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On Friday, January 8, the Dakar participants passed the final test before the day off. The crew of the Inbank Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics, which successfully stormed the dunes, Benedict Vanagas his Filipe Palmeiro, ranked eleventh on stage six and was just a minute and a half behind Vladimir Vasilyev, who finished in tenth place. In the general classification, the riders climbed to 13th position.
The fight for tenth place in the sixth stage also took place live. B. Vanagas said he had covered almost a third of the track running with the Mini driven by Vasiljev. The crews constantly changed positions and the opponent ended up being a little faster.
Rubbing his wrists from driving while driving, Vanagas said he had to work hard on this section of speed. Including athletes from other classes, he and F. Palmeiro only moved 40º from the speed section, so the trucks ahead significantly cleared the track and ruts appeared.
“I always had to choose an alternative path in search of a harder base. We also managed to puncture the tire, because I am probably a true master of the sport in that field, so I always succeed, ”the rider laughed.
According to him, when driving on clearly visible tracks, the copilot’s task was easier at this stage and the average speed was high. Maintaining a good pace throughout the speed section, B. Vanagas said he had passed at least 10 cars on the track and admitted to doing some pretty dangerous jumps.
Spilled anger
Carlos Sainz, who poured out emotions at the organizers’ emotions over the navigation changes that he deemed inappropriate for the rally marathon, had even more sporting anger on Friday than usual. The Spaniard, who ran at impressive speed with his mini buggy, won the sixth speed stage.
Stephane Peterhansel retained the first position in the overall car classification, after which C. Sainz, who is in third place, is still more than 40 minutes away. Toyota Gazoo Racing leader Nasser Al-Attiyah, who is caught between two X-Raid Mini teams, finished third on stage six.
For Sebastien Loeb, going back to the Dakar turned into a real nightmare. The navigation problems on the fifth stage were extremely costly for the Frenchman: he lost almost an hour and the sixth stage started with a large number of participants in front of him.
For the multiple rally champion, the day was again extremely unsuccessful: 97 kilometers from the start, the suspension lever of the exotic BRX SUV broke. S. Loeb had to call the team for help and that ended their competition in the sports rankings. The stage was not completed by Orlando Terranova, who had previously been in the top 10, and whose Mini broke down near the start.
Reduced speed range
Taking into account that many participants had little time to rest after the extremely difficult stage of the previous day and the long journey, the organizers said at 1 pm 30 minutes. delayed the start of the sixth gear section. The track was also shortened by 100 kilometers, so instead of the 448 kilometers planned, the participants covered 347 kilometers in race mode.
At this stage, the athletes rode alone on sand and dunes of various sizes, shapes, and colors. This route meant that many crews had to reuse hydraulic supports and shovels.
The most important test was for the motorcyclists, of whom not even the strongest felt their hands and feet after the sixth speed section. The late start meant that participants with more serious problems had to meet in the desert tonight.
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