Day's CourseSan Rafael - San Juan
- 01/01/2012 01. Mar del Plata - Santa Rosa
- 02/01/2012 02. Santa Rosa - San Rafael
- 03/01/2012 03. San Rafael - San Juan
- 04/01/2012 04. San Juan - Chilecito
- 05/01/2012 05. Chilecito - Fiambala
- 06/01/2012 06. Fiambala - Copiapo
- 07/01/2012 07. Copiapo - Copiapo
- 09/01/2012 08. Copiapo - Antofagasta
- 10/01/2012 09. Antofagasta - Iquique
- 11/01/2012 10. Iquique - Arica
- 12/01/2012 11. Arica - Arequipa
- 13/01/2012 12. Arequipa - Nasca
- 14/01/2012 13. Nasca - Pisco
- 15/01/2012 14. Pisco - Lima
- Tuesday. 3January.
Map
Trucks
- S
- 1
- 2
- 3
520 - A
502 505 506 507 510 512 526 528 534 - F
Cars
- S
- 1
- 2
- 3
464 - A
314 315 317 337 347 377 435 440 - F
Quads
- S
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- A
- F
Bikes
- S
- 1
- 2
- 3
186 - 4
119 - A
015 018 048 074 177 - F
Profile
Trucks
- S
- 1
- 2
- 3
520 - A
502 505 506 507 510 512 526 528 534 - F
Cars
- S
- 1
- 2
- 3
464 - A
314 315 317 337 347 377 435 440 - F
Quads
- S
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- A
- F
Bikes
- S
- 1
- 2
- 3
186 - 4
119 - A
015 018 048 074 177 - F
Photos
Start Special
Finish Special
Refuelling
Finish 
Waypoint*
Waypoint reached*
*Click on the WayPoints on the map to display the Ranking
Informations
| Special | Cars | Bikes | Quads | Trucks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | 07:48 | 06:00 | 06:00 | 10:08 |
| Connection | 291km | 291km | 291km | 291km |
| Special stage | 208km | 270km | 270km | 208km |
| Number of participants | ||||
| from start | 140 | 160 | 26 | 70 |
| have left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WP1 | 140 | 155 | 25 | 70 |
| WP2 | 138 | 155 | 25 | 70 |
| WP3 | 137 | 150 | 24 | 70 |
| WP4 | - | - | - | - |
| at arrival | 136 | 153 | 24 | 68 |
| WPF | 140 | 155 | 23 | 71 |
Live Comments
22:12 Trucks: Karginov 3rd, Ardavichus leads the general standings
As could be expected, in light of his performance on the last sections of the special stage, Russian Andrey Karginov (Kamaz) has just crossed the finishing line in third place, behind Biasion (Iveco) and Ardavichus (Kamaz). The Kazakh is now in the lead in the general standings for the truck category, having taken advantage of the favourites’ mishaps. Gerard De Rooy (Iveco) is second, 28” behind, Miki Biasion returns to third position, 1’51” behind, followed by only 6 seconds by the threat of Hans Stacey (Iveco). Ales Loprais (Tatra) lies in fifth, 2’43” behind. Apart from De Rooy, who lost the leadership (he had a lead of 5’30” yesterday evening), the main loser of the day is Russian Eduard Nikolaev, who stopped on the special stage and lost 12’34” to the new leader.
22:01 Trucks: Victory for Biasion!
The Italian dominated the special from the midway point onwards, increasing his advantage over the last kilometres. He finished the day with a lead of 1’09” over Kazakhstan’s Ardavichus, 3’34 over Loprais, third for the moment, but the standings are merely provisional until the arrival of Karginov. Hans Stacey and Gerard De Rooy respectively lost 4’37” and 8’57” over the 208 kilometres of the special, which could lead to changes in the general standings in the truck category.
21:42 Trucks: Karginov on the podium?
Russian driver Andrey Karginov (Kamaz) has also reached CP3 and occupies third place behind Biasion and Ardavichus, 1’23” behind the stage leader and 26” behind the provisionally second-placed truck.
