Jan 10th, 2012 Dakar Rally Stage 9 Race Info & Discussion

Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 9 of the 2012 Dakar Rally. Robby Gordon finished 2nd in stage 8 & Nasser Al Attiyah finished 5th. Cars begin stage 9 at 7:54am/et (9:54am local). Raceday chat will be available throughout the entire 2012 Dakar Rally. Raceday chat now works on the Ipad & Iphone.

STAGE 9 TRACKING

STAGE 9: Antofagasto > Iquique

Connection 9km | Special Stage 556km | Total 565km

COURSE OVERVIEW

A two-part stage will keep the competitors busy who continue the climb to the north of the continent, between oceans and mountains. Two sections separated by a neutralization are on the agenda with varied features and landscapes. At the beginning of the day, the competitors will pass through canyons, drive on clean tracks and sink in the fesh fesh?! The second special stage will call upon the drivers' and co-drivers' navigational talents, who will have to make a decision based on the very limited landmarks, while remaining focused on the WPM. To reward them for this intensive endeavour, they will drive down the steep descent to Iquique, already featured on the 2010 Dakar route, to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

STAGE BY STAGE RESULTS

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Pierre Labat on January 10, 2012 at 3:06pm

On the positive side, the RG team now knows what are the things that break first when their class1 is pushed hard. That will be useful for next year.

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Permalink Reply by Drone637 on January 10, 2012 at 3:11pm

It will be interesting to see what rule changes are put in place next year to make sure everyone is on a level playing field. My guess is some suspension or engine limitations for the Baja style trucks.

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Permalink Reply by Chupakabras on January 10, 2012 at 3:21pm

The mini is winning , so far,. so,. everything is level,

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Permalink Reply by Drone637 on January 10, 2012 at 4:07pm

But there is no denying that the Hummers are that much faster on open ground. It would make sense to reign them in a little bit, or open the T1 trucks up to allow for more suspension.

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Permalink Reply by james heggemeier on January 10, 2012 at 3:08pm

OK . Off to work !! love working for myself.

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Permalink Reply by Randy on January 10, 2012 at 3:34pm

Awesome day for you Robby. What a bummer for the 300 hummer. Feel those shoe's and bring it home, GAS-ON AND GET-R-DONE. We all have faith in you.

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Permalink Reply by natron008 on January 10, 2012 at 3:46pm

Hindsight is 20/20, but could you imagine where he'd be sitting if Robby hadn't helped Nasser at the start of this thing!?

If the 300 is officially out, Bob should drive it the rest of the way just for fun!

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Permalink Reply by Thomas on January 10, 2012 at 4:03pm

Great day for Robby and the No. 303 HUMMER. As long as they remain on top in stages they will put a lot of pressure on Peterhansel. Stages on Friday and Saturday could be huge days for Team SPEED if we need to push for the overall.