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[motorsport] Brabec frustrated by Dakar "rubber band effect"
Honda rider Brabec has had mixed fortunes on the opening three days of the Saudi Arabian event, and currently lies 13th overall following Tuesday's third stage. The American kicked off the rally by winning the Prologue stage, but this forced him to open the road for Sunday's first stage proper, and he slipped to 24th overall. Taking advantage of a more favourable road position for Monday's ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Al-Attiyah targets “two key stages” to secure Dakar win
The Toyota driver slashed the time deficit to overall leader Stephane Peterhansel to 5m09s by taking a second straight stage victory on Tuesday’s third stage of the Dakar Rally, as he aims to recover the 12 minutes he lost on the leaders on the opening stage on Sunday. With the three-time Dakar winner having already planned an all-out attack “from day one”, Al-Attiyah has picked out the ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Dakar 2021, Stage 3: Al-Attiyah closes gap to Peterhansel
Three-time winner Al-Attiyah was left on the backfoot when he lost 12 minutes to the leaders in the opening stage on Sunday but, after gaining three minutes back in Stage 2, the Qatari driver has narrowed the deficit to just five minutes with an emphatic victory in the 406km loop around Wadi Ad-Dawasir. Fellow Toyota driver Henk Lategan, Overdrive’s Yazeed Al Rajhi and X-raid Mini star Carlos ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Dakar 2021, Stage 3: Price wins again, Howes takes lead
After struggling on Monday's second stage, KTM rider Price was locked in battle with Honda's Kevin Benavides throughout Tuesday's 403km loop around Wadi Ad-Dawasir. The day's running followed the pattern seen in both of the opening two stages, as those riders opening the road lost chunks of time early on, while those lower down the running order - namely Price, Benavides and Matthias Walkner - ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Contaminated fuel responsible for Short's Dakar exit
Late on Monday, it emerged that Yamaha had discovered that water had made its way inside the fuel tank and fuel pump of Short's bike after the American rider ground to a halt shortly after the second refuelling stop on that day's Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir stage. Short was unable to get his bike restarted and became the first factory rider to drop out of the race, having concluded the ...Keep reading View the full article
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[fourwheeler] Four-Cylinder vs. Six-Cylinder Wrangler
Jeep prices have gotten pretty crazy lately. Not everybody has tons of money to throw at a newer JK or JL Jeep Wrangler. But if you still want to go Jeeping, there are plenty of older YJ and TJ Jeep Wranglers out there for somewhat more realistic money. The most common engine choices when shopping View the full article
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[motorsport] Phoenix spring NASCAR race weekend to have limited attendance
The track announced on Monday it will host a limited, reduced number of fans throughout its spring the three-day NASCAR race weekend, March 12-14. The reduced capacity is due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and in accordance with enhanced safety protocols and procedures to provide a safe environment for fans, competitors, employees and industry personnel. The decision by Phoenix means the ...Keep reading View the full article
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[fourwheeler] Toyota Trademarks “Grand Highlander”, Could Sequoia Be Heading Out to Pasture?
Hot on the news that Toyota is discontinuing the Land Cruiser after the 2021 model year, the folks at GR86.org have uncovered a recent patent application from Toyota for the “Grand Highlander” name. Filed on December 24, 2020, the application lists use of the name for the United States and Canada. So, what’s the takeaway View the full article
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[motorsport] Organisers investigate Short’s exit after refuelling stop
Short is the first of the leading runners in the motorbike class to exit the event and was classified inside the top 10 when the incident occurred on the stage from Bisha to Wadi-Ad-Dawasir on the banks of the Empty Quarter. At kilometer 273 of the second stage, his Yamaha WR450F Rally stopped suddenly in an area of fast and sandy tracks within large valleys formed by mountains of stone ...Keep reading View the full article
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[fourwheeler] What Is Your Favorite 4x4 Trail Run?
