Maxxis McRae Buggy determined to finish
Under: Maxxis Sport on
06 January 2012
The first five stages of Le Dakar 2012 are behind us and that
means that the complete Dakar caravan is moving to Chile. The first
five stages were tougher than the previous years and on the first
day it immediately went home for Tim Coronel. An exploded coupling
resulted in a three-hour loss of time so that Tim was immediately
significantly behind. The subsequent days successes were alternated
with problems, but Coronel does not give up and will make every
effort to get the Maxxis McRae Buggy to the finish line in Lima on
15 January.
Stage 1
Santa Rosa 1 January 2012 - The first stage from Mar del Plata to
Santa Rosa appeared to be tough for Tim Coronel and his Maxxis
McRae Buggy. After a smooth connection route and an excellent start
of the 56-kilometre short special stage Coronel experienced
problems with the coupling of the Buggy and came to a standstill.
Coronel was unable to personally fix the problems and had to wait
for the assistance lorry of the ProDakar Team. The mechanics were
able to solve the problem and in the end Coronel arrived at the
finish in the 152nd and last place.
Stage 2
San Rafael 2 January 2012 - Today during the second stage from
Santa Rosa to San Rafael Tim Coronel is catching up with his Maxxis
McRae Buggy. After Coronel had lost more than 3 hours yesterday
because his coupling broke down, today he managed to make up some
positions. Time started as 147th and finished as 90th despite some
issues with the temperature of his engine.
Stage 3
San Juan 3 January 2012 - During the third stage from San Rafael
to San Juan Tim Coronel experienced a smooth day. After the
technical problems during the first two stages Coronel managed to
drive the orange Maxxis McRae Buggy to a beautiful 58th place in
the overall ranking. After three days Tim is in place 105, but in
the single seater ranking he now occupies the second place just
behind the Italian Mossi with the Toyota.
Stage 4
Chilecito 4 January 2012 - During the fourth stage from San Juan
to Chilecito Tim Coronel experienced a tough day. The bad weather
resulted in paths that were almost impassable and the, usually, dry
riverbeds were filled with water. Yet Coronel managed to get the
orange Maxxis McRae Buggy to the finish, albeit the last three
kilometres with a little bit of help. After the beautiful 59th
place of yesterday, today Tim had to be satisfied with place 102.
Tim finished just before dark and was late to arrive at the
bivouac.
Stage 5
Fiambala 5 January 2012 - The fifth stage from Chilecito to
Fiambala went smoothly for Tim Coronel. This afternoon Coronel left
from place 102 and drove the Maxxis McRae Buggy over the finish
line in a provisional 50th place in 3 hours and 31 minutes. The
fifth stage had been shortened because of the bad weather of the
last couple of days that had resulted in many impassable paths
along the way.
Tim Coronel: "I can tell you that this has been the toughest part
of it all. It's a shame that we already lost so much time on the
first day. The coupling blew out and I didn't have the parts with
me to repair this so I had to wait for the service lorry, but yet
again, that is also part of Dakar. The other days went better and
I'm certain everything will be fine. Le Dakar is mostly about
making it because the competition will also start losing time, I'm
sure of it. We've said goodbye to Argentina and we'll now start the
next five stages in Chile. Mark my words; Le Dakar is now really
taking off!"
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