keep up a steady pace during the special stage. Whether it be the navigational subtleties at the end of the route or the small hurdles to overcome, there will be many occasions to lose time here. It is likely that once the rally has reached Chilecito, one or two of the competitors will have already been eliminated from the battle for the title.
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Pure conjecture on my part: Robby wants someone he trusts and is comfortable with riding with him. In general, he doesn't seem like a guy that likes being told what to do (see Nascar crew chiefs) and thinks he is the best guy to make decisions.
He had a good german navigator when he drove the VW, so something didn't work for him there. As I recall from the in car video, the guy kept telling him to slow down.
The Frenchman, who was already clawing his way back to the top at CP1, continues this trend after 262 kilometres, 3'09" behind Nasser Al-Attiyah. Right now, he would take back 4'43" from De Villiers, 5'37" from Roma and 8'32" from Krzysztof Holowczyc, the main drivers ahead of him in the general classification. Better not to talk about Robby Gordon, who has had a string of mishaps in today's special.
Can you elaborate on the string?
Looks like Nasser pusehd a little too hard.
19:13 Cars: Al-Attiyah has stopped
Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah has stopped at 3:00 pm local time, 288 km into today's special. He is yet to set off again.
That quote was from the Dakar website's Live Comments. No idea what the string of mishaps were but it sounds like a bad day for RG just hit Nasser as well.
19:20 Cars: Al-Attiyah: Robby Gordon comes to the rescue!
The American has just stopped next to his teammate, who ground to a halt 15 minutes ago at km 288 of today's special, probably with the intention of helping him.
From Dakar
The American has just stopped next to his teammate, who ground to a halt 15 minutes ago at km 288 of today's special, probably with the intention of helping him.
The American has just stopped next to his teammate, who ground to a halt 15 minutes ago at km 288 of today's special, probably with the intention of helping him.
19:24 Cars: Al-Attiyah back in the race!
The driver from Qatar is back in the race, roughly 15 minutes after stopping his car. He still has approximately 40 km to go before reaching the end of the timed section.
19:22 Cars: Gordon sets off again
The driver at the wheel of Hummer no. 303 has just left the area where his teammate is still stopped. Two possibilities: either Gordon is unable to aid him or Al-Attiyah is about to solve his problems and needs no additional help.
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