Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

r ·D Continuedfrom page 30 akar Pe ter ha nsel's co u n tryman and team m a te , a s we ll as the day's le a d e r arrived a t a "Y" in the road. As Ma gn ald i paused , Pe terha n se l and Arcaro ns both joined him a t th e junction, and each of the tw o Yamaha riders chose a different route. Unsure as to who he should follow, Arcarons opt ed to "keep tabs " on Magnald i, who was closer to him in the overall results. As it turned out, Peterhanselhad ma de the right choice, and by the time Magnaldi and Arcarons h ad sorted things out, Peterhansel had assumed the overall lead. Many rally pundits feel that Magnaldi may h ave known exactly what he wa s doing, giving up h is chances for a win und er team orde rs from Yamaha; after all, h is maneuver effectively allowed Peterhanse l to take over. Whatev e r the ca s e, Pe te r h anse l e n ded t h e d a y wit h six m inu te s o n Arcarons, while Magnaldi dropped out with engin e p rob lems before the las t day. Once in front , Peterhansel was merciless, increasi ng his margin in just two d ays to ove r 23 minutes. With the late de parture of Magnald i, last ye a r's w inn e r, Edi O riol i , ad va nce d to th ir d overall on h is b ig Ca mper Cagiva . The Italian w as just un de r an h our in arrears of ru nner-up A rca ro ns. His co u n tryman Fabriz io Meo ni - a Honda XR600-m ounted priv ateer, fin is hed an incred ib le fo ur th d espite the fact that he had been in the h osp it al with a k idn e y ail me nt a s recently as Christmas Day. Frenchman Jean Bru cy w a s th e t op tw o- s tr oke r id e r in fifth o v e ra ll, m o un ted o n Honda 's experime nt al EXP-2 machine, an env ironmentall y frie nd ly mo torcycle with a very lo w ex ha ust o u tpu t. Brucy h ad to ta ke over fo r teamma te Richard Sainct, who ha d been in seven th ov era ll before a bad fall d urin g the firs t week. Ano ther rid er wo rt h mention ing is Dut chman Gerard [irnmink, a Six Days veteran an d seven-time national enduro champion. [immink was racing in Africa for the first time, bu t still won a stage and finished eighth overall on his Cagiva. He started slo wly and gained confidence in his na vigation - and also used a bit of luck. While riding wit h a rear flat on January 8, he came upon the b ike of a rid er w ho h a d d rop ped o u t with a n inju ry. Jimrnink simp ly took the wh eel of the s tran d ed bike, leaving h is ow n rim behind. In his ~in on the next da y's stage, Jim mi n k s ta r te d in 10th a nd worked his way up . "A rcarons was in fron t all the time ," he said . "All I ha d to do was follow." Also of n ote w as Am erican Danny La Po rte, the 1982 2S 0cc Worl d MX C ha mp io n. LaPorte ra ce d a fac to ry Ya maha for t h e Russ ian Tais Sp ort team, an d actu ally won an ea rly stag e. "It was the kind of special stage I pre:fer, " he said following h is w in on the sec ond d ay. "Technical but fa st , with some motocross sections in it." Unfortuna tely, na vigati on and fu el problems move d him down in the resu lts, and he even tua lly drop p ed ou t with a wrist injury. laPor te was not alone. At the finis h of the gru eling I S-da y ra lly, the mot orcycle ranks had been trimmed to just 27. £N Granada-Dakar Rally Granada, Spa in Results: January 1-15, 1995 OIA:. 1. Stephene Peterha nsel 8Q-.35.15 (Yam) Fra nce; 2. Jord i Arcar ons 80:58.31 (Cag) Spa in; 3. Ed i Ori oli 5 1:56.23 (Cag) Italy; 4. Fab rizio Meon i 86:46.45 (Hu n) Italy; 5. Jean Brucy 90:07.20 (Hon ) Fra nce; 6. Patrick Sireyjol91:SO.25 (KTM). F =; 7. Jurge n Mayer 93:12.42 (J

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