- Jun 9, 2002
- 9,535
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Gleened from various websites ... I'll post them as I find them.
eurosport.com
Dakar Robbery
Frenchman Denis Comte was forced to withdraw from the motorcycle section of the Dakar Rally on Saturday after his official documents, money and credit cards were stolen from a service van in Barcelona.
With the KTM rider dropping out, 229 motorbikes completed the untimed liaison stage from Barcelona to Granada, a journey of 920 kilometres.
The rally continues on Sunday with the third stage, a 10-km special in military terrain near Granada, before competitors make their way to Algeciras in southern Spain for their boat crossing to Tangiers, Morocco.
Debutant Robby Gordon, who became the first American driver to win a Dakar Rally stage in a car on Friday's opening day, heads the drivers' standings in his Volkswagen by two seconds from Japanese Mitsubishi driver Hiroshi Masuoka.
The 2005 rally covers 8,956 kms and 16 stages through Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali before finishing in Dakar on January 16.
Flash Gordon rocks Dakar
Robby Gordon, making his Dakar debut, has shocked the Dakar fraternity by becoming the first American to win a stage on Friday. The Volkswagen driver, who has raced in CART, IRL and currently competes in NASCAR, set the fastest time on Friday's 6km stage around the beaches of Barcelona.
DAKAR 2005: Champions ready
Meanwhile, in the moto category it was Frenchman David Fretigne who proved once again that his two-wheel drive 450cc Yamaha is second to none over short distances by winning the 6km stage by eight seconds from favourite Cyril Despres with Dutchman Eric Verhoef third.
Italian Fabrizio Meoni was seventh quickest, 30 seconds shy of the early leader, with Isidre Esteve Pujol eleventh, Marc Coma twelfth and Jean Brucy already 1min 24secs off the pace in 39th.
South African Alfie Cox has had a terrible start to his Dakar, injuring his shoulder in a fall, while Italian Giovanni Sala has virtually lost all hope of victory after losing eight minutes due to a technical problem with his KTM machine.
Gordon springs the Surprise
However, the story of the day is without doubt the debut stage victory for Robby Gordon. The American powered his Volkswagen Touareg to a famous victory, beating the Mitsubishi Pajero of Hiroshi Masuoka into second by two seconds with the Nissan Pickup of Ginial De Villiers a further second adrift in third.
Robby Gordon is a household name in the United States following a hugely successful and diverse career to date. The Californian began his competition in the national SCORE/HDRA off-road series, winning the title twice before switching to circuit racing, winning the GTO class at both the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours.
In 1993 he then won the GTS class at Daytona whilst competing in the CART championship and making his debut in the Indy 500. Two seasons in the IRL and CART followed before Gordon switched to NASCAR racing whilst still competing in the Indy 500, mixing both the famous Brickyard race with the key NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Team-mates Bruno Saby and Jutta Kleinschmidt made it a highly positive start for Volkswagen in fourth and sixth respectively, serperated only by the Mitsubishi Pajero of Luc Alphand. Nissan's Ari Vatanen and Colin McRae were seventh and eighth, just ahead of defending champion Stephane Peterhansel.
There will be be no timed section tomorrow as the competitors quit Barcelona before heading South on a gruelling 920km liaison to Granada, Spain.
Results - Stage 3
Granada - Rabat (Moto) Time Diff
1. D.FRETIGNE — YAMAHA MOTOR FRANCE – GAULOISE – 00:07:57
2. A.COX GAULOISES — KTM – 00:07:59 +00:00:02
3. C.DESPRES — GAULOISES KTM – 00:08:00 +00:00:03
4. J.DURAN — KTM REPSOL - RED BULL – 00:08:06 +00:00:09
5. M.COMA — KTM REPSOL - RED BULL – 00:08:07 +00:00:10
6. A.CALDECOTT — KTM TEAM AUSTRALIA 00:08:08 +00:00:11
7. C.DE GAVARDO — DE GAVARDO – 00:08:11 +00:00:14
8. C.GORRARA — JURA DAKAR TEAM – 00:08:16 +00:00:19
9. K.WALCH — RED BULL USA KTM – 00:08:17 +00:00:20
10. F.MEONI — GAULOISES KTM – 00:08:17 +00:00:20
11. L.CHARBONNEL — CHARBONNEL MOTOS – 00:08:20 +00:00:23
12. D.CASTEU — ANABAS SECURITE OFFROAD – 00:08:21 +00:00:24
13. I.ESTEVE PUJOL — KTM REPSOL - RED BULL – 00:08:22 +00:00:25
14. S.HARDEN — RED BULL USA KTM – 00:08:23 +00:00:26
15. C.BLAIS — RED BULL USA KTM – 00:08:24 +00:00:27
16. J.VINTERS — SAF MOTO-TEAM RIGA – 00:08:25 +00:00:28
17. P.ULLEVALSETER — SCANDINAVIA – 00:08:25 +00:00:28
18. J.BRUCY — GAULOISES KTM – 00:08:26 +00:00:29
19. M.DABROWSKI — ORLEN TEAM – 00:08:26 +00:00:29
20. J.GONZALEZ — XXX – 00:08:33 +00:00:36
eurosport.com
Dakar Robbery
Frenchman Denis Comte was forced to withdraw from the motorcycle section of the Dakar Rally on Saturday after his official documents, money and credit cards were stolen from a service van in Barcelona.
