Today, Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon (Toyota Gazoo Racing) were the fastest in the motorcycle category, having achieved their first career Dakar Rally stage victory. The Lithuanian and Estonian crew lost to them in 11 minutes and 26 seconds.
“Although we started from 24th position and, as always, had to endure the dust, we managed to maintain a good pace in the last two thirds. We overtook several rivals and it seems that tomorrow (Tuesday) we will have a good starting position,” Vanagas he was happy when he spoke to delfi.lt after the stage.
“The car was handed over to the technicians and, most importantly, the car is practically intact. Driving in the bush, only the front grill was damaged, but this is just a cosmetic flaw,” Vanagas added.
After Moraes, Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist (Audi) took second place today, losing only nine seconds, and Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (Prodrive Hunter, +1.09) took third place.
The overall leader is Saudi Arabian rally driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Overdrive Racing). Carlos Sainz (Audi) loses to him by a total of 29 seconds. Al-Attiyah is fifth after Ekström and Moraes (+10.09). Vanagas and Sikk moved up to 15th place today (+38.25).
On Monday morning, Estonian rallying duo Urvo Männama and Risto Lepik, together with the Rally Raid Estonia team and Century Racing, made the difficult decision that this year their Dakar marathon will end after just two stages.
“It was a difficult and thoughtful decision. The first two tests and feedback from the field mechanics showed that some parts of this car would not stay together and it would be dangerous to race in difficult conditions. On the bright side, we can say that in in terms of speed and handling it is a very good car that can be driven fast and in high places. Even in the first attempt, when we looked at our times, we were surprised, because we did not drive beyond our capabilities,” said Männama.
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2024-01-08 14:54:37
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