2018 DAKAR RALLY
SOUTH RACING CAN-AM TEAM
Leg 6: Arequipa-La Paz
Special stage: 313km; Liaison sections: 447km
For immediate release
Thursday, January 11th 2018
SOUTH RACING CAN-AM’S VARELA AND GUGELMIN LEAD
DAKAR’S SXS CATEGORY AT REST DAY IN LA PAZ
● Uribe and Godoy maintain second place in South Racing-built Maverick X3
● Leonel Larrauri back on track with fourth fastest time in second South Racing Can-Am
LA PAZ (BOLIVIA): South Racing Can-Am Team’s Reinaldo Varela and navigator Gustavo Gugelmin continued to lead the SxS category at the 2018 Dakar Rally after setting the second quickest time on the sixth special stage between Arequipa in Perú and La Paz in Bolivia.
The Brazilians were the quickest of all the ATV runners through the first part of the stage and the subsequent waypoint before losing precious minutes in a stage that saw appallingly muddy and wet conditions, which were a far cry from the sinuous heat and dust of the first five days. But Varela has the consolation of finishing what has been a far from straightforward week with an outright lead of 32min 07sec.
Juan Carlos Uribe and Javier Uribe Godoy reached the end of part one of the special at altitude in second position, a mere 59 seconds behind Varela, and went on to record the second quickest time to maintain second in the overall standings. Uribe is racing a Maverick X3 chassis built by South Racing and running with support from Can-Am Perú, Alsol, Friopacking and Chiawel Agro.
Once a results’ glitch was fixed by race officials, the Argentine duo of Leonel Larrauri and Fernando Imperatrice were reinstated in the overall classification in eighth position at the start of the stage, after recording the seventh quickest time into Arequipa in the second of the South Racing Can-Am Team Maverick X3s.
They reached the end of the first section of the special in eighth position and then crossed the frontier into Bolivia and completed the day’s competition with the fourth quickest time to hold an unofficial eighth overall in the general classification, as three of their rivals were still out on the course.
Today and tomorrow
The day’s stage was split into two sections with the first part of around 117km climbing to a suffocating 4,722 metres above sea level after a liaison section from Arequipa that skirted the Chachani volcano to the start. The day’s route then passed close to the shores of Lake Titicaca and the town of Puno before crossing the frontier in Bolivia and included a second competitive section of 196km.
Tomorrow, is the traditional Dakar rest day in La Paz. The South Racing Can-Am Team will carry out repairs and maintenance to the Maverick X3s, while the battle-weary teams rest and nurse their bodies after one of the hardest six-day starts in the history of the Dakar Rally.
2018 Dakar Rally – SS6 result (SxS category @01.40hrs CET):
1. Patrice Garrouste (FRA)/Steven Griener (FRA) Polaris RZR 1000 Turbo 3hrs 44min 18sec
2. Reinaldo Varela (BRA)/Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA) South Racing Can-Am 3hrs 46min 47sec
3. Juan-Carlos Uribe (PER)/Javier Uribe Godoy (PER) Can-Am 4hrs 15min 46sec
4. Leonel Larrauri (ARG)/Fernando Imperatrice (ARG) South Racing Can-Am 4hrs 20min 52sec
5. Claude Fournier (FRA)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Polaris RZR 1000 XP 4hrs 35min 19sec
6. Jose Luis Pena Campo (ESP)/Rafael Tornabell (ESP) Polaris RZR 1000 4hrs 37min 07sec
7. Anibal Aliaga (PER)/Juan Pedro Cilloniz (PER) Polaris RZR 1000 XP 4hrs 58min 12sec
2018 Dakar Rally – overall after SS6 (SxS category @01.40hrs CET):
1. Reinaldo Varela (BRA)/Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA) South Racing Can-Am 25hrs 43min 42sec
2. Juan-Carlos Uribe (PER)/Javier Uribe Godoy (PER) Can-Am 26hrs 15min 49sec
3. Patrice Garrouste (FRA)/Steven Griener (FRA) Polaris RZR 1000 Turbo 27hrs 07min 55sec
4. Claude Fournier (FRA)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Polaris RZR 1000 XP 29hrs 06min 03sec
5. Anibal Aliaga (PER)/Juan Pedro Cilloniz (PER) Polaris RZR 1000 XP 29hrs 15min 51sec
6. Jose Luis Pena Campo (ESP)/Rafael Tornabell (ESP) Polaris RZR 1000 29hrs 50min 28sec
TBA. Leonel Larrauri (ARG)/Fernando Imperatrice (ARG) South Racing Can-Am 61hrs 47min 47sec
Ends
For further information: contact Scott Abraham, South Racing, Email: Scott.Abraham@southracing.com, Tel: + 49 172 6662880.
Website: www.southracing-canam.com
Facebook group: South Racing Can-Am
Instagram: SouthRacingCanAm
@southracing.canam
http://www.southracing-canam.com/media.html
Login: canam
Password: maverickX3