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Finish Special
Refuelling
Finish
Waypoint*
Waypoint reached*
*Click on the WayPoints on the map to display the Ranking
| Special | Cars | Bikes | Quads | Trucks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | 07:55 | 05:42 | 05:42 | 07:55 |
| Connection | 245km | 245km | 245km | 245km |
| Special stage | 477km | 477km | 477km | 477km |
| Number of participants | ||||
| from start | 113 | 123 | 19 | 68 |
| have left | 104 | 122 | 18 | 64 |
| WP1 | 104 | 119 | 18 | 68 |
| WP2 | 103 | 118 | 18 | 66 |
| WP3 | 102 | 115 | 17 | 66 |
| WP4 | 101 | 115 | 17 | 66 |
| WP5 | 102 | 115 | 16 | 67 |
| WP6 | 102 | 115 | 16 | 61 |
| WP7 | 102 | 113 | 16 | 61 |
| WP8 | - | - | - | - |
| at arrival | 102 | 121 | 16 | 51 |
| WPF | 110 | 120 | 17 | 68 |
Live Comments
21:09 Bikes: Motorcycles' times adjusted
The times posted by the first motorcyclists to hit the course this morning have been rectified by the race officials after several riders got stuck in the mud near km 10. Given that the route of the special was changed after the seventh motorcycle went through (in order to prevent the entire caravan from getting stuck in the muddy río), the race directors decided to deduct the time lost by Coma, Despres, Gonçalves, Rodrigues, Farrés Güell, Ullevalseter and Casteu from their final times. As a result, Marc Coma seized the lead with a 1'26' margin over Cyril Despres. Behind them, the last podium step is still up for grabs, with Hélder Rodrigues in third place, 20'51' ahead of David Casteu, who today climbed to the fourth place. Paulo Gonçalves now sits fifth, 2'19' behind the Frenchman.
21:05 Trucks: Loprais crosses the finishing line first
The Czech Republic's Ales Loprais posted the best time at the end of today's 477-kilometre special, taking the first win for Tatra in the 2012 Dakar. He beat Gerard de Rooy and his Iveco by 1'31' and Miki Biasion by 12'20'. Artur Ardavichus, who set the best times from CP2 onwards, only managed to finish 13'56' down. Hans Stacey, the third trucker of the Italian manufacturer, came in 16'23' behind today's winner. De Rooy's overall lead has now dwindled to 15'39' on Loprais, 48'06' on Hans Stacey and 58'40' on Ardavichus.
19:37 Quads: The Patronellis hog the podium
Marcos or Alejandro? That is the question. This time round it was Marcos Patronelli, which comes as a surprise after seeing his brother set the best times at the various checkpoints. Thus, Marcos wins the stage 38' ahead of Alejandro. Tomás Maffei completes an all-Argentinean podium, 9'50' back. Chile's Ignacio Casale comes in fourth, 19'03' behind the winner. Maffei is second in the overall classification, 1 h 08'05' behind Alejandro Patronelli. Marcos lies 1 h 20'57' back in third place.
19:28 Cars: Finish: Roma takes the scratch
Spain's Nani Roma has just posted the best time, finishing stage eight in 4 h 25'44'. He beat Robby Gordon and his Hummer by 5' at the end of the 477-kilometre special. Krzysztof Holowczyc came in third, 2'04' back. Stéphane Peterhansel had to settle for fourth, 5'38' behind his teammate. Despite his problems at the start of the stage, Nasser Al-Attiyah produced a fine performance to finish fifth, 8'09' back. Stéphane Peterhansel defended the overall lead, 7'36' ahead of Robby Gordon, who has a slim 12' margin over Holowczyc. Fourth-placed Nani Roma is just 12'27' behind the leader. On the other hand, Nasser Al-Attiyah has lost 45'25' to Peterhansel so far.
19:06 Trucks: CP3: Ardavichus keeps up the pace
314 kilometres into the stage, Ardavichus still holds the provisional lead in the truck category, 2'05' ahead of Ales Loprais. Gerard de Rooy is third, 4'33' behind the Kalmaz driver. Hans Stacey came just after his teammate and fellow countryman, 5'15' behind the leader.