21:40 Trucks: Biaison leads at CP3, De Rooy loses ground
Italian Miki Biasion (Iveco) has just reached the last intermediate point on the route and still leads with a total time of 2:11’29”, 57” quicker than his main pursuer, Kazakh Artur Ardavichus (Kamaz). Ales Loprais (Tatra) is in third position 2’18” behind after the first 160 kilometres (out of a total of 208 for the trucks). All is not well with Gerard De Rooy, who has lost 6’58” to the leader, whereas his main rival in the general standings Hans Stacey (Iveco) is only 2’27” behind Biasion.
20:42 Trucks: Biasion and Ardavichus sneak in between De Rooy and Stacey
Italian Miki Biasion has put in the best time at CP2 with a total time of 1:32’45”. He now leads the former stage leader up to this point by one minute and sixteen seconds. Kazakh driver Ardavichus has sneaked into third place ahead of Gerard De Rooy who he leads by 15 seconds. Ales Loprais is fifth, 22 seconds behind the leader of the general standings.
20:35 Trucks: Stacey leads De Rooy at CP2!
There is an almighty battle between the Dutchmen at the front of the truck race, as was foreseeable. Hans Stacey has been the quickest at CP2 on the day’s special stage and he currently leads Gérard de Rooy by 25 seconds after the first 117 kilometres.
20:33 Quads: Marcos Patronelli comes home in first place!
The first three quads have finished the special stage Marcos Patronelli, who has featured in the Top 3 since the start of the special, pulled out all the stops in the last sector, after 160 kilometres, and boasts a lead of 1’52” over Tomas Maffei. For the moment, it is an Argentine 1-2-3 at the end of the special stage, since Alejandro Patronelli is third, 27” behind Maffei.
20:28 Trucks: Karginov on form!
Thirteenth in the trucks’ general standings this morning, Russian Andrey Karginov has been very quick over the first 40 kilometres of the special. At CP1, he was in second place, 7” behind Gerard de Rooy and 2” ahead of Hans Stacey.
20:25 Trucks: Nikolaev loses ground
Second to start today, Russian Eduard Nikolaev has lost ground at CP1, after 40 kilometres of the special. His Kamaz now trails Gerard De Rooy by 12’42”. The Russian stopped for approximately ten minutes shortly after the start, most probably to sort out a mechanical problem. He is currently progressing at the same pace as the other competitors.
19:45 Trucks: De Rooy leads at CP1
Gerard De Rooy (Iveco) is in the lead at CP1, 9” ahead of his countryman Hans Stacey (Iveco). Third place at this point of the special goes to Italian Miki Biasion (Iveco), 21” behind. Kazakh Artur Ardavichus (Kamaz), 22 seconds behind is provisional fourth and Russian Ayrat Mardeev (Kamaz), is fifth, 24 seconds behind.
19:43 Bikes: Changes in the bike standings
The bikes are arriving at the finish little by little and as announced at CP3, the second and third places were up for grabs between Dutchman Frans Verhoeven (Sherco) and Portugal's Paulo Gocalvez (Husqvarna), who were 13th and 16th this morning. They finished in this order, respectively 8’37” and 8’39” behind the day’s winner Cyril Despres. Helder Rodrigues is fourth, 10’03” behind, in front of the Aprilia belonging to Frenchman Alain Duclos, 11’12” behind, and the Yamaha of David Casteu, 11’42” behind. Marc Coma finished behind all these riders, in seventh place, losing 13’04” at the end of this third day. Another unfortunate competitor today was Francisco Lopez, in eighth place, 17’59” behind In the general standings, this means that Despres has taken control with a lead of 10’12” over Marc Coma. The third placed rider after three stages is David Casteu, 17’16” behind his countryman. Lopez is 17’37” behind and Helder Rodrigues is 19’49” behind, forming the new Top 5 in the general standings for the bike category.
19:21 Trucks: Now it’s the trucks’ turn!
The leading trio have got to grips with the 208 kilometres of the day’s special stage. The starts of Dutchmen Gérard De Rooy (Iveco) and Hans Stacey (Iveco) were separated by Russian driver Eduard Nikolaev, who is only just ahead of Stacey in the general standings (19”) whereas De Rooy boasts a lead of 5’30” over the Kamaz driver.
