VM-Motorsport Dakar Day 4: Trouble free day for Van Merksteijn and Kuipers
Today, the Dakar Rally travelled further inland in Argentina and with a special stage of 380km and a liaison of over 100km arrived in the town of Neuquen. For Peter van Merksteijn and René Kuipers it was a touch day but once again the BMW X3CC didn’t cause any problems and the Dutch drivers finished the day on a 14th and 19th position.
Peter van Merksteijn and Eddy Chevaillier had another trouble free run during the fourth leg of the rally. Peter maintained his position around 12th place all day and eventually finished the stage in 14th place and kept his 12th position in the overall standing after the fourth leg. “Today everything went very well, really super” Van Merksteijn commented joyfully back in the bivouac. “It is possible to go faster but it is a matter of being careful and trying to keep the car in one piece”.
For Eddy Chevaillier it is not his first Dakar event as he was previously the navigator for Hans Stacey in the MAN truck with which he won last year’s Central Europe Rally. “I am really surprised that the shock absorbers can cope with the hard beating they receive during this rally. The car receives such a punishment that the Reiger suspension has a really hard job.” Comparing the new Dakar to the previous edition in Africa he said “Navigation here in Argentina has been so far pretty simple but from tomorrow I will have a much harder job.”
René Kuipers had another strong performance in the BMW X3CC and with a 19th in today’s leg he climbed to a 17th position overall. “Today I didn’t have any troubles. After the flat tyres of the last two days everything went super today.” René found a consistent speed with which he can maintain his good performance during the first week of the rally. “Today I had no problems with passing people or quads so I could drive my own race”
“In the tracks were very deep grooves where you had to stay well clear off”. It was a very touch day for the competitors which proved at times very difficult to keep in the right track. “After four days I still can’t believe how strong the BMW X3CC is. What an amazing car.” René said after the finish of the special stage.
Tomorrow it will be e very hard day when the drivers have to stay concentrated during the 506km long 506km special stage which will see some dunes of which one is around 20km. The route goes from Neuquen north to San Rafael.
Results 4th leg:
01. Sainz/Perin - Volkswagen 3:42:57
02. Al-Attiyah/Thörner - BMW +0:06
03. Alphand /Picard - Mitsubishi +0:02:24
14. Van Merksteijn/Chevaillier - BMW +0:18:22
19. Kuipers/Palmeiro - BMW +0:29:21
Standing after fourth day:
01. Sainz/Perin - Volkswagen 12:47:45
02. Al-Attiyah /Thörner - BMW +0:03:46
03. De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz - Volkswagen +0:11:33
12. Van Merksteijn/Chevaillier - BMW +1:09:25
17. Kuipers/Palmeiro - BMW +1:53:43
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