Tales from between the Dunes

The 28th edition of the world’s largest and toughest desert rally was marked by premieres, hopes that floundered in sand and disappointed expectations for high dunes.

15 days, 14 legs and 9,043 kilometers through the dunes – this was the 2006 Dakar Rally. This year’s sports events at the queen of the desert rallies were overshadowed by tragic accidents to which two children as well as the Australian KTM pilot Andy Caltecott succumbed.

Marc’s control of the dunes

Marc Coma wrote one of the most remarkable stories in sports. Among the total of 240 motorcycles participating the Spaniard succeeded in bringing his to the finish first – with a clear lead. Coma needed 55:27:17 hours on his KTM for the course, which made him 1:13:39 hours faster than last year’s winner Cyril Despres from France. Coma is the second Spaniard after Nani Roma in 2004 to decide the outcome of Dakar in his favor.

Carlos' four premiere victories

In 2006 Nani Roma was also to be found on the winner’s podium again, even if not at the very top. With co-pilot Henri Magne from France the Spaniard reached the goal third after 1:50:38 hours. 187 cars had been at the starting line. Nani’s team colleague, former ski world champion Luc Alphand from France, raced his Mitsubishi Pajero to the finishing line in just 53:47:32 hours and, like Marc Coma, landed his total victory for the first time.

The two-time rally champion, Carlos Sainz from Spain, also pulled off a remarkable premiere in the sand. He won a total of four races, coming in eighth with his German co-pilot Andreas Schulz.

End of Jutta’s Series

Jutta Kleinschmidt’s 2006 Dakar Rally story ended prematurely. The German racer, who in 2001 was the first and only woman to date to win the Dakar, was eliminated ahead of time in the eleventh leg because of a steering mechanism defect. “All of a sudden I lost control of the wheel and we hit a tree.” Jutta had already written off any hope for her second victory. “I had already lost the rally in the eighth leg, when I got stuck in the sand. The problem was a basic one. The course had too few dunes for my taste, really high dunes where you can live out your experience.”

Until her crash Jutta Kleinschmidt had completed 52,000 Rally kilometers – without being eliminated once. “Too bad that the series is over. It simply had to end at some point.” In 2006 the German driver will once again race more than 9,000 kilometers through the desert. Her confidence that she will be awarded a second title has grown in spite of the unusual failure. “With the new Race Touareg we made a super step forward. Team and car really have the stuff for an overall victory.”