Pascal Enters Dakar’s Second Half of the Dakar on Eleventh Place
10.1.2016
The Dakar Rally is past the first racing week and Saturday’s stage seven opened its second half. So far the lead has been extremely even and the order, including the leader’s, changes everyday. Pilot of the Renault Trucks special Pascal de Baar finished on the fourteenth and left the elite ten with a tight margin. Sunday will be a well-deserved day off for the crews.
In stage seven from Uyuni to Salta, which took place in an altitude that exceeded four thousand meters, the crews had to tackle a special section consisting of three hundred and thirty-six kilometres. On the track they crossed the border, returning from Bolivia to Argentina, as well as several riverbeds. Many crews did not avoid accidents. However, Pascal de Baar was maintaining his position. In the finish he recorded the fourteenth fastest time. “We knew that an altitude like this is not ideal for our engine and that we have to work on it some more. That’s why we’re glad that Pascal finished the stage without trouble and on a good position. The greatest extreme is over now. We’ll be moving within three thousand meters now, so we’ll be able to push the truck even harder and I believe we can make it back to the elite ten to fulfil our goal at this year‘s Dakar. After all we’ve been through here it would be a great satisfaction,“ stated Mario Kress, chief constructor of the Renault Trucks racing special and boss of the whole MKR Adventure project.
In the mountains Pascal de Baar lost a little, dropping to an eleventh place in the overall ranking. However, there is an only five-minute gap between him and the eighth place, so the hope of fulfilling our goal is not in vain. In contrast, the leader’s position changes everyday. The mountains gave an opportunity to Kamaz trucks to show off and they occupied the first two places in the stage. The Russian Nikolaev was the winner. The Dutch Versluis got to the front of the overall ranking.
On Sunday the trucks are going to „enjoy“ a day off followed by a start of the final week with stage eight on Monday. “There are still six stages to go and anything can happen in that time. The Dakar is long and absolutely unpredictable. In the free day we’ll do everything to prepare the truck the best we can, to the last final episodes. Put bluntly, 'free' day is a very relative expression in this case,“ commented the North Bohemia’s constructor Mario Kress.
Monday’s stage from Salta to Belén stretches over seven hundred and sixty kilometres, including a special section of four hundred kilometres. During the stage the crews will experience sand dunes for the first time.