17:59 Cars: CP3: Gordon behind the Minis
Spaniard Nani Roma and his Mini have seized the provisional lead at CP3 with a time of 3 h 03'22'. Stéphane Peterhansel (+1'38') posted the second best time, followed by Holowczyc (+1'38'). Robby Gordon's Hummer, which led the way at the first two checkpoints, now lies 4'04' back. Meanwhile, his teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah has lost 15'12' so far.
17:52 Bikes: Finish: changes behind Faria
Spain's Joan Barreda Bort and Slovakia's Stefan Svitko have taken third and fourth in today's special. The Husqvarna rider finished 8'44' behind the winner, with the no. 32 KTM pilot a further 25' back. Therefore, they have squeezed between second-placed rider Ruben Faria and his fellow countryman Hélder Rodrigues, who finished 9'46' down. In the general classification, Coma and Despres are followed by Hélder Rodrigues (+51'37') in third place, and David Casteu (+1 h 10'37', eighth in today's stage) in fourth place. Jordi Viladoms (+1 h 12'27') rounds off the Top 5.
17:32 Bikes: Finish: Despres loses 17'20'
Confirmation of the provisional podium at the finish of the eighth stage of the 2012 Dakar: Marc Coma blazed the course, beating the Portuguese duo of Ruben Faria (+7'00') and Hélder Rodrigues (+9'46'). The fourth man across the finishing line was Cyril Despres, who lost 17'20' and the overall lead to Coma, who now has a 9'32' margin.
17:23 Quads: CP3: confirmation of the provisional podium
Marcos Patronelli has just crossed the finishing line, bumping Chile's Ignacio Casale into third place. The second Patronelli brother was 4'47' slower than the first. Tomás Maffei now lies 13'35' back in fourth.
17:17 Quads: CP3: Alejandro still does not budge
314 kilometres into the stage, Alejandro Patronelli still has a firm grip on the special stage classification. He leads the quad field with a margin of 10'49' over Chile's Ignacio Casale. On paper, the arrival of his brother Marcos should bring about a change in the second position and complete the podium.
17:06 Bikes: Finish: Coma in the lead
5 h 03'52' after starting today's special, Marc Coma has just crossed the finishing line. The Spaniard should move into the overall lead thanks to the mishaps of his teammate Cyril Despres. His closest rivals in the special should arrive in roughly ten minutes.
16:47 Trucks: Ardavichus moves to the lead
Kazakhstan's Artur Ardavichus posted the best time at the second checkpoint of today's special. His time of 1 h 20'53' places his Kamaz 27' ahead of Dutchman Hans Stacey and his Iveco. Ales Loprais and his Tatra are third, 35' behind the leader, with Gerard de Rooy fourth a further 21' back.
16:24 Trucks: CP1: De Rooy surges ahead
65 kilometres into the special and Gerard de Rooy leads the race with a 2'10' gap on Ales Loprais. This may seem a lot in absolute terms (roughly two seconds per kilometre) but is relatively little time in the world of rally-raids. His closest rivals are still within striking distance and chasing him with very narrow gaps between them. Loprais is just 3' ahead of Ardavichus and 4' ahead of Stacey Franz Echter lies 4'01' back in fifth.
16:19 Cars: CP2: Gordon holds on
118 kilometres into the stage and the end result is still far from being clear. Robby Gordon is still in the lead with a time of 1 h 07'01', but Nani Roma has only lost 55', with Holowczyc a further 18' back. Stéphane Peterhansel is currently fourth, 1'31' back. Toyota's Giniel de Villiers is 3'05' back in fifth, followed by Riccardo Leal Dos Santos (+3'38'), Novitskiy (+3'48'), and Sousa (+4'07'). Nasser Al-Attiyah has lost 18'37' to his teammate so far.
16:03 Bikes: Despres loses ground
After conceding heaps of time when he got stuck in mud at the beginning of today's stage, Cyril Despres is now losing even more. At CP3, 314 kilometres into the special, the gap between him and Marc Coma has ballooned to 15'49'.
