Vanags almost found himself in the operating room before the Dakar – he hopes his shoulder won’t interfere with driving, but it will be difficult to lift something

Another COVID-19 test awaits the Dakar participants. Runners with negative results will already have a final ticket for Dakar, although there may be controls during the race itself.

No spa

For now, the teams are resting. As Benedict Vanagas said live on his Facebook account, he might even manage to rest and fall asleep.

“I left with the battery completely flickering. That is not good, but we have five days, somehow I should recover, “said Vanag, acknowledging that these days it would not only be necessary to put together driving tactics with Filipe Palmeiro and take the team out of the port and do the tests.

The plan is not to catch COVID-19.

There was a lot of stress before the trip, admits the pilot, because there was no lack of knowledge and had to take care of the plane rental. Inbank Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics took over the charter flight when it became clear that they would not be arriving in Saudi Arabia with the airlines.

The hotel in Jeddah has a pool and spa, but Vanags said the team wasn’t ready to use it: “The plan is not to catch COVID-19. We are 20, we would at least want some kind of force majeure. No, no, no, no spas, no pools, unless you accidentally launch. “

Prolonged pain

And while Benedict is reluctant to complain about his health, he admitted to having a chronic shoulder injury.

I have such an old shoulder issue, where I was even thinking of having surgery in Lithuania before I left, but I would not have managed to recover.

“I probably couldn’t call it a trauma, I have such an old issue on my shoulder, where I was already thinking about having surgery in Lithuania before I left, but I wouldn’t have been able to recover. I know I will have to hold onto my shoulder when I get back, but I don’t think so. that can have a very strong impact.

At least the movements that I need in the car do not fall very strongly in that range. If you need to move something, it will be a bit more complicated. But anyway, I think I’ll survive, “Vanags said from a hotel in Jeddah.

Has ridden with a broken arm

In January 2015, in Dakar, South America, Vanagu had a broken arm. “The eighth speed section is at 4 pm 22 min. 10 sec. We tentatively finished in 35th position. We are 21 in the general classification. A doll pierced his wrist. I already did an X-ray. I don’t promise to give up. I will put on a splint, relieve the pain with medication and continue driving, “said B. Vanagas after the finish line.

Later it was learned that the car had failed and the power steering was not working. “One hundred kilometers before the end of the first part of the stage, the power steering disappeared. When you are stationary in this car, it is impossible to move the steering wheel, and when you are driving at a lower speed – not a few dozen degrees, but when you develop a higher speed it just slips out of your hands. Going around the dunes, I could barely hold it.

Maybe a couple of miles before the end of the day, the steering wheel pushed back and my hand got stuck on the steering wheel. That moment darkened my eyes and I can’t remember a second or two. So the bad news is that I suffered a broken wrist. Even before the visit to the doctors, as soon as the glove was removed, it was clear that the wrist was swollen and not in a completely regular way, “said B. Vanagas after a hard day.

According to the runner, the trauma he suffered was accurately determined by the Dakar doctors who took an X-ray of his arm immediately after the finish. After her consultation, B. Vanagas decided to wear a splint and use pain relievers. That year, B. Vanagas and his co-driver Andrejs Rudnickis beat the Dakar by 36.