Carlos Sainz gets stuck in the dunes of Fiambala just 13km into the timed special stage and ends up conceding more time to first placed Nasser Al-Attiyah…
Carlos completes a miserable tenth stage 10 minutes behind team-mate Al-Attiyah. He remains in second place overall, but Nasser’s lead is extended to 12m 37s.
Day 12 – Copiapo to Chilecito (862km; timed special 176km)
“Today was an absolutely catastrophic day for us from start to finish. We ended the stage having lost a lot of time as we came up against a huge amount of bad luck.
“We got bogged down in a dune after only five minutes of the special stage. After digging ourselves out, we carried on but more bad luck was to follow for us.
“We suffered a puncture later on in the stage which cost us more time. On top of these problems, we also suffered from some bad navigation mistakes today.
'We got lost several times along the way'
“We got lost several times along the way. The most costly navigation mistake came after the stretch of route which followed along a dried-out river bed. We took too much time looking for the correct exit at the end of that section.
“To add to all our other problems, the gearbox got damaged near the end of the stage when we were trying to make some time back on Nasser.
“All in all, let’s just say it could have been a better day for us all round. However, it's important to remember that the day could have also been much worse.
“The deficit in the overall standings is not unassailable by any means. We will now give it our utmost up until the final metre of the final stage to try and get the win.
“On the other hand, if Nasser does not make any mistakes from now until the finish then its all over.”
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