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But that did not end the testing of the Dakar participants. This week, just days before the trip, we learned that Gint Petra’s co-pilot Povilas Valaitis was unable to fly due to a positive COVID-19 test. The same fate befell Vaidotas Damage’s main mechanic, Mindaugas Plukis, founder of the iGo2Dakar project. As a result, many had to urgently search for a suitable shift.
However, the Lithuanians faced these challenges and crashed into Vilnius airport on Sunday night. All teams travel from Vilnius to Jeddah on a charter flight, except for the Petrus Kombucha team. Because Gintas Petrus had pre-booked the flight booked from Munich offered by the organizers. So he went to Germany earlier.
The price of this Dakar will be higher
Many Dakar participants, arguing at the airport, agreed that this Dakar will have to “compete” not only in the main classification, but also in the coronavirus. Antanas Juknevičius noted that the next COVID-19 test is waiting a couple of days. Only if he receives a negative answer will he be able to enter the Dakar bubble.
Dakar participants will be evaluated systematically and during the rally itself. Therefore, a positive response from any team driver or co-driver can mean only one thing: the Dakar is halfway over.
Dakar guru Saulius Jurgelėnas, who is not going to the race this year due to health problems, commenting 15 minutes In the current situation, he opined that the critical period ranges from the tests conducted in Lithuania to the test in Jeddah. Because it is not clear if everyone really managed to avoid risky contacts. Even later, according to an experienced Dakar co-driver, the chances of getting infected will be greatly reduced.
Depart without ceremonies
Benediktas Vanagas, who is ready for the trip, said that the trip to Dakar is beginning: his crews are carrying 19 people and in total more than 40 Lithuanians are on the plane.
VIDEO: Benedict Vanag before the trip to Dakar: we all want to be in Saudi Arabia as soon as possible
“I think everyone wants to get to Saudi Arabia as soon as possible. If nothing changes, we should be in Jeddah during the early evening. We had some of those problems with our colleagues from Belarus, because Lithuania has closed the border. I want to thank the Foreign Ministry for that. We will go to Jeddah together, “Vanag said.
The crew of Andrejs Rudnickis and Andrejus Halabarodzka move along with the Lithuanians.
A press release from the Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux team states that such a smooth start is acceptable to Vanagas and seems like an opportunity to focus on the race immediately.
“I am not overly concerned about the fact that there are no people at the airport. I understand the reality we all live in now and try not to waste energy deliberating that things could have been different. We are like soldiers who have to fulfill their mission, and that requires adapting to any condition ”, he commented.
The runner didn’t have time to take a break again, only the scale and nature of the challenges changed. According to B. Vanags, if the beginning of 2020 hung by the hair due to two major shocks: a lost partner and a sick co-driver, before next year’s Dakar the problems were minor, but they never ended.
When asked about the fashion for transporting Portuguese sailors to Dakar, Vanags noted that the nation has deep sailing traditions, making them extremely reliable sailors. And then joked, after all, the people of Vilnius Portuguese so they are not strangers.
Another test is waiting
Arūnas Gelažninkas said at Vilnius airport that a direct flight to Saudi Arabia was waiting for them now, and then two days of quarantine: “Then we will do another COVID test and if it is negative, Dakar will start. We will retire the equipment, we will ride my motorcycle and from January 2 to 3. We will begin registering for the contest. “
VIDEO: Arūnas Gelažninkas departs for Saudi Arabia: another COVID-19 test and Dakar will begin
Antanas Juknevičius with Darius Vaičiulis, Vaidotas Žala, Edvinas Juškauskas and Aisvydas Pauliukėnas, Laisvydas Kančius will take the same plane.
A.Juknevičius and D.Vaičiulis joked that this year the Dakar is like a game in a casino: “You can drive one, the second, the third day, they control you and you fall. of the game. In addition to the fight at the wheel, we will have an invisible fight. “
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Darius Vaičiulis and Antanas Juknevičius
Another thing does not give peace to the A. Juknevičius team: part of the KREDA team is in Dubai, from where the entire team will have to be transported by road to Saudi Arabia. The challenge will not only be to get to the border, but also to cross it successfully, as the situation at the outer borders of a state that has been sent into self-isolation remains a mystery.
“Antanas may not like my plan, but if our team’s team doesn’t show up and Stéphane Peterhansel’s co-driver gets sick then he should win, because he would definitely invite me to his team,” laughed D. Vačiulis at the airport from Vilnius.
VIDEO: Antanas Juknevičius and Darius Vaičiulis leave for Saudi Arabia happy
A.Juknevičius replied that his crew was unique: “We are a unique crew, practically registered in the Red Book, because sailors of Lithuanian origin – in the Lithuanian Dakar teams – are a real rarity.”
Vaidotas The damage before the flight was not hidden – the mood was already at its best, when it was one step away from the plane. “It just came to our knowledge then. We have received the rules, they are very strict, we will have practically no contact with Saudi Arabia, then we will start, the sports regime and we will forget all concerns,” said the pilot.
VIDEO: Vaidotas Damage goes to the Dakar: there will be a departure, a sporting modality and we will forget all the worries
He said he couldn’t move anywhere, not to the store or to look around. This is how Saudi Arabia protects itself and its athletes.
ATV Laisvydas Kancius goes to Dakar for the first time. “There is a lot of emotion, especially for me, it is the first Dakar, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of challenges to overcome. But we hope all is well, “L. Kancius said succinctly at the Vilnius airport.
VIDEO: Dakar newcomer Laisvydas Kancius: a lot of excitement, a lot of uncertainty
Edvinas Juškauskas and Aisvydas Pauliukėnas laughed that it was now a success to fly to Dakar. “We are flying in a very good mood, this Dakar is even different, there are challenges ahead, there will be tests. We fly with the aim of overcoming the Dakar, overcoming it fighting, perhaps we would like to overcome it with confidence, without surprises, ”said E. Juškauskas.
A.Pauliukėnas emphasized that the mood is calmer, because it is already clear where it is going, different from last year.
Gintas Petrus went to Saudi Arabia earlier; is already in Jeddah.
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