Stéphane Peterhansel and co-driver David Castera in an X-Raid Mini JCW team MINI John Cooper Works Buggy were third in the overall car standings in the 2019 Dakar after the sixth stage of the event was run on Sunday, January 13. They had started the stage second, but lost time along the route dropped them to third, 41 minutes behind the leading Toyota driven by Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel. Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in a Peugeot got by Peterhansel for second after winning stage six.
X-Raid MINIs also occupied the fourth through sixth positions after stage six. Nani Roma and Alex Haro were fourth in a John Cooper Works Rally, Cyril Despres and Jean Paul Cottret were fifth in a John Cooper Works Buggy, and 2018 FIA Cross Country Rally World cup champion Jakub Przygonski and Tom Colsoul were sixth in another John Cooper Works Rally.
The JCW Buggies are rear-wheel drive vehicles with a slightly longer wheelbase and a lower weight than the all-wheel drive JCW Rallies. More information on the cars is available on the X-Raid team’s website.
Jakub Pryzgonski’s JCW Rally was sixth after six stages of Dakar 2019. (MINI Motorsport photo)
The 2019 Dakar is being run entirely in Peru. There are ten stages. The event will end on January 17, with the final stage run from Pisco to Lima. Information on the event, the route, and the entrants, along with videos, is available on the Dakar website.—Brian Morgan
[Photos courtesy BMW Group.]