De Baar was flew just under the podium before the break

9.1.2023

The crew of pilot Pascal de Baar finished just short of the podium in the 8th stage of the Dakar Rally. The Dutch team of North Bohemian trucks from MKR Technology crossed the finish line in fourth place, just seven minutes behind the winner, with great enthusiasm.

"We have had a very good day and it was very nice to see how Pascal was doing on the track. While he lost about seven minutes on the stony part in the first half, he managed to make up six minutes on the sand in the second half. He flew over the dunes with such ease and confidence that even our rivals approached us after the stage with admiration. This was one of the most pleasant moments since the beginning of this year's Dakar," said chief designer Mario Kress with a spark in his eye.

As part of the Sunday program, the second part of the marathon stage continued, which this time the crews entered after a relatively good night's sleep. The eighth stage went from a soaked bivouac in Al Duwadimi, where the help of technicians was not allowed. The loop south of Al Duwadimi, originally planned for the previous day, was shortened to 345 kilometers to give the entire field time for the long road section leading to the bivouac in Riyadh. The first part of the competition stage was very rocky. De Baar entered it from sixth position. "It was very difficult not to get a puncture, but we managed it. At the end we ran into Janus van Kasteren, who wasn't so lucky with flat tyres," commented Pascal de Baar, who shone in the second part in the dunes. "The car worked absolutely brilliantly in the dunes, it felt and listened perfectly. We fought in the dunes with Martin Macík. Unfortunately, he was a bit faster, but he told us at the finish line that he was a little afraid of us, how fast we drove," said de Baar, who finished fourth, seven minutes behind the victorious Macík, with satisfaction.

In the overall ranking, de Baar jumped to seventeenth position. In front of him is his quick assist partner Adwin Hoondert. Aleš Loprais remains in the lead of the race.

The participants of this year's 45th edition of the legendary competition have a long-awaited day off in Riyadh on Monday. Monday will be especially hard for the technicians, who have to prepare the machinery as much as possible for the second half of the race, which starts again on Tuesday.