The Dakar convoy crossed the Andes moving into Chilean territory for stage four of the rally, which took place between Chilecito and Copiapó. Hans Stacey was the best performer for Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco on day four of the competition. He finished the timed section in 5th position, 11m29s behind the leader. Gerard de Rooy came to a halt halfway into the stage due to technical problems.
Stage four of the 2015 Dakar was characterised by two large dune-covered areas and plenty of sandy terrain that made the race difficult for many teams. After a very early start crossing, the Andes through the Paso de San Francisco, located 4,800 kilometres above sea level, the trucks began the 174-kilometre timed section. Some sections of the stage included descents from 3,100 metres down to 650 metres, which have a strong impact on the trucks’ performance.
Team Kamaz won the Chilecito–Copiapó route, despite Gerard de Rooy’s brilliant start with his Iveco Powerstar. He was pushing so much that a few kilometres after passing the first checkpoint he had to come to a halt due to technical problems.
Team spirit first: his fellow teammate Pep Vila stopped to assist. Hans Stacey was therefore Iveco's best performer in stage four. The Dutch driver, at the wheel of the robust Iveco Powerstar, finished the day in the 5th position, 11m29s behind Kamaz leader Andrey Karginov.
With this partial result, Stacey is now 17m58s from the lead, ranking 5th in the general classification, currently led by Airat Mardeev, after four days of competition. Pep Vila, aboard an Iveco Trakker Evolution II truck, finished 13th in the general ranking. He was 1h16m06s behind the leader due to his stopping to assist Gerard de Rooy.
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