With the KTM rider dropping out, 229 motorbikes completed the untimed liaison stage from Barcelona to Granada, a journey of 920 kilometres.
The rally continues on Sunday with the third stage, a 10-km special in military terrain near Granada, before competitors make their way to Algeciras in southern Spain for their boat crossing to Tangiers, Morocco.
Debutant Robby Gordon, who became the first American driver to win a Dakar Rally stage in a car on Friday's opening day, heads the drivers' standings in his Volkswagen by two seconds from Japanese Mitsubishi driver Hiroshi Masuoka.
The 2005 rally covers 8,956 kms and 16 stages through Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali before finishing in Dakar on January 16.
Flash Gordon rocks Dakar
Robby Gordon, making his Dakar debut, has shocked the Dakar fraternity by becoming the first American to win a stage on Friday. The Volkswagen driver, who has raced in CART, IRL and currently competes in NASCAR, set the fastest time on Friday's 6km stage around the beaches of Barcelona.
DAKAR 2005: Champions ready
Meanwhile, in the moto category it was Frenchman David Fretigne who proved once again that his two-wheel drive 450cc Yamaha is second to none over short distances by winning the 6km stage by eight seconds from favourite Cyril Despres with Dutchman Eric Verhoef third.
Italian Fabrizio Meoni was seventh quickest, 30 seconds shy of the early leader, with Isidre Esteve Pujol eleventh, Marc Coma twelfth and Jean Brucy already 1min 24secs off the pace in 39th.
South African Alfie Cox has had a terrible start to his Dakar, injuring his shoulder in a fall, while Italian Giovanni Sala has virtually lost all hope of victory after losing eight minutes due to a technical problem with his KTM machine.
Gordon springs the Surprise
However, the story of the day is without doubt the debut stage victory for Robby Gordon. The American powered his Volkswagen Touareg to a famous victory, beating the Mitsubishi Pajero of Hiroshi Masuoka into second by two seconds with the Nissan Pickup of Ginial De Villiers a further second adrift in third.
Robby Gordon is a household name in the United States following a hugely successful and diverse career to date. The Californian began his competition in the national SCORE/HDRA off-road series, winning the title twice before switching to circuit racing, winning the GTO class at both the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours.
In 1993 he then won the GTS class at Daytona whilst competing in the CART championship and making his debut in the Indy 500. Two seasons in the IRL and CART followed before Gordon switched to NASCAR racing whilst still competing in the Indy 500, mixing both the famous Brickyard race with the key NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Team-mates Bruno Saby and Jutta Kleinschmidt made it a highly positive start for Volkswagen in fourth and sixth respectively, serperated only by the Mitsubishi Pajero of Luc Alphand. Nissan's Ari Vatanen and Colin McRae were seventh and eighth, just ahead of defending champion Stephane Peterhansel.
There will be be no timed section tomorrow as the competitors quit Barcelona before heading South on a gruelling 920km liaison to Granada, Spain.
Results - Stage 3
Granada - Rabat (Moto) Time Diff
1. D.FRETIGNE — YAMAHA MOTOR FRANCE – GAULOISE – 00:07:57
2. A.COX GAULOISES — KTM – 00:07:59 +00:00:02
3. C.DESPRES — GAULOISES KTM – 00:08:00 +00:00:03
4. J.DURAN — KTM REPSOL - RED BULL – 00:08:06 +00:00:09
5. M.COMA — KTM REPSOL - RED BULL – 00:08:07 +00:00:10
6. A.CALDECOTT — KTM TEAM AUSTRALIA 00:08:08 +00:00:11
7. C.DE GAVARDO — DE GAVARDO – 00:08:11 +00:00:14
8. C.GORRARA — JURA DAKAR TEAM – 00:08:16 +00:00:19
9. K.WALCH — RED BULL USA KTM – 00:08:17 +00:00:20
10. F.MEONI — GAULOISES KTM – 00:08:17 +00:00:20
11. L.CHARBONNEL — CHARBONNEL MOTOS – 00:08:20 +00:00:23
12. D.CASTEU — ANABAS SECURITE OFFROAD – 00:08:21 +00:00:24
13. I.ESTEVE PUJOL — KTM REPSOL - RED BULL – 00:08:22 +00:00:25
14. S.HARDEN — RED BULL USA KTM – 00:08:23 +00:00:26
15. C.BLAIS — RED BULL USA KTM – 00:08:24 +00:00:27
16. J.VINTERS — SAF MOTO-TEAM RIGA – 00:08:25 +00:00:28
17. P.ULLEVALSETER — SCANDINAVIA – 00:08:25 +00:00:28
18. J.BRUCY — GAULOISES KTM – 00:08:26 +00:00:29
19. M.DABROWSKI — ORLEN TEAM – 00:08:26 +00:00:29
20. J.GONZALEZ — XXX – 00:08:33 +00:00:36