19:18 Cars: Holowczyc and Roma in the lead!
Spaniard Juan “Nani” Roma (Mini) has just grabbed the best finish of the day with a total time over the 208 km of the special of 2:26’51”. He finished 1’09” ahead of Polish driver Krzysztof Holowczyc (Mini), followed by the two Hummers and Peterhansel, who loses the lead in the general standings to the Polish driver. Holowczyc now leads Gordon by 54”, De Villiers by 1’40” and Roma by 1’50”.
19:01 Cars: The Hummers on top at the finishing line
Three cars have finished the stage and for the moment Nasser Al-Attiyah is the quickest with a time of 2:28’20”, 39” quicker than his team-mate Robby Gordon and 4’54” ahead of Stephane Peterhansel
18:47 Bikes: Despres takes control at the finishing line!
Cyril Despres has take advantage of Marc Coma’s navigational error to win the day’s special by a large margin, finishing with a lead of 13’04” over his Spanish team-mate, who must be kicking himself for mistakenly taking the car and truck part of the special stage route. He also loses the lead in the bike category general standings and trails the Despres, the new leader, by 10’12”.
18:33 Cars: CP3: All change in the car special standings!
Nani Roma (Mini) now leads the special stage in the car category at CP3, with a time of 1:52’28” over the route so far. The Spaniard leads Holowczyc (Mini) by 13”. Giniel de Villiers is in third place, 34” behind and Robby Gordon is fourth, 1’32” behind. Stephane Peterhansel is now only fifth, trailing his team-mate by 2’40”
18:30 Quads: Maffei leads the quads at CP3
At CP3, the first three quads fighting for victory in the special stage, and perhaps also in the general standings for the category, are the two Yamahas belonging to the Patronelli brothers, with Marcos ahead of Alejandro, but both behind Tomas Maffei, by 56” and 1’12” respectively. However, Sergio La Fuente, leader of the category yesterday, has lost a lot of time and after 160 kilometres of the special, he trails the stage leader by almost 9 minutes.
18:21 Bikes: Cody withdraws
American Quinn Cody, assisted after a fall by Juan Pedrero, soon met up with one of the medical helicopters, whose team diagnosed a suspected fracture of the collar bone and head injury. His condition is not alarming, but nevertheless he has had to withdraw from the race.
18:18 Cars: Peterhansel still leads at CP2
The Frenchman is still in the lead on arrival at CP2, but with a much smaller cushion than at CP1. After 117 kilometres, he boasts a time of 1:18’44” but only possesses a lead of eight seconds… over his team-mate Juan Roma who has caught up with his pace, ahead of Poland’s Holowczyc, 30” behind Peterhansel. As a result, three Minis currently occupy the first three places on the special stage. Giniel de Villiers is fourth, 47 seconds behind, Ricardo Leal Dos Santos is in fifth, 1’13” back, in front of the Hummers of Al-Attiyah and Gordon, respectively 1’52” and 1’54” behind the provisional leader.
17:55 Cars: Peterhansel still ahead
The Frenchman has reached CP2 as leader of the special stage, ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah. The Mini has completed the first 117 kilometres in 1:18’44” with a lead of 1’52” over the Qatari’s Hummer.
17:33 Cars: Changes at CP1 in the car race
Portugal’s Leal dos Santos has taken second place at CP1, two seconds in front of Giniel De Villiers. Carlos Sousa and his Great Wall prepared by SMG have entered the Top 10, 1’05” behind the leader, Peterhansel.
17:31 Bikes: Cody and Pedrero stopped on the special!
The two bikers stopped after passing through CP3 in the part of the special intended for the bikes and quads. It would appear that the American suffered a minor fall and was helped by the Spaniard who then resumed the special stage, followed by Quinn Cody several seconds later.
17:20 Cars: Peterhansel leads at CP1!
After 40 kilometres of the special stage, the Frenchman’s Mini completed the distance in 31’25” with a lead of 8 seconds over Giniel de Villiers, 11 over Holowczyc and 19 over Roma. Guillerme Spinelli is fifth, 48 seconds behind the leader, ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah, 58 seconds behind Peterhansel, and Gordon, 1 minute behind the head of the race.
