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“Antanas made a navigation error that cost him two minutes, I told him to sit in his seat”, the navigator approached the journalists gathered at the finish line with a smile on his face. Darius Vaičiulis, with a brief overview of the day.
Comments from Antanas Juknevičius and Darius Vaičiulis:
Twelfth speed section. From Janbu to Jeddah
The twelfth stage of 2021. From the Red Sea washed by Janbu to the Saudi port city of Jeddah. The Dakar caravan returned to where it had gone. The Twelfth Speed Division was met by Dakar soldiers in a journey of 447 kilometers, 200 kilometers of which required an activated combat regime. Crossing the finish line was not a trip to the next bivouac, as usual, but the last step of 2021. A 100-kilometer trip to the podium in Jeddah, where all those who made it through the Dakar received commemorative bronze medals during a solemn ceremony.
On the Red Sea coast all the way
Road pavement profile: 48 percent. primer, 40 percent. sand, 11 percent. dunes, 1 percent asphalt. For the last time in Dakar this year, turn these numbers into challenges.
At the beginning of the speed section, there was a “jump” to the level II and III dune massifs (in Dakar, the dunes are classified into three levels according to their difficulty), replaced by stony gravel paths, where huge rocks, labyrinths of cannons. Finally, the Dakar participants were greeted by a sandy jeep, bordered by hilly sections that lead along the Red Sea coast towards the end.
On the tenth day out of twelve, the start times get mixed
Yes, the organizers re-mixed the start times of the different classes (trucks, light prototypes, SSV scooters and cars), but unlike other days, today only one SSV scooter waited in front of the KREDA crew, and eight races The Dakar started two minutes apart. technical powers – the slowest of the Dakar beasts – trucks. In order not to get things done, it was necessary to “hurry slowly” so that the broken wheels did not have to stop and then “eat” the dust raised by the trucks, trying to recover the lost places and store the wheels. Finally, after spending 2 hours and 39 minutes on the track, at 12:10 Lithuanian time, the riders reached the finish line of the twelfth speed section in 19th place, improving the position of the speed section of the East Dakar. year and registering the highest result of all Lithuanian crews today. In the general classification, Antanas Juknevičius also improved his positions and after the 12th stage he climbed to 23rd place. It is true that a tire defect was noticed after finishing, so before driving to the podium, the crew had to embark on this Dakar’s favorite activity: a precision-polished wheel-changing procedure.
What is the rating of the day in the eyes of the riders?
“Of all the trucks, we only lost one KAMAZ. After our mistake, it moved on. We were caught between the KAMAZs, so we finished. But all is well. We will receive our medals today. Dakar has shown us that coming back will require a big task. The Dakar is accelerating and we have to accelerate, because without good technology there is nothing to do here. Now in the Dakar not everything is determined by man, but by technology, but everything is fine, we have passed another Dakar. Congratulations to all “, The pilot shared his day and all the impressions of the Dakar. Antanas Juknevičius.
“It just came to our knowledge then. And we had a lot of dunes. And in the dunes we were waiting for big stones that were in the path of the track, and then we need to suddenly change the direction of travel. And, of course, rocks. Like without them, but only 5 kilometers, it was possible to tolerate it, “said navigator Darius Vaičiulis.
What are the runners going to do next year at the same time?
“I’ll probably be here, just look at who and how. And Darius will have to be persuaded,” Antanas Juknevičius began, looking at his teammate with a smile.
“I can fly here, but I won’t be able to support the company in the cabin, because there is a plan to visit Antarctica.” I plan to be there for the entire month of December, and perhaps return to Saudi Arabia in January, but I have changed my mind more than once, so that everything is possible, “added Darius Vaičiulis.
After 100 kilometers of public roads from the finish line of the twelfth speed section, the last step awaited the Dakar participants. Everyone dreamed of a podium at the Dakar. After completing the second year of their stay in the Middle East, the participants took the podium to beat the Dakar Rally, considered the toughest desert race in the world. KREDA’s safari-style “fox” marked with the number 329 stood out in the hustle and bustle of technical sounds. Behind his wheel are Dakar legend Antanas Juknevičius, who finished for the 12th time, and his partner, navigator Darius Vaičiulis, who is storming the challenges of the fifth year..
Like three days in Saudi Arabia in one day
Three weeks full of challenges, adventures, emotions, dunes, sand, rocks, beautiful nature, many broken wheels, wandering around, shoveling buying sand and eating sand dust. Thus ended that Dakar story, filling in the blank pages of the history book. With 12 stages and 7,646 kilometers, of which more than 4,000 kilometers of framed tracks, the Dakar Adventure breakers spent about one day.
The KREDA team has not promised to stay in Saudi Arabia for a long time. A trip to Lithuania is already waiting for all Lithuanian crews on Saturday. Antanas Juknevičius together with the navigator Darius Vaičiulis will arrive in Vilnius on Saturday night at 10 pm. 30 minutes.
The KREDA team leader – Antanas Juknevičius is the most experienced The Lithuanian rider, in 2021, started his twelfth Dakar. Sand dunes and desert in keeping with its element, a racer named Dakar Punk is tris times betternęs The best result in the category of cars belonging to the Baltic countries. In 2018 Antanas Juknevičius is officially recognized by the organizers of the Dakar Rally Legend.
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