Huzink is the moral winner of the 3rd stage

3.1.2023

In theory, Gert Huzink was the fastest pilot of the 3rd stage of the Dakar Rally. In reality, however, he was not celebrating the victory. The stage was shortened due to bad weather and the ranking was based on the last waypoint. But the Dutch pilot of the North Bohemian truck did not get into it.

The 45th edition of the famous long-distance competition has unfolded in a very special way for North Bohemian trucks from the very beginning. The first two stages were characterized by collisions and technical failures, and when the much-desired victory in the 3rd race test was close, a higher power intervened again. Huzink, who started from the back positions, started the stage with excellent performance. Right from the start, he was moving in the top three positions. He was competing for the fastest time with the Czech crew of Martin Macík. The Dutch rider was even in the lead with a gap of more than three minutes at the penultimate waypoint. But the weather played its part on Dakar. Due to heavy rains and a storm, the organizers ended the timed section early. The ranking was taken from the waypoints. However, only eight trucks passed the last WP8 at the kilometer 378. Gert Huzink, driving from behind, was naturally not among them. He stopped as the ninth truck at the previous waypoint at kilometer 335. The organizers therefore calculated that Martin Macík drove forty kilometers more and the stage lead went to the Czech pilot. But Huzink felt himself to be the moral winner. "It is simple. We were the fastest truck today. I feel we have more to show and today we showed what we can do. I have no doubt that we will be able to get a real victory," says Gert Huzink from the Dutch Riwald Dakar team.

Tuesday's 3rd stage from Alula to Ha'il had a total of almost six hundred kilometers. But the organizers shortened the timed section, so the crews moved to the bivouac. The North Bohemian trucks of Gert Huzink and Pascal de Baar drove without problems; they were classified in the ninth and eleventh positions. Adwin Hoondert as a quick assistance was slowed down this time by problems with the handbrake, so he was ranked 30th.

According to the preliminary results, Aleš Loprais leads the interim ranking. Pascal de Baar is twenty-fourth and three places behind him is Gert Huzink.

  Wednesday's stage 4 is loop going through the dunes, starting and ending at the bivouac in Ha'il. In total, the crews will have to tackle 425 kilometers of timed sections difficult to navigate.