Dakar day 6 saw Chaleco Lopez and Nasser Al-Attiyah add to their collection of stage wins
Chaleco Lopez collected his third stage win of the 2013 Dakar as he continues his battle at the front of the bike race. What made Chalecos victory all the more special was that is was achieved in his native Chile, even if it was not as straightforward as he would have liked.The first part of the special went very well, but on the second section, the engine lost a fair bit of power and I started wondering whether it was a fuel problem or due to the altitude. I don't know, but I should find out when I get to the bivouac.Four-time Dakar champion Cyril Despres also remains in the hunt for the lead of the bike race. Cyril was having fun out on Stage Six of the 2013 Dakar as he put his back into his work.I really enjoyed the second part of todays special stage over really fast, hard ground. I was sliding the bike into the corners and I really have some fun when I can do that. The fun lasted until I caught up with the dust of Botturi, and Botturi was in the dust of Casteu, and Casteu was in the dust of Pedrero and so on.It was a mixed day for the Qatar Red Bull Rally Team with differing fortunes for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz. Nasser repeated the feat of Chaleco Lopez to record his third stage win of the Dakar but remained cautious about his aims for the race.Winning a stage at the Dakar is a great feeling but if I dont win tomorrow or the next day it will not be a disaster as long as we keep bringing our Buggy home. When we arrive safely at the rest day we can really take the Buggy apart and see if our tactics change in the second week of this race.Meanwhile the 2013 Dakar ended for Nassers team-mate Carlos Sainz on Stage Six. Engine trouble struck the Spaniards Buggy and left him unable to complete the stage.Its a big disappointment for my race to end like this with engine problems. Although my rally is now over Im proud to have played my part in showing that this Buggy of ours is a serious project.Team Kamaz kept the pressure on Gerard De Rooy at the business end of the truck race with Eduard Nikolaev, Ayrat Mardeev and Andrey Karginov all well placed to pounce on any mistakes by the Dutchman.