15:57 Bikes: Faria and Rodrigues chasing Cina
The Portuguese duo of Ruben Faria and Hélder Rodrigues are chasing leader Marc Coma in the classification of today's special. After 314 kilometres, Faria lies second at 4'26' back, Barreda Bort third at 6'00' back, Svitko fourth at 6'19' back, Pedrero García fifth at 6'56' back, Rodrigues sixth at 7'08' back. They are followed by Viladoms (+5'34'), Verhoeven (+8'14') and David Casteu (+8'59') in ninth.
15:47 Trucks: The trucks are on their way
The trucks have entered today's special half an hour ago, with Gerard de Rooy leading the way ahead of Ales Loprais and Andrey Karginov. This category has witnessed a battle royale since the start of the 2012 Dakar: first among the Ivecos, which were joined later by the Kamazs and Loprais' Tatra. The race will probably stay this close at the first checkpoint, 65 km into the stage.
15:39 Cars: CP1 times for the car category
Robby Gordon is the man to beat in the first part of today's special, but with a slim 25-second lead on Pole Holowcyz and his Mini. Nani Roma is third at 34' back, followed by Stéphane Peterhansel (+39'), Giniel De Villiers (+1'07') Ricardo Leal Dos Santos (+1'08'), Leonid Novitskiy (+1'40') and Carlos Souza (+2'24'). Nasser Al-Attiyah has been struck by bad luck again and has been forced to stop two times, one of them to secure a moving spare tyre. He has lost 18'39' in the first 65 kilometres of the stage
15:29 Cars: Al-Attiyah stops again
64 kilometres into today's special, the Qatari driver's Hummer sent a stop signal for a few minutes before setting off again.
15:26 Bikes: Marc Coma 314 kilometres into the stage
The KTM rider has just gone through CP3 with a time of 3 h 24'41'. He is leading both the field and the provisional classification.
15:22 Cars: Gordon at CP1
The American at the wheel of Hummer no. 303 was the fastest through CP1, followed by Stéphane Peterhansel 39' back. The third driver to post a time was Poland's Holowczyc, who was 25 seconds slower than Gordon. Therefore, Holowczyc is 14' ahead of Peterhansel in the provisional classification.
14:51 Cars: Al-Attiyah in trouble again
The driver from Qatar and his Hummer stopped for a few minutes 17 km into today's special. His teammate is now leading the way.
14:40 Quads: CP2: Marcos is back
Marcos Patronelli has joined his brother at the top of today's provisional classification at CP2. The gap between the two Argentinean pilots is 1'43'. Ignacio Casale still lies third, 4'49' back, with Tomás Maffei 6'21' back in fourth.
14:37 Cars: The Hummers get going
Nasser Al-Attiyah and Robby Gordon were the first drivers to enter today's 477-kilometre special. They will be followed by Peterhansel, Holowczyc and Roma's Minis and Giniel De Villiers' Toyota. They should reach CP1, 65 kilometres into the stage, in approximately 40 minutes.
14:19 Quads: First trend at CP2
Alejandro Patronelli leads the race at the second checkpoint, with a total time of 1 h 26'52' for the first 118 kilometres. Patronelli led the quads out of Copiapó this morning and now has a margin of 4'49' over Chile's Ignacio Casale in the provisional classification.
13:49 Bikes: CP2: Coma still in the lead, many changes behind him
With a time of 1 h 12'51', Coma still leads the race, but it is now fellow countryman Joan Barreda Bort who lies second, 1'57' back. Stefan Svitko is back in the thick of it, 2'08' back, ahead of Ruben Faria (+2'19'), Juan Pedrero Garcia (+2'26'), Olivier Pain (+2'28') and Jordi Viladoms (+2’47'). David Casteu lies tenth, 3'40' back. On the other hand, Cyril Despres is currently losing 12'55' to his teammate.
