Both trucks started the Dakar in the top ten

1.1.2022

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A pair of North Bohemian trucks of Mario Kress started the 44th annual Dakar Rally in the top ten. The pilot of the hybrid special truck Gert Huzink finished sixth, his colleague de Baar finished tenth.

"The prologue was difficult and, as we have seen at others, mistakes were common. For us, however, the initial test in very fine sand and the first dunes turned out very well. Our goal is to be in the top ten, so it's a good start for us," said Mario Kress from MKR Technology, chief designer of the Renault Renault racing team.

On the first day, before coming onto the ceremonial podium, the crews set out on a route from Jeddah to Hail over six hundred kilometers long. There they had to tackle nineteen-kilometer timed sprint on a clear sandy bed with dunes. The crews ascended to a height of almost 400 m above sea level. The stage was dominated by four Russian trucks – Nikolaev, Sotnikov, Karginov and Shibalov. The Dutchman Gert Huzink with the North Bohemian Renault lost half a minute and is in the sixth position. His colleague Pascal de Baar is in tenth place with a gap of forty eight seconds.

The whole racing field then headed for a long journey to Ha'il, where the participants went onto a large starting podium for Sunday's 1B stage. It will be a mountain loop in the north of Saudi Arabia and will be especially challenging for navigation. The trucks will have to cover over five hundred kilometers. Magic number of 333 kilometers will be timed.

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