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“It’s good that this two-day nightmare is finally over,” E. Juškauskas breathed more calmly after the end.
It all went in the wrong direction when the Toyota Hilux’s forward gear collapsed 70 kilometers before the finish line on the first day of the marathon. Normally this wouldn’t cause too much trouble – expert mechanics can replace this unit in less than an hour, but this time they had to translate without their skills.
The problems happened
The day of the marathon turned such a failure into a serious crisis, as the runners engaged in repairs themselves using parts and tools that they brought in the car.
E.Juškauskas was saved in a difficult situation by the fact that athletes can accept the help of other participants of the rally marathon. Finally, we were able to get a tidy reducer and change the part in consultation with the team technicians over the phone.
Another problem arose: I had to change a front wheel hinge and hope that the bent bolts would resist it while driving carefully.
“The hinge pins bent from the impact to the front wheel and even though we changed the hinge, we drove with the pins bent, which could break at any moment. We overcome the stony sections as retirees, with great security, ”commented the runner.
Tore stretches of sand
The Lithuanian crew made their way to the sand-covered sections and drove there at their own pace. That was enough for the duo to not only hold 25th position in the overall standings, but also to increase the lead of Antanas Juknevičius, who is one place behind, to 10 minutes.
Remembering the tension that lasted until late at night on Sunday, A. Palukėnas stated that after evaluating the circumstances, everything ended very well.
“Yesterday we lost about 50 minutes when the gearbox broke down, but even that loss of time is not a tragedy in Dakar. Of course, we regret these things, but you will not do anything anymore, ”said the co-driver.
The main objective, to reach the finish line on the second day of the marathon, the Lithuanian drivers will deliver the Toyota Hilux car to the team mechanics who are already waiting. After a thorough inspection and necessary repairs, the crew will be able to continue the rally marathon without risking losing the wheels.
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