Both crews finish totally satisfied

8.1.2022

Elite five again! The Dutch driver of the North Bohemian truck of the MKR Technology team, Gert Huzink, finished the 6th stage of the Dakar Rally in the fifth fastest time the day before the day off and is showing the qualities of his hybrid special truck. His colleague Pascal de Baar was also successful, so both Renaults are now in top 20 in the overall standings.

During Friday's 6th stage, the crews had almost three hundred and fifty kilometers of special sections waiting for them, and they spent another more than two hundred at the loop to and from the bivouac in Riyadh. "The goal was to finish in the top ten again. Yesterday's misfortune broke us a bit, because we had to fight our way back from behind and therefore go in the dust. But we didn't give up and we fought. Thanks to that, we overtook a lot of cars and trucks, and as soon as we got to the dunes, everyone was there on their own. The technicians made several adjustments and the truck worked very well," the fifth fastest pilot Gert Huzink, who in the end pleased many fans, was happy again. "We literally flew over several smaller dunes at the end, so we gave a large number of fans a nice spectacle. The fifth place is therefore a well-deserved reward for all of us," said Huzink.

So the wish of the lead designer Mario Kress for satisfaction of both crews at the same was fulfilled. The pilot of the second Chvalín Renault, Pascal de Baar, also did very well. After his accident, when the technicians had to almost restore his truck and yesterday's careful driving, he finished just behind the elite ten. "Mario suggested that we should try drive all out again. He checked the truck and it held really well yesterday, so we tried it. We soon overtook several trucks, and considering Gert's great result, today was a perfect day. In addition, we will now enjoy a day off," smiles Pascal de Baar on stage 13.

The podium of the 6th stage was completely identical to the previous stage on Thursday - Russian Karginov won, ahead of Sotnikov and Nikolaev. Sotnikov with Kamaz is still in the lead. Gert Huzink is in 15th place and Pascal de Baar jumped into top 20 and is currently in 19th place.

Coveted day off in Riyadh for the participants is here. However, the technicians from MKR Technology will not get much rest during this day, because a complete service and maintenance of the trucks and their best preparation for the second half of the Dakar is on the menu for them. Dakar will continue with Sunday's seven-hundred-kilometer 7th stage from Riyadh to Al Dawadimi. The measured part will be four hundred kilometers. Dakar is entering an uncharted territory. After the rest day, the crews will be crossing an almost endless sequence of ergs, i.e.  sandy desert of moving dunes. The labyrinth of tracks will be another decent test.