17:09 Bikes: Francisco Lopez loses time
With 14th place at CP2 after 117 kilometres, the Chilean rider has lost almost 5’30” to the quickest bikers, the two official KTM riders who were battling it out in front. Chaleco is thought to have encountered navigational problems and lost the route, which would explain the time lost.
16:59 Bikes: Coma turns back
The Spaniard effectively took the wrong route to the north and has just turned back to take the actual route for the bike special. Before this racing incident, he was leading the general standings, but now he will probably lose between 10 and 15 minutes to Cyril Despres who turned west in the right direction and who is now heading to San Juan.
16:57 Bikes: Coma fait demi-tour
L’espagnol était bien sur la mauvaise route vers le Nord et vient de faire demi-tour pour reprendre le cours véritable de la spéciale moto. Leader du classement général avant cet incident de parcours, il perdra sans doute entre 10 et 15 minutes sur Cyril Despres qui est lui parti vers l’ouest, dans la bonne direction et file actuellement vers San Juan.
16:54 Bikes: A wrong turn for Coma?
Marc Coma seems to have taken a wrong turn and is following the route intended for the cars and trucks. In fact, the day’s special is not the same for the different categories (270 km for the bikes and quads as opposed to 208 for the cars and trucks). According to the satellite positioning, after CP3, the Spaniard did not turn off to follow the loop intended for the bikes and quads, heading instead straight for the finishing line near the town of San Juan.
16:50 Bikes: A KTM duel out in front!
The suspense is breathtaking at the front of the bike race where Marc Coma and Cyril Despres are almost neck and neck! A mere two seconds separated them at CP 3, after 162 km of the day’s special stage.
16:48 Cars: The cars against the clock
Opening the road at the wheel of his Hummer, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah set off at 10.16 AM local time on the first kilometres of this third special stage, which will last for 208 km for the cars and trucks. Three minutes later, the leader of the general standings, Stephane Peterhansel also drove his Mini All4 onto the special, followed by Robby Gordon. 142 cars are still in the race, taking into account the crews signalled as non-starters on departure from the bivouac.
16:31 Bikes: Verhoeven and Goncalvez fighting for a podium finish!
The two bikers who started after 15th place this morning have been the two quickest riders apart from the two official KTM riders now that the first 20 bikers have reached CP2. A mere eight seconds separate them after 117 kilometres. Ruben Faria was at the same pace as the two men at CP1, but has fallen back now and is currently 1’20 off third place. There are still almost 150 kilometres against the clock to be ridden after refuelling
16:15 Bikes: More riders at CP2
Behind the battle between Coma and Desprès, now that the first riders to have reached the CP are currently refuelling before tackling the second part of the special, Joan Barreda has just arrived in third place, with a time of 1:23’01” over the first 117 kilometres. David Casteu is provisional fourth (1:24’47”) ahead of Francisco Lopez (1:25’53”). A quick reminder: the day’s fastest time for this section was set by Marc Coma, in 1:20’24”.
15:59 Bikes: CP2: Marc Coma regains the initiative
Marc Coma has hit back against his team-mate at CP2 on this third special stage of the Dakar 2012: with a total time of 1:20’24”, the Spaniard leads Cyril Despres by 14 seconds after the first 117 kilometres (out of 270).
15:43 Bikes: Przygonski at a standstill on the special!
The Polish rider of KTM No. 11 is having engine problems and has had to stop after 68 km of the special stage. He is trying to repair at the track-side. Until this mishap, he was in fourth place in the general standings.
15:40 Bikes: Change in the bike standings at CP1
There has been no change for Cyril Despres and Marc Coma. However, behind them the positions have indeed changed. Ruben Faria is now in third position at the first check-point with a time of 31’18”, Paulo Goncalvez is in fourth (31’28”), Frans Verhoeven is in fifth (31’44”), in front of sixth-placed Helder Rodriguez (31’58”).
