This morning Tim begun in good spirits the first stage of the rally, starting in position 48 to face a 56 km special stage wich should have been done in a short time. Tim ahad a great start flying through he dunes he was only 5 minutes behind the lead car, but at km 26 tim heard a bang and the car stopped. The coupling of the cluch exploded, a problem that had not ocurred in the previous Dakars. The damage looked very severe and Tim had to wait for the asistance truck. Once the boys turned up, the problem was solved in 10 minutes allowing tim to power on. Tim got to the end of the stage in position 152, 3 hours after the leading car. “Shit happens but tomorrow will be an other day!!” remarked Tim.
The Dakar has always attracted WRC drivers. It was the case in the 90s of Vatanen and Kankhunen, then followed the likes of the late Colin McRae and Spanish legend Carlos Sainz. Some might have forgotten that Alister McRae also gave it a go back in 2009 when the rally crossed the Atlantic from Africa. Well after a very successful rally season in Asia, the Scotsman will be a last minute entry for this 2012 Dakar. Like for his first attempt, finished at a fairly decent 40th position, McRae will be driving his very own McRae Enduro MC-4, designed by his friend Chris Leyds who called Alister to come to replace one of his drivers who had pulled out. McRae who will have former biker Michel De Groot at his side, takes on the Dakar in an improved vehicle to the one he was driving three years ago and feels he has a good enough car to reach the Top 20.
“I grew up watching WRC races and seeing drivers like Vatanen then do the Dakar. The Dakar was something I wanted to do later on in my career. I keep good and bad memories of my first Dakar. It was my first time in the dunes and I was a lot more comfortable on WRC type tracks. Coming from WRC, the main shock was the length of the stages. I actually only came to help the customers and wasn’t focused on a result. The idea was to definitely come back. Saying it’s a late entry is an understatement. You should speak with my wife about it. The car has improved a great deal since 2009. It’s like going from a group N to a WRC car. It’s capable of making it to the Top 20. Now top 10 would be great. I’d like to do better but that’s not realistic”.
Source: http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2012/es/piloto/328.html
Team Prodakar F1 Racing Energy Drink announces the comeback of Alister Mcrae for the 2012 Dakar
Alister McRae will return after three years of absence. Having clinched the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship McRae is ready to rock in South America for his second appearance in the Dakar.
Alister McRea was at the basis of the McRae Enduro 4×4 and will drive the latest model
of the revolutionized car, now in FIA’s T1 class, with a strong 3 liter turbo diesel, with completely revised suspension and drive train. The Scotsman has Dutchman Michel de Groot as his co-pilot in car number 328.
Alister McRae will compete under the flag of Dutch based Team Prodakar F1 Racing Energy Drink, owned by Chris Leyds who will drive one of the other McRae cars (nr 377), accompanied by his friend Thomas de Bois. The two of them have a total of 16 years of experience in the Dakar. For both the 2012 edition will be a come back into competition as well.
The third McRae Enduro 4×4 (nr 411) will be driven by debutant Stephany Manns, a promising first timer from Germany with a colorful racing experience and one of the eleven women competing in the Dakar. She will have the experienced multiple Dakar motor biker Gerard List as her co-pilot.
The team will be completed by Tim Coronel in a Mcrae buggy for the third time. Coronel (nr 347) will defend his title in the solo category in the latest spec lightweight buggy with over 10% of weight reduction and power magnification.
With four cars in competition and a crew of 24 people in total in competition Team Prodakar F1 Racing Energy Drinks will be one of the major teams from the Netherlands presented at the start in Mar del Plata.
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