B. Vanagas, who was dragging V. Žala, broke two wheels: “Today the Dakar was in every possible way”

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia hosted the first stage of the Dakar Rally, which is probably the toughest race in the world. Vaidoto lesions and Paulo Fuiza’s crew (Agrorodeo, Mini John Cooper Works Rally) stopped just 20 km before the finish due to clutch problems.

V. Damage to finish Benedict Vanagas, which revealed that a colleague also has engine problems. Vanags also said he had to change two tires, then slowed down and lost a lot of time.

“If we had a day yesterday and that day was very fast and calm, today was the Dakar in every possible way,” said Vanag. “Two wheels were lowered: one was cut off, the other had a small hole. We stopped once because the sensor wasn’t working, we thought we were breaking the circle. At the end, about 25 km before the finish, I saw V.Žala. We stopped, we thought maybe we could help, we show a snort: I understand what it’s like to be standing still in Dakar. When shooting, it was clear that V.Žala also has problems with the engine, we will also put him in the bivouac.

Speaking of the route, Vanagas revealed that the Dakar organizers probably consider the pebbles to be dirt.

“There was definitely 3% pebbles, we seem to speak different languages. They probably call pebble lands and there were about 40 percent of them here. We kept up the pace, but one lap, another lap … It happened around kilometer 80 and you realize that if you keep hitting the wheels, you won’t make it to the finish line. We had to brake, then they passed us, there was dust … ”, said B. Vanagas. “I’m sad because it is definitely not the day as planned, but I am in Dakar for the ninth time and I understand that it is like that. You want everything to always be smooth and good, but it is.”

According to preliminary data, B.Vanagas, who pulled V.Žala and lost two tires, finished 32nd (+00: 41: 16) and V.Žala – 36th (+00: 44: 16).

The runners, who passed the 11 km prologue yesterday, had a much greater challenge this time: they had to cover a 277 km section with six intermediate points.

According to the organizers, today the road surface was 49% gravel, 48% sand, 3% riverbeds and dry canyons. According to the organizers, the stones had to start from kilometer 90, but according to motorcyclist Arūnas Gelažninkas, they started from kilometer 50.

This stretch of speed was a test for the navigators, as at least some roads that were not marked in the road book crossed in certain places, so runners had to keep a close eye on the routes and become friends with the compass.

101 motorcyclists, 64 cars, 16 quadricycles, 44 trucks and 61 buggies set off in the first speed section.

[email protected]

The reproduction of the information of the sportas.lt news portal in the media and on the Internet pages without written consent is prohibited.