Dakar 2011 Is Halfway In Arica Near Peru. So Far It Is A Close Race

     We are already halfway trough the Dakar 2011 rally.  Right now all the competitors are having a rest day in Arica (Chile, Border with Peru), so far the results are as follow:
Carlos Sainz is winning with Volkswagen (20:39:41), followed by Nasser Al-Attiyah from the same team (20:42:23).  Stéphane Peterhansel is third with BMW (20:54:32).  In the 45Th. position is the Peruvian Fernando Ferrand with Toyota (17:09:08 behind the leader).  There are still 71 cars in competition.

     In Motorcycles the leader is Marc Coma with KTM (22:40:20) followed by Cyril Despres with KTM (22:49:08).  The third place belongs to Francisco Lopez with Aprilia ( 23:02:32).  The Peruvian Carlo Vellutino with KTM is in the 113Th. position (18:54:40 behind the leader).  There are still 116 Bikes in competition.

This is the route map:

Ferrand's FJ Cruiser from Toyota departing from Buenos Aires.