The Dakar is about to start (Jan. 1), 5 MINI's running with a very good driver lineup. The very strong VW team is not participating, the BMW team is an all MINI lineup this year and they are a very good team. The dakar.com website has live coverage and is pretty good. They also post some great pictures, videos and stage news. It is one of the most grueling events on the planet, quite an experience.

 

Since the VERSUS channel is now NBC Sports are they still going to cover

it as in the past?

 

Mini's finished 1-2-3 for the first stage, a good start to a very long rally. Robby Gordon would have won in a Hummer but had to tow his team mate across the finish line. Tragedy struck as a motorcycle competitor succumbed to injuries from a crash.

I noticed that Versus is doing a 30 minute recap of each day's stage at 1:30 am EST so there is coverage but not a great time slot for east coasters.

 

Thanks dw! DVR set.

 

Yes, thanks I guess 0130 is better than nothing!

 

Stupid Hockey!!

 

So far it looks like a great three way battle between Hummer / Mini / Toyota with very talented drivers in each of the three marques with several drivers that can win the event.

 

4 Mini drivers are currently in the top 10 of the car division of Dakar. And one of them is currently in first place! Impressive! Still a long way to go but a nice start so far.
http://gaps.dakar.com/2012/dakar/stage-04/aso/ukie.php

 

The leading driver is a 9 time Dakar winner, mostly on Motorcycles but 3 in cars. He is an excellent driver and tactician and the favorite to win. The Mini team is also very good with lots of experience (it is the X Raid BMW team under a different name and is run by one of the BMW family members). Long way from over and amazing changes can and probably will happen. Team Gordon's Hummers are very fast, but a litany of setbacks have slowed them so far (flat tires, mechanical issue, getting stuck in the mud). This is quite the event to experience.

 

Mini wins the 2012 Dakar. Pretty entertaining race mainly between the Mini team and the Hummer's of Team Gordon. The winning driver win's his 10th Dakar (a record) and 4th in the car class. The Hummer / Mini race ended up becoming quite a feud, making the race that much livelier.

 

It was very entertaining, watching the highlight show each day. I had forgotten why I disliked Robby Gordon so much when I used to follow Nascar but now I remember. He's a conceited, pompus, self-centered a-hole! (I shouldn't sugar coat it, I should say how I feel, right? )

I think winner Peterhansel and the rest of the MINI team showed class, and Peterhansel was smart enough to not act like he had already won, even though he had a big lead going in to the very-short last day. Gordon, on the other hand, stated that MINIs were for girls and that he was going to "beat them like a drum"...a few hours later he rolled his hummer and had to have the locals help him get it back on it's tires....Funny, there was no trash talk interview with him at the end of that stage!

Anyway, I know that those MINIs have about as much in common with ours as a Honda Accord but it's still very cool to see them ripping through the desert and popping over the tops of the dunes. Looking forward to next year!

www.minimotorsport.com