Huzink back in the race

8.1.2021

A hybrid truck from North Bohemian Židovice returned big to the Dakar game. So all three special trucks from MKR Technology started the 5th stage of the famous rally and all three finished in a row.

"It was a great moment. We managed something unreal when we repaired the engine in these conditions. The engine seemed to be dead for good. I'm glad the way the two Riwald crews have coped with this. Before the stage, the boys polished each other's rear view mirrors and were making fun of each other, who will be in front and show his back to the others. This only shows that there is a great spirit on Dakar and that this is where every success begins. Maybe the competition is not going exactly as planned, but we are still not even halfway and we know where is a space for improvement," said Mario Kress, the chief designer of the three racing Renaults, and was very satisfied.

During the fifth race day, the crews moved from Riyadh to Al Qaisumah. In total, over six hundred and sixty kilometers were waiting for them. These included special section of almost four hundred and sixty kilometers. "It was a long rocky stage. Navigation in the first part was tricky. Then came treacherous dunes, where it is not possible to "surf" much, but there is a danger that if you drive too quickly, you would roll over. Martin's experience can be seen here. He drives more carefully and does not take unnecessary risks. We see that his truck has reserves, but we are not trying to squeeze them out," said Daniel Kozlovský, the on-board technician of the red Renault of the Mammoet Rallysport team. Martin van den Brink got to the finish line on twelfth position. His compatriot Gert Huzink from Riwald Dakar was excited after being forced not to race for two days, that for the whole stage he was between fifth and sixth place. Huzink was given permission to continue in Dakar out of overall ranking. However, he received a fifteen-minute penalty, which got him down to tenth place. The third of the trucks from MKR Technology with the pilot Pascal de Baar squeezed in the ranking just in between the other two Dutch trucks.

The leader of the overall classification, Sotnikov from Russia, only fortified his lead by winning the 5th stage. Van den Brink dropped from seventh to ninth and de Baar eventually improved to eleventh.

Before Saturday's day off, Friday's six hundred and twenty kilometers long 6^th stage from Al Qaisumah to Ha'il is on the menu. The special section will be almost four hundred and fifty kilometers long. Again, the organizers promise challenging sections in the sand and difficult course in the dunes. On the weekend, the competition will move to its second half.