15:26 Bikes: Despres leads at CP1
After the first 40 kilometres of the special (out of a total of 270) the competitors have reached CP1, allowing us to draw up initial provisional standings: Cyril Despres was the quickest with a time of 30’09”, leading Marc Coma’s time of 30’49”. The two men are followed by Joan Barreda (32’16”), Francisco Lopez (32’28”), Quinn Cody (32’33”), David Casteu (32’35”) and Kuba Przygonski (32’45”).
14:58 Cars: Lavieille up and running again
Christian Lavieille and Jean-Michel Polato driving a Team Dessoude Proto are once again up and running, after having spent the night and a part of the morning in the dunes around Nihuil, due to mechanical problems. The crew completed the special several minutes ago and are heading to San Rafael accompanied by one of the team’s assistance vehicles. For the moment, we do not have any information on whether the Frenchmen’s vehicle has been repaired or is being towed…
14:41 Bikes: The bikers get to grips with the special!
The start of the special stage was delayed for several minutes and took place at 10.25 AM local time, following a minor traffic accident unrelated to the rally, involving a civilian motorcycle rider on the route of the event. Marc Coma and Cyril Desprès, the two official KTM riders, have got to grips with the 270 timed kilometres, followed by Spaniard Joan Barreda Bort (Husqvarna), Francisco Lopez (Aprilia) and Kuba Przygonski (KTM). The five leading riders of yesterday’s special also make up the Top 5 in the general standings, but not in that order They will have to remain concentrated all the time and be careful to choose the right pace, because they will have to tackle regular changes between fast tracks and rocky, tricky paths.
14:21 Trucks: The trucks are on their way to the special
Now it is the trucks turn to form a convoy and head to the small town of Uspallata, a stone’s throw away from the border between Argentina and Chile. The start of the third special stage on the Dakar 2012 is located very near to this locality. The first vehicle to set off was the Iveco of Gerard De Rooy, followed by the Kamaz of Eduard Nicolaev and the Man driven by Hans Stacey. 73 trucks feature amongst the starters this morning, although any non-starters have not yet been subtracted from this list.
12:59 Bikes: Coma turns back
The Spaniard effectively took the wrong route to the north and has just turned back to take the actual route for the bike special. Before this racing incident, he was leading the general standings, but now he will probably lose between 10 and 15 minutes to Cyril Despres who turned west in the right direction and who is now heading to San Juan.
12:24 Cars: The cars hit the road
Now it is the turn of the 149 cars that make up the field at the start of this third stage to set off on the link route. This 291-km journey between San Rafael and the start of the day’s special, in the region of Mendoza, will be followed by a 208-km timed section. At the forefront, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Lucas Cruz on board Hummer No. 300 then Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret, the crew of Mini All4 No. 302, were the first to start out from the checkpoint, ahead of the Hummer driven by Robby Gordon and Johnny Campbell. The Americans were followed by the Mini of Krzysztof Holowczyc and Jean-Marc Fortin, the Toyota Hilux of the De Villiers-Von Zitzewitz crew and the Mini of Nani Roma and Michel Perrin. The start of the cars’ special stage is scheduled for 12.18 PM local time. One of the major absentees today looks like being Christian Lavieille who is still stuck in the dunes at the end of the second special stage due to mechanical problems.
10:20 Bikes: The bikes start the link stage
Marc Coma (KTM) was first to set off on the stage from San Rafael to San Juan which makes up the route for this third day of the Dakar 2012. Behind him, his team-mate Cyril Desprès, who rode a fine stage yesterday, will in turn strike out from the bivouac, located just next to the Argentine city’s motorsport circuit. The bikers will have to travel 291 kilometres of link stage before tackling the 270 km of the special. The route is slightly different from the one that the cars and trucks will take: the latter will get to grips with a special stage that is 62 kilometres shorter. 166 bikes and 29 quads will be setting off in the coming minutes.
Virtual Standings
WPS
WP1
WP2
WP3
WPA
WPF
WP4
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors
Overall WPA
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors.
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors.
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors.
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors.
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors.
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors.
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors.
The Standing for this waypoint is not available yet, waiting for the competitors.
Stage