2018 Dakar Rally Statistics, Stage 7 (January 13, 2018)

Following a rest day Friday, January 12, the 2018 Dakar Rally continued Saturday, January 13, with the seventh stage – a 727-kilometer journey (671 kilometers for trucks) from La Paz to Uyuni, Bolivia.

The leaderboard in the bike category switched hands again as Adrien Van Beveren retook the overall lead from Kevin Benavides after a second-place showing. And in the car category, two-time World Rally Championship titlist Carlos Sainz scored his second consecutive stage win. Coupled with a large incident by 14-time Dakar Rally champ Stephane Peterhansel, whose Peugeot hit a rock and suffered damage, Sainz holds more than an hour advantage over Nasser Al-Attiyah, also a two-stage winner this year. Those in the car category found the stage rough, with a large attrition rate – 44 of the 61 competitors that left arrived at their destination.

Ignacio Casale (quads), Reinaldo Varela (SxS) and Eduard Nikolaev (trucks) also extended their leads; Casale and Varela more than an hour ahead of their nearest competitors. Varela also earned a third stage victory, the most in the SxS class.

Spain was a big winner in the seventh stage, with Sainz and Joan Barreda Bort (bikes) both victorious. Bort’s win was his class-leading third, and brought him to within five minutes of the overall lead in the category.

Here are the winners/leaders and some of the statistics following the seventh day of the 40th Dakar Rally.

Statistics – After Day 7 (La Paz to Uyuni, Bolivia, 727 kilometers; 671 kilometers for trucks)

Bike:

- Left: 110 vehicles

- Finished: 100 vehicles

- Winner: Joan Barreda Bort (Spain), Honda CRF 450 Rally

- Runner-Up: Adrien Van Beveren (France), Yamaha WR450F

- Winner’s Time: 5 hours, 11 minutes, 10 seconds

- Margin of Victory: 2 minutes, 51 seconds

- Stage Wins (Drivers): Joan Barreda Bort (3), Sam Sunderland (2), Adrien Van Beveren (1), Antoine Meo (1)

- Stage Wins (Countries): Spain (3), United Kingdom (2), France (2)

- Overall Leader: Adrien Van Beveren (new; by 3 minutes, 14 seconds over previous leader, Kevin Benavides)

Quad:

- Left: 40 vehicles

- Finished: 36 vehicles

- Winner: Axel Dutrie (France), Yamaha Raptor 700

- Runner-Up: Marcelo Medeiros (Brazil), Yamaha YFM700R

- Winner’s Time: 6 hours, 59 minutes, 4 seconds

- Margin of Victory: 4 minutes, 50 seconds

- Stage Wins (Drivers): Ignacio Casale (3), Sergei Kariakin (1), Nicolas Cavigliasso (1), Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli (1), Axel Dutrie (1)

- Stage Wins (Countries): Chile (3), Argentina (2), Russia (1), France (1)

- Overall Leader: Ignacio Casale (by 1 hour, 1 minute, 9 seconds over Alexis Hernandez)

Car:

- Left: 61 vehicles

- Finished: 44 vehicles

- Winner: Carlos Sainz (Spain), Peugeot 3008 DKR

- Runner-Up: Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), Toyota Hilux

- Winner’s Time: 4 hours, 49 minutes, 26 seconds

- Margin of Victory: 12 minutes, 5 seconds

- Stage Wins (Drivers): Nasser Al-Attiyah (2), Carlos Sainz (2), Cyril Despres (1), Sebastien Loeb (1), Stephane Peterhansel (1),

- Stage Wins (Countries): France (3), Qatar (2), Spain (2)

- Overall Leader: Carlos Sainz (new; by 1 hour, 11 minutes, 29 seconds over Nasser Al-Attiyah)

SxS:

- Left: 10 vehicles

- Finished: 7 vehicles

- Winner: Reinaldo Varela (Brazil), Can-Am

- Runner-Up: Patrice Garrouste (France), Polaris RZR 1000 Turbo

- Winner’s Time: 6 hours, 49 minutes, 31 seconds

- Margin of Victory: 31 minutes, 32 seconds

- Stage Wins (Drivers): Reinaldo Varela (3), Patrice Garrouste (2), Anibal Aliaga (1), Juan Carlos Uribe Ramos (1)

- Stage Wins (Countries): Brazil (3), Peru (2), France (2)

- Overall Leader: Reinaldo Varela (1 hour, 15 minutes, 36 seconds over Juan Carlos Uribe Ramos)

Truck:

- Left: 23 vehicles

- Finished: 20 vehicles

- Winner: Ton Van Genugten (Netherlands), Iveco Powerstar

- Runner-Up: Federico Villagra (Argentina), Iveco Powerstar

- Winner’s Time: 4 hours, 10 minutes, 40 seconds

- Margin of Victory: 2 minutes, 1 second

- Stage Wins (Drivers): Eduard Nikolaev (3), Federico Villagra (2), Ales Loprais (1), Ton Van Genugten (1)

- Stage Wins (Countries): Russia (4), Argentina (2), Netherlands (1)

- Overall Leader: Eduard Nikolaev (by 49 minutes, 47 seconds over Federico Villagra)

Sources:

-       Dakar Rally official website – www.dakar.com