Share

Sainz has a plan for '11 Dakar

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Defending Dakar Rally champion Carlos Sainz has vowed to show respect and modesty as he sets about his hunt for a second triumph in the gruelling 13-stage race which will start on Saturday.

The 48-year-old Spaniard, World Rally champion in 1990 and 1992 who converted to cross-country rallying in 2005, led the 2010 Dakar from stage five to finish ahead of VW pair and main rivals Nasser al-Attiyah and Mark Miller.

'ONE IMPORTANT LESSON...'

"This year we still hardly know what to expect - the organiser has only released a few details," Sainz said of the course that will see 146 cars, 183 motorcycles, 68 trucks and 33 quad bikes racing for 5000km of a 9500km-long course.

"Since my career in the World Rally championship, if there is one important lesson that I learned for desert rallies, is this: Approach the challenges thrown up every day with the greatest respect and always remain modest."

After staging the event 29 times in Africa from 1979 to 2007, the rally switched continents in 2008 for security reasons. The 2009 and 2010 editions were staged in Argentina and Chile and Sainz said the countries offered a much varied landscape

TOP DOGS IN THE DUNES: VW team mates Spaniard Carlos Sainz (right) who won the 2010 Dakar Rally and Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah leave the Buenos Aires parc ferme. Defending champion Sainz aims “to show respect” for the challenge.

"Compared to the stages in Africa, it is the variety of the terrain in South America that impresses me the most. Beforehand, the talk is frequently of very special challenges," he said on VW’s website. "The dune stages in the Atacama Desert and in the Cordilleras foothills will again certainly be a unique challenge.

"The sand in cross-country rallying is the greatest change for me because before I’d driven tens of thousands of kilometres on gravel.

"Sometimes you approach towering dunes like those around Copiapo. You have to sense and read the sand exactly on every single day, and you must confront the dunes with respect."

Sainz added that every driver also needed "a little luck", citing the problems encountered by Attiyah and nine-times champion (six times on a motorcycle, three times on four wheels) Stephane Peterhansel, whom he rated as the top sand driver on the rally.

"If you drive a tiny bit more to the right or left you can be lucky or, in the same way, be unlucky," Sainz said.

"Nobody knows what it looks like behind the dune, which is why I have coined the phrase in our cockpit: You can’t see through the sand. Two plus two does not necessarily make four in the desert!"

Attiyah has pinpointed Stage 9 (Antofagasta - Copiapo (776km/508km special) as the key to the gruelling race that will finish back in Buenos Aires on January 15 with the prize-giving the following day.

ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE: A lonely mechanic works on the Yamaha of Spain's Jose Manuel Pellicer before technical verification for the 2011 Dakar 2011 Rally..

"By all accounts the loop around Copiapo in Chile will be one of the hardest during the entire rally with lots of soft sand," the 40-year old Qatari said.

"Just crossing the dunes should be particularly difficult to master. Our prospects look good there because over previous years I’ve acquired my own technique to start climbing the dunes. Just how it exactly looks should remain my trade secret."

AND THE BIKES...

In the motorcycle section of the Dakar, French KTM rider Cyril Despres will also be defending his title although he admits it will be tough, with an average of 700km a day to cover and a nine-strong multi-national team following his every move.

"Most of the time on the Dakar I'm alone on my bike in the middle of nowhere and trying to concentrate," he said. "I focus on riding as fast as possible, paying attention to navigate well, and choosing the right tactics.

"The only way to remain focused for so long is to eliminate any other thoughts of before and after the race. And the way of getting there is to have 100%t confidence in a team that manages everything else totally professionally."

Download the full-sized map.
Play the virtual Dakar game.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()