Dakar Rally: Second overall victory for Nasser Al-Attiyah

Nasser Al-Attiyah secured his second victory in the Dakar Rally after nearly two weeks of domination of the 2015 event. The Qatari took the lead early on and only lost it to X-raid team-mate Orlando Terranova due to a penalty after the first stage.

After he regained it on the following day, Al-Attiyah stayed on top and secured a commanding win at the end of the event on Saturday. Third place in the final stage of the rally was enough for Al-Attiyah to clinch overall victory, his second following his 2011 triumph with Volkswagen. Al-Attiyah's win also means an X-raid Mini has won the Dakar for four consecutive years.

Giniel di Villiers finished in second place in his Toyota, over 35 minutes behind the winner. Krzysztof Holowczyc completed the podium in another X-raid Mini. The final special of the rally was shortened to just 34km due to heavy rain, and it meant the stage finished at the first control point.

American Robby Gordon took victory by 31 seconds from Leeroy Poulter and by 34s from Emiliano Spataro. Al-Attiyah finished the special in sixth, 48 seconds behind. Peugeot's troublesome return to the Dakar ended with Stephane Peterhansel outside the top 10 after finishing in 12th place in today's stage.

In the bikes category, Spaniard Marco Coma secured his fifth Dakar victory, while Airat Mardeev won in trucks and Rafal Sonik in quads.

Indian rider CS Santosh also completed the Dakar Rally on his debuit stint. He secured 36th place overall.

Comments

2018 Lamborghini Urus India review, test drive

On first introduction, it’s a recipe for intimidation. It’s claimed to be the fastest SUV in the world (0-100kph in 3.6sec and a top speed of 305kph puts it nearly in supercar territory), and it’s made by Lamborghini – creator of some of the most savage vehicles on the market. Things – as with any Lamborghini, for that matter – would be a lot less daunting if we were driving on a smooth European country road, a wide motorway, or even a race track. But today we’re driving the Urus on a narrow ghat road, as well as through some heavy Pune traffic. Perhaps the intention was to demonstrate that this is the first Lamborghini ever to go on sale in India that truly works in our conditions – but still, I doubt they accounted for rush hour. It’s requisitely mad to look at, employing as many ‘sporty’ design tropes to an SUV body style as possible – the only thing missing is a massive wing on the back; and somehow, it works. It’s ...

Honda CB Unicorn 160 vs Suzuki Gixxer comparison

There is no replacement for displacement, as goes the old American saying, with which the rest of the world often nods in agreement. Increase in the number of cubic centimeters of fuel that our engines burn, seems only to be a pleasant idea to almost every petrolhead. More power, more torque and a healthier sounding grunt from the exhaust are the common expectations from larger engines. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has walked this same path, to add 10 extra cubic centimeters of capacity to the now proven CB Unicorn engine, to make the Honda CB Unicorn 160. FROLIC FASHION Although some of the features of the older CB Unicorn have been bettered, we’ve gone ahead and pitched it right in at the deep end, to face off against the very best in the segment to find out the exact degree to which this motorcycle has improved. So, in steps the Suzuki Gixxer, a Japanese-made premium commuter that’s fast rising to the top of its segment, with enough promise to overshadow all o...

Land Rover Discovery Sport review

Two things. To start with, it’s Land Rover’s replacement for the popular and capable Freelander. It’s also the first of the models from Land Rover’s new Discovery sub-brand, one that will focus on utility in the same vein as the Range Rover line is about luxury. The Discovery Sport was shown as a concept last year and the production version’s styling doesn’t stray too far from the prototype. It’s smart, well proportioned and interesting but doesn’t have the show value of something like an Evoque. Still, there’s a certain honesty to the chunky shape which, if you think about it, more than links the Sport to the Freelander. The Sport is 91mm longer than its predecessor and also sits on a wheelbase that’s grown by 80mm. These increments, and the incorporation of a compact multi-link rear suspension, have allowed Land Rover to fit in a third row of seats, giving the Sport a big advantage over its five-seat competitors – the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Volvo XC60. But Land Rover is being cau...

Automobilestillnow

Search This Blog