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In the dramatic fight from the final stage to the last kilometer, B. Vanagas failed to overtake Christian Lavieille, who took eleventh place in the car standings after qualifying on Thursday. In the final classification, the Lithuanian was 11 minutes behind the rival.
Checked team capabilities
After finishing his fists with those around him, Vanags was happy that the Dakar was finally over this year. According to him, it was not the easiest rally marathon, but once again he proved the capabilities of the team.
“The car was very reliable and never took us away. It was our ninth Dakar or our ninth chance to get an even better result,” said the racer, adding that the real experience would come later, when thoughts come together after a long time. .
B. Vanagas and F. Palmeiro
The Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux also lost one of its spare wheels on the last stage. Vanagas, who was tired of the stony pavement, noted that this ride was not a true motor sport, but admitted that the conditions were the same for everyone.
“I don’t know, it will probably be necessary to agree with other Lithuanians and ask the organizer not to give so many stones next year,” he joked.
According to Palmeir, this Dakar was extremely complex and was not without navigation challenges. The navigator pointed out that sometimes even fighting to the end does not achieve the desired result.
Upon arrival, the crew addressed a solemn podium ceremony, after which the entire team will be prepared for transport by ship. On Saturday January 16, all Lithuanians will return to Vilnius in a plane commissioned by the Inbank Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics team.
Who won this year?
Stephane Peterhansel in the final stage did not have to squander his 15-minute lead over Toyota Gazoo Racing leader Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Al-Attiyah won 6 of the 11 speed sections this year, but in 2021 he repeated last year’s scenario and took second place in the overall car rankings. In third place was Carlos Sainz, another representative of the X-Raid Mini. Even the race organizers have been bothered by the Spanish heat this year.
Arūnas Gelažninkas became the winner of the “Original by Motul” or solitary class by competing without help. Before the decisive stage, the closest Lithuanian was more than 1 hour from the closest competitor.
A completely different situation arose in the general motorcycle classification, the winner of which was not clear until the end of the last speed section. Finally, the second consecutive victory for the Honda team was achieved by Argentine Kevin Benavides, among the ATVs, the fastest was Manuel Andujar with Yamaha.
In the truck classification, no one opposed the Kamaz team, which took the first three places. Dmitry Sotnikov won the race between them.
The ultimate test of patience
Participants in the 43rd rally marathon were further separated from the solemn dream finale of the last day by 447 kilometers, including the 200-kilometer sprint section. The stony stretches of hard pavement, sand and dunes demanded all the remains of resistance from the runners.
After taking a huge 8,000 kilometer lap in Saudi Arabia and returning to Jeddah, the athletes crossed the finish line near the Red Sea. For Dakar veterans, this image reminded us of a time when the race ended near Pink Lake in Senegal.
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