Loprais wins 9th stage by a whisker

Unlike in other stages, the trucks started ahead of the cars and bikes, having a different route.  8 kilometres into today’s special, Gerard de Rooy’s Iveco was been hit by turbo problems , sending a “stop” signal. After 15 minutes, he was joined briefly by teammate Miki Biasion, who then left without his team leader.  The Dutchman’s been working on his truck for over 15 minutes.
After 63 kilometres, Dutchman Pieter Versluis (Man) clocked the best time, 47″ faster than Aleš Loprais’ (Tatra) and 1′05″ quicker than Russian Andrey Karginov’s (Kamaz).
After 1h15min repairing, at 25 km of the stage, Gerard de Rooy kept moving on in fits and starts, stopping, starting and stopping again, only to get going a few minutes later.  He lost 95 km, as the first truck already past  km 120.
Dutchman Marcel van Vliet at the wheel of the no. 502  Man moved into second place, 45″ down on the reference time set by leader, teammate Pieter Versluis.
At km 179. Pieter Versluis was still firmly in command of the truck race, with a time of 1 h 58′33″, followed by Aleš Loprais’ Tatra (+1′00″), Andrey Karginov’s Kamaz (+1′12″), Marcel van Vliet’s Man (+1′46″) and Martin Kolomý’s Tatra (+2′44″).
Pieter Versluis’ Man stayed in command with 70 kilometres to go, followed by Aleš Loprais’ Tatra and Andrei Karginov’s Kamaz. Marcel van Vliet’s Man is currently in fourth place.
With the first fifteen drivers across the finish line, Aleš Loprais (Tatra) produced a late burst of speed to overtake Pieter Versluis (Man) and beat him by just seven seconds at the end of today’s 293 km special! Further down the stage classification, Andrey Karginov’s Kamaz finished 1′36″ back, followed by Martin Kolomý’s Tatra at 2′13″ and Marcel van Vliet’s Man at 2′36″.
While the leaders crossed the finish line, Gerard de Rooij still got 76 km to go. Eeventually Gerard de Rooy  crossed the finish line, losing 1 h 25′38″ to stage leader Aleš Loprais.
Dakar2013LopraisStage8
Unlike in other stages, the trucks started ahead of the cars and bikes, having a different route.  8 kilometres into today’s special, Gerard de Rooy’s Iveco was been hit by turbo problems , sending a “stop” signal.  After 15 minutes, he was joined briefly by teammate Miki Biasion, who then left without his team leader,  the Dutchman’s been working on his truck for over 15 minutes.
After 63 kilometres, Dutchman Pieter Versluis (Man) clocked the best time, 47″ faster than Aleš Loprais’ (Tatra) and 1′05″ quicker than Russian Andrey Karginov’s (Kamaz).
After 1h15min repairing, at 25 km of the stage, Gerard de Rooy kept moving on in fits and starts, stopping, starting and stopping again, only to get going a few minutes later.  He lost 95 km, as the first truck already past  km 120.
Dutchman Marcel van Vliet at the wheel of the no. 502  Man moved into second place, 45″ down on the reference time set by leader, teammate Pieter Versluis.
At km 179. Pieter Versluis was still firmly in command of the truck race, with a time of 1 h 58′33″, followed by Aleš Loprais’ Tatra (+1′00″), Andrey Karginov’s Kamaz (+1′12″), Marcel van Vliet’s Man (+1′46″) and Martin Kolomý’s Tatra (+2′44″).
Pieter Versluis’ Man stayed in command with 70 kilometres to go, followed by Aleš Loprais’ Tatra and Andrei Karginov’s Kamaz. Marcel van Vliet’s Man is currently in fourth place.
With the first fifteen drivers across the finish line, Aleš Loprais (Tatra) produced a late burst of speed to overtake Pieter Versluis (Man) and beat him by just seven seconds at the end of today’s 293 km special! Further down the stage classification, Andrey Karginov’s Kamaz finished 1′36″ back, followed by Martin Kolomý’s Tatra at 2′13″ and Marcel van Vliet’s Man at 2′36″.
While the leaders crossed the finish line, Gerard de Rooij still got 76 km to go. Eeventually Gerard de Rooy  crossed the finish line, losing 1 h 25′38″ to stage leader Aleš Loprais.
With Kolomy 4th and Vratny 6th, all three reaaining Tatras managed the top 10!
Dakar2013ResultsStage8
The Kamazs and Tatras now share the spoils at the top of the Truck overall. Russian Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) is in the lead with 17′56″ on Czech Martin Kolomý (Tatra) and 33′32″ on teammate Ayrat Mardeev. Gerard de Rooy (Iveco) is now fourth and has a deficit of 59′56″ to make up. Moreover, fifth-placed Andrey Karginov (Kamaz) is just five seconds behind him.
Dakar2013OverallAfterStage8