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| Форум на I-StRes.narod.ru / Беседка / Dakar: 1st, 1st and 1st. Again |
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mushfiq бывалый Группа: Участники Сообщений: 44 |
Добавлено: 19-01-2011 18:28 |
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Dakar: 1st, 1st and 1st. Again It's a strike rate of 100 percent: since the Dakar rally moved from Africa to South America back in 2009, no one but Red Bull-backed drivers and riders have stepped on the top step of the podium in the event's three main categories. This Saturday (Jan 15) in little Baradero in Argentina, home to the finish line of the 13th and final special stage, that perfect record was maintained by Nasser Al-Attiyah, Marc Coma and Vladimir Chagin. Perhaps happiest of the three was Al-Attiyah. The Qatari showed in 2011 the consistency to back his well-known speed and clinched his maiden Dakar triumph in the Car category aboard the Red Bull Volkswagen Touareg. He becomes the first Arab ever to win the famous enduro. "Winning the Dakar had been my dream for a long time, and now it has finally come true," celebrated 40-year-old Nasser, who took control of the race during Stage 9 after rival and teammate, 2010 winner Carlos Sainz, got stuck twice on soft sand – arguably Nasser's natural habitat given his Middle Eastern origins. "Since 2009 I felt that my dream was coming closer, and that in every rally with Volkswagen I was learning a lot," added the Arab, who joined the squad with a reputation of being very fast but sometimes mistake-prone. "This year it showed: I had just one flat tire during the entire rally, versus six in 2010. I never drink any alcohol, but maybe (co-driver) Timo (Gottschalk) can open two bottles of champagne for him today!" Sainz found little consolation in winning most stages (six) but ending up third overall: "This was a very hard Dakar for us," said "El Matador", who fell out of contention for back-to-back victories after losing one hour repairing his right-front suspension on Stage 11. "But Nasser and Timo did a great job and took a deserving win. I've been in this business for 30 years, and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. The important thing is to keep enjoying it." Also boasting a tired but exuberant smile at the Autodromo de Baradero was KTM rider Marc Coma. The Spaniard not only took his third career Bike win in the world's toughest rally, he also tied the number of victories of the man sometimes referred to as his "best enemy", fellow Red Bull and KTM rider Cyril Despres, who finished second overall. "We won it when we didn't lose it," Coma insightfully summarized. "That's what the Dakar is all about: trying not to make any mistakes and taking advantage when the competition makes them." "We made two little mistakes over 15 days, and in the Dakar that's the difference between winning or not," Cyril admitted. "Of course I would have preferred to win, but at least we made it to the finish on the podium for the eighth time." Finally, another in-house duel, this time at Red Bull Kamaz, saw Vladimir Chagin clinch his seventh career Truck victory prevailing in the battle with countryman and teammate Firdaus Kabirov. The Russian also brought his total of career stage wins to 63, a record among all categories. It's a testament to the challenges presented over 9500km by the Dakar that no driver or rider has achieved a three-peat since the event switched to Argentina-Chile. Below the list of winners 2009-2011, all Red Bull athletes: CAR 2009 - Giniel de Villiers - Volkswagen 2010 - Carlos Sainz - Volkswagen 2011 - Nasser Al-Attiyah - Volkswagen BIKE 2009 - Marc Coma - KTM 2010 - Cyril Despres - KTM 2011 - Marc Coma - KTM TRUCK 2009 - Firdaus Kabirov - Kamaz 2010 - Vladimir Chagin - Kamaz 2011 - Vladimir Chagin - Kamaz   
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