1-2-3 for Mini on Dakar Rally Day 3

January 09,2014

After the perfect run by the reigning Dakar champion Stéphane Peterhansel (FR) in his black Mini All4 Racing at the 2014 Dakar Rally on Monday, the third competitive day of the world’s toughest endurance rally was another good one for the Monster Energy X-raid Team as well as the Mini brand. Joan “Nani” Roma (ES) in the yellow Mini All4 Racing and Krzystof Holowczyc (PL) in the red Mini All4 Racing claimed a one-two on the third Dakar leg which took the competitors via 301 timed kilometres from San Rafael to San Juan (both AR) and into the first foothills of the Argentinean Andes – a terrain well-suited for the Mini All4 Racing in which it could prove his core strengths: power, reliability and efficiency.

 

Meanwhile Nasser Al-Attiyah (QT) in his predominantly white Mini All4 Racing put the icing on the cake for the X-raid Team and the Mini brand. By finishing the day seventh, Al-Attiyah climbed to third in the overall classification. So the Mini brand holds a one-two-three overall with Roma in first, Orlando Terranova (AR), who finished fourth for the day, in second and Al-Attiyah in third heading into the fourth competitive Dakar day. “It was a good day for us, and leading the Dakar Rally definitely feels great,” says Roma. “We know that the race for the 2014 Dakar title is still a long one. But today gives us an extra motivation.”

 

Day four will see the longest special stage at the Dakar Rally since the historic route from Zouerat to Tichit (both MR) in 2005. The drivers must cross rivers, negotiate ravines, and be wary of the opposition. The route on day four features expansive spaces, making overtaking relatively easy. At the same time, the special stage to Chilecito (AR) is also the longest on the 2014 Dakar for the cars.

A total of eleven Mini All4 Racing compete in the 2014 Dakar. All are based on the Mini John Cooper Works Countryman, modified by the factory-supported X-raid Team to meet the high demands of the Dakar Rally which is today’s pinnacle of off-road motorsports. With a combination of power, reliability and efficiency the Mini All4 Racing proved its competiveness right from its first Dakar start in 2011 while also winning the hearts of the fans from the word go. On only its second Dakar appearance, the Mini All4 Racing made the big breakthrough by winning the 2012 Dakar Rally. In 2013 the Mini brand proved that its Dakar success was no flash in the pan by defending its title at the first attempt. This year, the X-raid Team and the Mini brand are aiming at clinching their third consecutive Dakar title when the 2014 Dakar ends in Valparaiso, Chile, on 18th January.

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