Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz have consolidated their overall third place position after Stage 5 of the Dakar Rally in South America between Arequipa and Arica. The 2009 Dakar champions finished the stage in fourth place in their Imperial Toyota Hilux. De Villiers and von Zitzewitz are the only representatives left in the Toyota Imperial South Africa Team after Duncan Vos and Rob Howie were forced to retire on Tuesday after severely damaging their roll cage.
Close battle for Imperial Toyota Hilux
Spains Nani Roma and Michel Perin of France won the stage in their Mini while team mates and overall leaders Stephan Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret placed second. Americans Robbie Gordon and Kellon Walch (Hummer) came in at third place and are placed 36th overall after losing nearly six hours after their crash and radiator problems on Tuesday.
The competition for the Stage 5 honours was a heated affair with only 1 minute 51 seconds separating De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz in fourth and Roma/Perrin in first. The top 10 overall positions remained unchanged but Argentineans Lucio Alvarez and Roland Graue in their South African-built Imperial Toyota Hilux improved by two places to settle at 25th overall after losing three hours on Tuesday with a damaged suspension.
Giniel de Villiers said, It was not a long stage but quite fast, twisty at the beginning. We had a small problem with the rear brakes we lost a bit of rear brake, so we’ll have to look at what the problem is tonight, but other than that it was a nice stage and beautiful along the beach.”
Dakar Rally – Stage 6
Thursdays Stage 6 will prove to be a challenge for competitors and is the longest stage so far. Stage 6 from Arica to Calama consists of a 313km liaison stage followed by a 454km special stage, which is the first special stage in Chile. The route takes competitors through the Atacama Desert which is the driest place on earth with sand and dunes for two thirds of the distance. Two specific sections of the stage will be timed and competitors will rediscover fesh fesh (powdered sand) which may pose a challenge for the drivers.
Stage 6 of the Dakar Rally starts at 3:33 PM (SA Time) on Thursday, 10 January 2013.
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