Dakar 2017 Nissan Final Results

So this year's Dakar is over.  Despite significant changes to how navigation was done, terrible weather conditions at times, 15,000 feet in elevation, some new terrain and new countries...the end results were as would have been expected before the event with Peugeot dominating the competition with their top flight drivers and equipment.  The Toyota Hilux's of Team Overdrive which had been nip and tuck with the Peugeot's during the rest of the year's events were not a significant factor with Nasser Al-Attiyah crashing out early and Nani Roma and DeVilliers finishing 4th and 5th overall, over an hour back.  Overall, Toyotas were the dominant marque of the event putting 28 finishers at the checkered flag out of 57 finishers overall.

So did any Nissans finish after only four started??  Yes...one...

#334--The VK56 powered Renault Duster of Facundo Ardusso consistently finished in the mid 20th position each day with its peak coming on stages 5 and 12 where it finished 18th each time.  This was good enough for the team to score a 22nd place finish overall.  I have learned that these are actually South African built vehicles and will have to inquire as to whether the Thompson Racing outfit that builds them has connections with the Nissan efforts there.

I know the South African teams mostly took the '17 Dakar off and didn't really have anyone present as they have in years past making this year an almost Nissan absent event.  Hopefully some more are built or budgets are found for Nissans in the '18 Dakar given how well the brand has done there in the past and how much Nissan is expanding and pushing its trucks and SUVs worldwide...

2017 Dakar Nissan Update Stage 8

 

Yup, now only a single Nissan powered entry left in this year's Dakar.  #377 of Carlos Aguero shows as having withdrawn from the event prior to the start of Stage 8.  This leaves only the following:

#334--the Renault Duster VK56 powered SUV is the lone carrier of the Nissan brand left in the event and you have to examine its engine bay to find this out.  Still, they are soldiering on, finished 26th on the 8th stage and stand in 24th overall.  With the 9th stage cancelled (the second stage cancellation of the event) due to landslides and generally atrocious weather that cut off roads and prevented all emergency flights and helicopters from getting of the ground, only a handful of real stages remain.  Having come this far it is my belief that Facundo Ardusso will make the finish line...I mean he has to right?  We can't have a Dakar without a single Nissan based entry finishing, can we?

2017 Dakar Nissan Stage 7 Update

And then there was one...or so it appears.

#377--The Navara of Carlos Aguero appears to be out of the race.  One of the remaining 64 racers at the beginning of Stage 7, and with 62 entrants showing as having completed today's marathon stage (meaning no assistance other than the driver and codriver or spare parts outside of what you carry are allowed), Aguero is not among them.  Already many hours down to the leaders today may have been the final straw.  We will have to await tomorrow to see if the blade finally fell for the last 100% Nissan effort...

#334--Renault Duster of Facundo Ardusso managed a 33rd position for the stage on the day leaving them in 25th overall.  Hopefully they can hold on for a few more stages and a Renault may be Nissan's last remaining hope for ANY finish...

Dakar 2017 Rest Day Update

And so it goes...

As of the 2017 Rest Day, the unofficial half way point of the rally we are down to two Nissan vehicles remaining in the event.  Ronald Basso is now an official withdrawal on Stage 5 of the event.

What is left is the following...

#334--the Renault VK56 Duster with Facundo Ardusso at the helm.  Despite five prior DNFs at the Dakar, this is now officially the farthest in the event he has ever gotten.  He has been been consistently finishing in the mid 20's in this year's version with an 18th place finish on Stage 5.  Overall Ardusso stands in 24th overall some five hours behind the leader.

#377--The Navara of Carlos Aguero has been subject to a whopping nine hours of penalties, likely meaning that he has had at least one instance of not finishing in the allowable time but being allowed to continue.

Lets see if they can bring it home...and lets see if we can get some more Nissans built for Rally-Raid in '18...afterall...the Navara is one of the Dakar's official support vehicles...Oh, and since its South America....its NOT a Navara...its a Frontier...So why don't we have this here yet??

Dakar Stage 4 Nissan Update!

Boy if yesterday didn't prove that you're in the heart of the Dakar, today sure did.  Yesterday you had Nasser Al-Attiyah ripping an entire wheel and axle assembly off the rear of his vehicle and having to withdraw (he was the prerace favorite to win in the car category) and a motorcycle rider getting hit by lightning and STILL finishing the stage.  Today you had the prerace favorite on bikes, Toby Price, crashing, breaking his femur and having to withdraw and another of the favorites to win, Carlos Sainz badly wad up his Peugeot pretty bad putting his effort in question.

So where do the remaining Nissans stand?

#334 of Facundo Ardusso in the VK56 Renault Duster is still running, finished 26th on the day which will likely leave them right where they were coming into the day which is 28th place overall.

#337 of Ronald Basso was starting the day in 38th in his Navara but is currently one of the 18 starters on the day who has not crossed the finish line yet...

#377 of Carlos Aguero wasn't finished at the time I checked things last night but evidently did make it in, though after the cutoff time as he suffered a four hour penalty and had dropped to 66th overall.  He started the fourth stage but like Basso, he has not crossed the finish line and remains unknown if he can finish and continue.

Dakar 2017 Stage 3 Nissan Update!

