Huzink enjoyed the pursuit
3.1.2022
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Less than half an hour was the gap between both North Bohemian Renaults and the winner of the 2nd Dakar stage. The Dakar was heavily affected by rain, which required a change in the program. Instead of the marathon part, the crews moved to the next bivouac, which both crews were happy about, and Gert Huzink took full advantage of this.
"Thanks to the fact that a team of technicians will be waiting in the bivouac compared to the original plan, the boys could go all out today. After yesterday's problems, Gert made the most of it, starting way back in the field, but the goal was to get as close to the top ten as possible. And that went well when he finally worked his way to thirteenth position. This is much better with regard to next starts," said Mario Kress from MKR Technology, lead truck designer of the Dutch team Riwald Dakar.
Technicians from MKR Technology managed to perform a complete service on a damaged hybrid special truck overnight and repair the broken pipe to the intercooler, which stopped Gert's truck in the first stage. Huzink visibly enjoyed the chase. "We drove fast and smoothly without taking any risks. We started way in the back and thanks to that I saw a lot of colleagues in trucks that I could wave at as we were overtaking them. I am very pleased with today's result," said Dutch pilot Gert Huzink with a smile.
His colleague Pascal de Baar was not so excited. "It was a difficult ride for me today. The track was very beat up and bumpy. Personally, I rode on the threshold of pain and sometimes even a little over it," said Pascal de Baar, who passed the finish line on fifteenth place.
The Kamaz quartet with the fastest Karginov led the charge. Russian Sotnikov is the overall leader. Pascal de Baar is 11th and Huzink has jumped to 21st.
Instead of the original plan, the crews moved straight to the bivouac in Al Quaisumah, from where they will leave for the 3rd stage on Tuesday. The stage is a loop over six hundred kilometers long with two hundred and fifty kilometers of timed sections.
