Photo: MINI
The MINI brand achieved yet another success in the Dakar Rally. After more than 9,000 km (5,590 miles) through Argentina, Chile and Bolivie, MINI won for the fourth consecutive time the world’s toughest rally.
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar) and Mathieu Baumel (France) crossed the finish line in Buenos Aires, Argentina as winners after showing an impressive performance. After the two weeks of rallying, the MINI ALL4 Racing crew won 5 out of the 13 stages of the competition.
“I promised last year when I was on the podium that I'd be back to win, and now I'm here. It was very hard to lead the race from the very beginning and to continue keeping this position on the long distance. Also because the race was really hard,” said Al-Attiyah.
“I’m very happy about this great result and I want to thank and congratulate all mechanics and the team for the great job they have done during the two weeks. The MINI ALL4 Racing is an incredible car and it was again very nice to drive,” he added.
The contestants in this year’s Dakar Rally faced unforeseen challenges as it is the case every time, to be honest. Starting off from Buenos Aires and ending in the same location, they travelled through Chile and Bolivia covering gravel roads and mountain roads at heights as tall as 4,500 meters (13,500 feet) as well as the Atacama desert in Chile that has plenty of sand and dunes to become a threat.
Overall, out of 13 stages, 11 were won by MINI ALL4 Racing models and five of them were one-two finishes. At the same time, this impressive display of strength meant that no less than four MINIs occupied a spot in the top 5 at the end of the rally.
The top five finishers in the 2015 Dakar Rally were:
“I promised last year when I was on the podium that I'd be back to win, and now I'm here. It was very hard to lead the race from the very beginning and to continue keeping this position on the long distance. Also because the race was really hard,” said Al-Attiyah.
“I’m very happy about this great result and I want to thank and congratulate all mechanics and the team for the great job they have done during the two weeks. The MINI ALL4 Racing is an incredible car and it was again very nice to drive,” he added.
The contestants in this year’s Dakar Rally faced unforeseen challenges as it is the case every time, to be honest. Starting off from Buenos Aires and ending in the same location, they travelled through Chile and Bolivia covering gravel roads and mountain roads at heights as tall as 4,500 meters (13,500 feet) as well as the Atacama desert in Chile that has plenty of sand and dunes to become a threat.
Overall, out of 13 stages, 11 were won by MINI ALL4 Racing models and five of them were one-two finishes. At the same time, this impressive display of strength meant that no less than four MINIs occupied a spot in the top 5 at the end of the rally.
The top five finishers in the 2015 Dakar Rally were:
- Al-Attiyah - Baumel (MINI ALL4 Racing) 40h32:25
- De Villiers - Von Zitzewitz (Toyota Hilux) 41h07:59
- Holowczyc - Panseri (MINI ALL4 Racing) 42h04:26
- Van Loon - Rosegaar (MINI ALL4 Racing) 43h34:17
- Vasilyev - Zhiltsov (MINI ALL4 Racing) 43h45:06
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