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 Miffles on January 9, 2014 at 4:34pm

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Permalink Reply by Michael Brandon on January 9, 2014 at 4:10pm

Just watched Helo shot of RG posted by Will, cannot believe a Mini can go that fast. Anyone know where any video of Mini going that fast?

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Permalink Reply by Head Held High on January 9, 2014 at 4:12pm

Peter Pecker was hammering it in that section as well.... they are no joke.

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Permalink Reply by Chupakabras on January 9, 2014 at 4:16pm

But not as comfortable like RG.

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Permalink Reply by will on January 9, 2014 at 4:16pm

I don't record the Mini's Michael. Just not my deal ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Bonzai on January 9, 2014 at 4:20pm

RG said he missed one WP today. I think it's the wp2. If he miss this wp, => penalities 2h.

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Permalink Reply by Speed Freak 7 on January 9, 2014 at 4:22pm

305- Robby Gordon

I think is more than an issue with the car. We cruised the whole special and to finish third is amazing. We all searched around for the way point before the transfer on the special and we missed a way point. Carlos missed a way point. I think Al-Attiyah missed a way point, so that's going to put us all in a really bad shape. I was already in a bad shape, so what's that saying? What's another drink of water when you're drowning? One more sip isn't going to hurt.

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Permalink Reply by will on January 9, 2014 at 4:28pm

ASO has been adjusting the standings on their site for the bikes in the last few minutes, stand by for a shake up in the cars.

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Permalink Reply by Head Held High on January 9, 2014 at 4:31pm

Penalties coming for lots of competitors - Nassar & Saniz missed a WP as well.

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Permalink Reply by Speed Freak 7 on January 9, 2014 at 4:32pm

302-Giniel De Villiers

"We had a pretty good day except in the first part of the special with the way point where everyone was really looking for the place. The good thing is that we did not have any power-steering problems today, but unfortunately we lost our brakes 15 km from the finish. We stopped and tried to see what the problem was and it looks like there's a problem at the back. We stopped for about one and a half minutes to have a look and obviously just had to come in slowly because my pedal is completely on the floor. It was a very tough day today – really hard for the car. I think a lot of guys will maybe sleep out there in the desert tonight."

The last part is making a statement of how tough the day was!