Best stage yet!

Hello Everyone!

Here is how dakar.com described today's stage:


"Road section, 268 km

Special, 508 km

The three different phases of the day are likely to give rise to difficulties that will have a knock on effect. The utmost care is therefore recommended for handling the subtleties of navigation at the start of the special stage. In the immense open spaces of Chile, the competitors will have to “jump” from valley to valley: landmarks are rare and it is easy to get confused. Making up any time lost will be a dangerous task on the old mine tracks in the middle of the day’s route. Most importantly, a long sandy zone is located at the end of the stage. It will require a very clear head, so it is better to tackle it by day-light rather than with headlights on."

Reading this can make any person a little nervous. There is nothing inviting about that description. However, I was very pleased to come home from work today and see that 327 was in 9th place through WP4! They held strong through the following Wps, hovering around 10th place, then had a little set back at WP8 and checked in in 15th place. (Not bad at all seeing as how 15th still would have been their best of any other day!) The end of the day was supposed to have a lot of sand, which they have experienced trouble with in earlier stages. Whether it be getting stuck in the dunes, or loosing alternators, the sand has not been 327's friend throughout the rally. 

Currently I am waiting to watch them go through WP12, but it is not looking too good so far.  A Planet Robby member just announced that of the 84 cars that started today, 62 of them are stuck in the dunes. Supposedly the last 20k of dunes throughout this stage are the worst. If I hear anything from Steve tonight, I will update the blog. Thanks for reading! 

Alison