| DAKAR - DAY 11: DOWNTIME FOR THE AUSSIES AND SWEDES |
| Skrivet av Redaktionen | |
| 2009-01-15 | |
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In complete contrast to the hard-fought run around the Atacama Desert which was Stage 10, the Australian and Swedish Isuzu team have simply cruised on Day 11 of the demanding Dakar Rally, being contested this year in South America.
Forecasts of heavy fog forced organisers to cancel the 215km race against the clock that was on today's schedule because of safety and timing concerns, so competitors transported from Copiapó in Chile to Fiambala in Argentina at their own pace.
Australians Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki and Swedish teammates Pelle Wallentheim and Olle Ohlsson joined the rest of the caravan of cars, bikes, trucks and quads, driving their Isuzu D-MAX utes through the spectacular San Francisco Pass at nearly 4700m, the highest the rally has ever reached in its 30-year history.
Tomorrow, competitors will face more dunes in the 518km run from Fiambala to La Rioja. The 12th stage includes a special competitive section of 253km.
Going into the next stage, Garland and Suzuki are in 16th place outright in the car class while Wallentheim and Ohlsson are in 41st outright.
Their class continues to be led by the three VW Touaregs, with former world rally champion Carlos Sainz nearly 30 minutes ahead of his teammates Mark Miller and Giniel De Villiers.
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