Decades ago I wheeled my 4×4 a lot on the farm, but the idea of an organized trail run was a bit foreign to me. As an avid reader of all the 4×4 magazines, I was very familiar with the concept of an organized trail run, but I’d never participated. I was a wheeling loner. View the full article
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[motorsport] Price relaxed after losing 32 minutes to Barreda
Two-time Dakar champion Price opened the road on the 447km test on Monday following his win on Sunday's opener, but struggled on a sand dune-heavy route and finished down in 28th position, exactly 32 minutes behind Barreda. Read Also: Dakar 2021, Stage 2: Barreda wins on bad day for KTM The Australian was also hampered by a minor problem with his KTM's fuel system that ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Dakar 2021, Stage 2: Al-Attiyah fastest, Peterhansel leads
Three-time event winner Sainz started first on the road in the 457km test from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir following his victory in Stage 1 on Sunday, but had already slipped behind Peterhansel by the second waypoint at the 46km mark. Once out in front, Peterhansel slowly started carving stretching a lead in his Mini buggy, his advantage stretching to 1m31s in the first 220km as Sainz continued to ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Dakar 2021, Stage 2: Barreda wins on bad day for KTM
Spanish rider Barreda won the 457km Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir test by three minutes, 55 seconds ahead of defending champion and Honda teammate Ricky Brabec, as the pair bounced back from a difficult first stage of the rally. Barreda led at every single waypoint en route to a success that ties him with five-time event winner Marc Coma for fourth on the all-time stage wins list. Having ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Loeb explains nightmare start to 2021 Dakar Rally
After a one-year hiatus, Loeb has returned to the Dakar in 2021 to spearhead the new Prodrive-run Bahrain Raid Xtreme team alongside long-time co-driver Daniel Elena. But the Frenchman’s campaign got off to a horrific start in the 277km special between Jeddah and Bisha, with the 46-year-old getting lost twice in the opening 37km stretch and losing nearly 15 minutes to his rivals. Loeb’s ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Sainz: COVID "doubles pressure" on 2021 Dakar Rally
The 2021 edition of the rally-raid kicked off with the Prologue in Saudi Arabia on Saturday amid renewed restrictions around the world following the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus in the UK. Organiser ASO arranged 21 charter flights on 18 aircraft to guarantee the presence of all competitors in Jeddah after Saudi Arabia shut down its borders to limit the spread of COVID-19. All ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Dakar 2021, Stage 1: Sainz leads Mini teammate Peterhansel
The lead in the cars category changed hands several times during the 277km stage from Jeddah to Bisha, as overnight leader Nasser Al-Attiyah ceded three minutes in the opening 37km stretch and immediately dropped down the order. Vaidotas Zala was the first to snatch the top spot in one of X-raid’s 4x4 Mini Coopers, before Sainz and Peterhansel duked it out for the lead in the marque’s two ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Dakar 2021, Stage 1: Price grabs lead, Brabec struggles
Honda rider Brabec opened the road on the 277km timed section from Jeddah to Bisha following his victory on Saturday's short Prologue stage, but hit navigational trouble almost immediately as he dropped more than 13 minutes in the opening 37km. Things didn't get any better for the American rider after that, who completed the stage having dropped 18 minutes and 32 seconds to KTM rival ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Dakar 2021: Al-Attiyah, Brabec fastest in Prologue
Three-time Dakar winner Al-Attiyah was the fastest in the 11km timed section that determines the starting order for Sunday’s opening stage, completing the distance in 5m48s to put Toyota at the head of the order. Returning to Dakar for the first time since taking two stage wins in quads in 2016, South African Brian Baragwanath set an identical time to Al-Attiyah in the two-wheel drive Century ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Watch the ceremonial start of the 2021 Dakar Rally
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[motorsport] Toyota: Dakar speed limit will stop X-raid "running away"
Revised FIA Cross Country regulations for 2021 restrict competitors in the T1 (which includes Toyota, X-raid and Prodrive's new BRX1 contender) and T2 classes to 180km/h (112mph), while T3, T4 and T5 vehicles must stick to 130km/h (81mph). It comes after X-raid took victory in last year's Dakar with Carlos Sainz at the wheel of one of its two-wheel drive Mini John Cooper Works buggies, which ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Audi could use DTM engine in its 'electric' Dakar entry
Audi is believed to have invested upwards of 10 million euros to build a two-litre, turbocharged petrol engine for the DTM’s move to full Class One regulations in 2019. While the new engine helped Audi to break several records en route to back-to-back titles in 2019-20, the marque’s decision to quit the DTM after 2020 suggested that the motor could be headed to a museum after just two years ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] Top 10 stories from the 2020 NASCAR season
10. Clint Bowyer’s final season Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang Rush/HAAS CNC Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images Bowyer, 41, waited until late in the year to announce his decision to make the 2020 Cup Series season his final one as a full-time competitor. But he’ll remain in the sport, moving to the Fox Sports broadcast booth beginning with ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] How ASO managed to save the 2021 Dakar Rally
The closure of land, sea and air borders of Saudi Arabia just 13 days before the start of the second Dakar in the Arabian Peninsula set off all the alarms at organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). But, in the face of the restrictions imposed by Saudi Arabia to limit the spread of COVID-19, ASO managed to charter 18 flights to guarantee the presence of the competitors for the event. In the ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] KTM says future Dakar wins will now be "valued more"
Last year's inaugural running of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia marked the first time KTM had been defeated in the motorcycle category since 2000, as Honda man Ricky Brabec's victory put an end to the Mattighofen firm's streak of 18 consecutive wins. However, Viladoms believes that such a massive run of success had the effect of making KTM's success appear easy to outsiders, something he says will ...Keep reading View the full article
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[motorsport] NASCAR's Austin Dillon to run Rolex 24 with RWR Eurasia
On Thursday, RWR Eurasia announced three of its four drivers which will compete in one of Eurasia’s Ligier JS P217 Gibsons in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener. Joining Dillon will be Salih Yoluc, a Turkish driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE-Am class, and Cody Ware, the reigning Asian Le Mans Series champion. Read Also: NASCAR champ ...Keep reading View the full article