Stage 7 - Friday 9 January 2009 | Mendoza > Valparaiso
- Connection 80 km
- Special 419 km
- Connection 317 km
Press Releases
Chaleco in time for Chile, VW at the forefront
Before the day of rest during which the Dakar will be based in Valparaiso, Francisco Lopez won the first special stage of his career on the Dakar. Just before crossing the border into Chile, the former world 450cc champion has scaled another summit of his career. In the car category, the Volkswagen parade continues. Carlos Sainz grabbed a 3rd stage victory and...
Breaking news
14:02 - Car - Summary of stage 7
Pending validation of the results by the race stewards, Spaniard Carlos Sainz (VW) has won the 7th stage, picking up his 3rd stage victory of this 31st Dakar, 3.41 ahead of his American team-mate Mark Miller (VW) and 4.13 in front of American Robby Gordon and his Hummer. As a result, in the general standings "El Matador" Sainz has taken the lead, 9 short seconds...
14:01 - Bike - Summary of stage 7
14:00 - Quad - Summary of stage 7
13:00 - Car - Breakdown for “Peterâ€!
12:45 - Car - 3rd victory for Sainz
12:15 - Quad - Declerck is waiting for the broom wagon
interviewdujour
Cyril Despres (Fra – 1 – KTM) - 001
“I think the organizers were right to shorten this special stage because there were plenty of water holes and...
The entreviews are not yet available.
Carlos Sainz (Esp – Volkswagen) - 301
“The day went well, even if the stage was very hard. There was the mud, and the zones with lots of water, meaning...
The entreviews are not yet available.
Portrait of the day
Gossip
The best sealant in the world!
The BMW X-Raid teal lost one of its rapid assistance trucks during the race. Having suffered from serious problems...
Portrait of a lady
MICHÈLE MOUTON
With a runner-up place in the rally championship in 1982 and four times World Champion, Michèle Mouton does not...
Travel diary
parcours
Mendoza (ARG) > Valparaiso (CHL)
The variety of terrains and landscapes, a constant given for the Dakar 2009, is evident once again on this stage, where, in addition to a change of country, most of the competitors will get to know the Cordillera of the Andes. Before measuring themselves with the mountains, they must cross over a series of dunes and endure a session of fesh fesh, which is identical to Saharan sand, but which the inhabitants of the region call “guadalâ€. Concerning the mountains, this will be the only special to include passageways at 3,000 meters on technical routes that will sometimes allow a glimpse of the Aconcagua, the highest point in the Andes (6,959 m). Then, competitors will cross the border on the link section to reach the sea at Valparaiso.
Public areas
On some special stages, special viewing areas are set aside for the public. Their location is communicated three days before the race passes by.
Standings
Standings
| Special n°1 | bike | quad | car | truck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st starts(GMT-3) | 06:40 | 06:40 | 08:49 | 10:56 |
| Number of participants | ||||
| from start | 158 | 19 | 127 | |
| have left | 144 | 18 | 108 | |
| at the arrival | 141 | 15 | 99 | |
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