Dakar: Mighty Minis once again too strong for competition - MotorSportsTalk

Mini didn’t get another sweep of the Dakar Rally podium, but they still secured their fourth consecutive victory in the event thanks to Nasser Al-Attiyah.

In 2014, the manufacturer locked out the Top 3 with Nani Roma, Stephane Peterhansel (who later switched allegiances to Peugeot), and Al-Attiyah.

This year, Roma’s title defense was immediately done in by mechanical problems in Stage 1 and after a Stage 10 crash, the Spaniard was not allowed to continue on.

But Al-Attiyah stepped up for the marque and led a group of four Minis in the Top 5 – himself, Krzysztof Holowczyc in third, Erik Van Loon in fourth, and Vladimir Vasilyev in fifth.

Only Toyota man and runner-up Giniel de Villiers kept Mini from fully sweeping the Top 5.

As for the 13 stages, a Mini driver won all but two of them. Al-Attiyah chipped in five wins, followed by Orlando Terranova’s four, and one win apiece from Roma (Stage 9) and Vasilyev (Stage 5).

The only non-Mini men to earn stage wins were Yazeed Alrajhi for Toyota in Stage 8 and Robby Gordon, who got the inaugural triumph for his HST “Gordini” in the final Stage 13.

To sum it up, Mini was giant.

“The Mini ALL4 Racing once again succeeded in convincing to the max,” said Sven Quandt, CEO of the X-Raid team that designs and builds the Dakar Minis. “Four Mini racers in the top five is another sensational result. With our experience and our good preparation we prevailed against our really strong competitors.

“In addition, we also clinched 11 of 13 possible stage wins. You couldn’t expect to achieve far more in a Dakar. Nasser did everything the right way, this year, and used his own wits. That’s the approach that gave him the win.”

Oddly enough, Al-Attiyah himself is the last non-Mini driver to win the Dakar. His first title in 2011 was achieved with a Volkswagen Touareg.

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Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”