13:23 Bikes: CP2: Coma reaches km 118
Marc Coma is now filling up his tank after going through CP2 ahead of Hélder Rodrigues and Gerard Farrés Güell. He clocked a total time of 1 h 12'51' for the first 118 kilometres of today's special, 4'46' faster than Rodrigues and 6'45' faster than Gerard Farrés Güell.
13:14 Bikes: CP1: a never-seen-before classification
Now that the first 20 riders have gone through CP1, we have a clearer picture of the hierarchy in the eighth stage of the 2012 Dakar. Although Marc Coma is still in the lead, he now has Frenchman Olivier Pain right behind him, just 38' back, with Italian Alessandro Botturi a further 18' back. Juan Pedrero lies 1'23' back in fourth, just ahead of Ruben Faria, 1'36' behind Coma. This never-seen-before classification and the ever-diminishing differences with the leader are probably the result of improving conditions at the muddy area between km 8 and km 12 of today's special.
12:56 Bikes: CP1: Despres lags 12 minutes behind Coma
The Frenchman has just gone through CP1 with a time almost 12 minutes slower than that of his teammate Marc Coma: exactly 11'55' after 65 kilometres. Ruben Faria has posted the second best provisional time (+1'36'), ahead of Frans Verhoeven (+1'44') and David Casteu (+2'44'), while Farrés Güell has dropped to fourth.
12:52 Bikes: Coma with a big lead
Marc Coma was the first rider through the km 65 checkpoint, clocking a time of 40'37'. The second rider on the course went through the checkpoint no less than 11 minutes later. It was Portugal's Hélder Rodrigues, 4'26' behind Coma. Gerard Farrés Güell has just crossed CP1 with the second fastest time: 3'37'.
12:27 Bikes: Despres loses almost eight minutes
Cyril Despres and Paulo Gonçalves' muddy nightmare is over, and they have both left this difficult area. The general classification leader is reported to be losing roughly eight minutes at km 11 of today's special - his entire margin in the general classification.
12:21 Bikes: Despres and Gonçalves stuck in the mud!
In the motorcycle category, France's Cyril Despres and Portugal's Paulo Gonçalves have been stuck since a few minutes ago in a muddy area, 10 km into today's special. On the other hand, Marc Coma has gone through this area uneventfully and is now forging ahead. Portugal's Hélder Rodrigues also got bogged down but was able to get out of the mud without getting stuck.
12:07 Bikes: Let the battle of the KTMs begin!
Marc Coma is leading the way ahead of his teammate, general classification leader Cyril Despres. The leaders of the 2012 Dakar started at 7:52 am local time the eighth stage, with a 477-kilometre-long special as the main course. The first checkpoint lies 65 km into the stage.
12:03 Cars: The first cars are on their way
The long procession of cars is gradually breaking apart on the road leading to the start of the special. 113 car crews are expected to go through the clocking-in area at the exit of the bivouac, with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Robby Gordon's Hummers leading the way after their one-two in the seventh stage last Saturday.
11:39 Bikes: Chaleco will not start today
What a disappointment for the Chilean rider in front of his home crowd! After suffering a fall during stage 7 last Saturday, Francisco López had already expressed doubts on whether he would be to continue the 2012 Dakar at the finishing line, blaming pain in his right knee The Aprilia no. 4 rider did not go through the bivouac exit earlier this morning.
10:15 Bikes: The motorcycles are heading for Antofagasta
Today's 722-kilometre special stretches between Copiapó and Antofagasta, both in Chile. The menu includes a 137-kilometre liaison heading north followed by a 477-kilometre special (and a road section leading to the bivouac). 123 riders are expected to start today's stage, following Marc Coma, who set off from the bivouac at 5:42 am local time. The special will be made even more exciting by the duel between Cyril Despres and the Spaniard, who are separated by 7'48'. Behind them lie Rodrigues (+49'39'), Gonçalves (+55'33'), Casteu (+1 h 05'38') and Viladoms (+1 h 07'40').
Virtual Standings
WPS
WP1
WP2
WP3
WP4
WP5
WP6
WP7
WP8
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
WPA
WPF
Overall WP7