Day 3...a day in which the event's favorite, Nasser al-Attiyah crashed out ripping a wheel off his Toyota, no one could say it was easy to get through the stage.  The stage involved some serious climbing to over 15,000 feet, serious navigation requirements, and rougher terrain...perhaps today was the day the real race started.

#315 of Emiliano Spataro and his VK56 Renault Duster appear to have gotten off the starting line and through some of the initial checkpoints but there is currently no record of them having finished the stage with currently only 53 of the 79 daily starters finishing so far some six hours after the fastest drivers of the day completed the stage.  Indeed in the last half hour, Spataro posted via Twitter the following "We are out of the Dakar, a failure in the design of the chassis of the new Duster us leaves without possibilities of follow... a day very sad..."  Sounds like a dangerous deformation of the cage or structure of the vehicle?  Regardless...that puts them out and one Duster remaining--at least it wasn't the fault of the Nissan engine!

#334 of Facundo Ardusso and the sister Duster seemed not to have the same problems, finishing the stage in 27th near two hours behind the leaders.  

#337 of Ronald Basso's Navara finished 38th on the day, three hours back of the day's winner.

#377 of Carlos Aguero and his Navara have also not finished yet but with no Twitter feed or social media postings, it is unknown if he has had to withdraw or not.

The overall standings of the #334 and #337 are unknown at the moment as the Dakar site's standings are not updated/available at this point...

So it looks like 50% of Nissan related competitors are out after three stages...ah well...so it goes...if it was easy....

Dakar 2017 Stage 2 Nissan Update

I'll keep providing these as long as there is a Nissan in the race...might be a day more...might be the whole event....

Today had a ridiculously long transit (like some 5 hours) before the race even began...given the temps are in the 90s and up and the road was dead straight it could not have been the most fun day.  The stage itself was also dead straight with zero navigation required and much of the terrain being hardpack dirt inducing a heavy right foot and little steering.

#315 of Emiliano Spataro in the Renault Duster VK56 powered SUV finished 29th on the day, 39 minutes back of Sebastian Loeb and now sits 27th overall.

#334 of Facundo Ardusso in the sister car to the #315 had a great day for the inexperienced driver finishing 24th, 33 minutes back and now sits 24th overall.

#337 of Ronald Basso in the Navara finished 36th and is 34th overall, one hour back of the current overall leader.

#377 of Carlos Aguero in the other Navara finished 64th, two and a half hours back of the day's winner which does not bode well given how easy the terrain was today.  They also sit in 64th overall for the event.

Nissans at the 2017 Dakar

In an annual exercise in self flagellation I will recount what Nissans there are at this year's Dakar.  Every year it seems the numbers dwindle further and without Jurgen Schroeder and a few South African Nissan efforts at this year's Dakar the numbers are even smaller.

#315 Emiliano Spataro--Actually in a 4WD Renault Duster powered by a Nissan VK56.  In this same vehicle Emiliano finished 16th in the '16 Dakar so a top 20 finish should be possible.  He finished 14th on Stage 1 earlier today.

#334 Facundo Arduos--A teammate to the #315 effort and also in a sister 4WD Renault Duster with a VK56 powerplant.  Facundo is a Dakar rookie and his codriver has never finished a Dakar in five prior attempts.  While the vehicle has a top 20 in it, they are best served acting as a water carrier for the #315.  They finished 33rd to start the race.

#337 Ronald Basso--The highest ranked true Nissan is a 4WD Nissan Navara managed by JCB Racing.  Ronald has finished 25th and 37th in the '13 and '10 Dakar races along with three other DNFs so he has the experience necessary to perform well.  They finished 36th today.







#377 Carlos Alberto Villegas Aguero--Another 4WD Navara here from Jaton Racing this time but diesel here vs. petrol.  Carlos has one prior Dakar under his belt though DNF'd in '16.  They finished 69th on the day.


Annnnnd....that's it.  There is #359 of Gerard Tramoni which is a Navara by its body but contains a Chevrolet LS series V8 at its heart so I don't really count that...

Finishing Nissans of the 2016 Dakar

Not that there were that many of them...and the best performing Nissan wasn't wrapped in Nissan clothing at all as it wore a Renault badge.  The best Nissan Frontier of the event suffered a bad crash on the second to last stage of the event and DNF'd...As we've seen in recent years...the Nissan marque has dwindled at the Dakar.  Our last best hope is from the Redline Motorsports guys in South Africa who continue to build great Rally Raid vehicles designed around a V8 Nissan engine at a price appropriate for serious privateers while providing event support as well.  So here they are...the Nissan finishers of the 2016 Dakar.

17th Place, #317, Renault Sport Argentina, Renault Duster (Nissan VK50 V8), Emiliano Spataro

18th Place, #308, Renault Sport Argentina, Renault Duster (Nissan VK50 V8), Christian Lavieille

36th Place, #375, Red Line Racing Team, Nissan Navara (Nissan VK50 V8), Sean Reitz

40th Place, #363, Revival Aventures RS 13 Nissan (4L Nissan), Jean Philippe Theuriot

Three other Nissan Navaras, one Nissan powered Renault Duster and one Nissan powered buggie were DNFs in the '16 Dakar.