The last stage about figure one
15.1.2022
This year's 44th Dakar Rally ended the last 12th stage with the figures one and one. Pilot Pascal de Baar passed the final stage in the 11th fastest time and successfully got his Renault to the finish line in Jeddah. In the final ranking, after all the issues, he climbed to fourteenth place.
The last 12th stage took the crews from Bisha to the city of Jeddah, from where the starting field left this year two weeks ago. In summary, the entire field had to travel almost seven hundred kilometers. Although the timed special section was just over one hundred and sixty kilometers, anything could still happen. The Dakar is unpredictable. The crew of Pascal de Baar passed the finish line just behind the elite ten. He was ten minutes behind the victorious Russian Dmitry Sotnikov, who has shown his supremaczy during this year and became the winner of the 44th edition with almost a ten-minute lead. Pascal de Baar is fourteenth in the final ranking. "We wanted to finish in the top ten. In this respect we have failed, but we can certainly enjoy many things. Both trucks, that we have deployed, drove reliably and the crews were satisfied with them. Unfortunately, we had several incidents that ruined our dream, but the team struggled and I'm happy with the style we have reached the finish line," said Mario Kress, who prepared two Renault racing special trucks for Dutch drivers Gert Huzink and Pascal de Baar for this year's Dakar with his MKR Technology team. The former had to withdraw from the race three days before the finish after a serious accident. His chassis was severely damaged. Only Pascal de Baar remained in the game and successfully brought his truck to the finish in Jeddah.
The teams said goodbye to the rally with the traditional climb to the final ceremonial ramp prepared on the Formula 1 racing circuit in Jeddah. While in previous years the crews enjoyed this moment together with their team of technicians and thus they all wrapped the race in unforgettable way after two demanding weeks, this time the situation was different. Only the crews were allowed on the podium. "It was a great pity and the boys were very disappointed. The Dakar is extremely challenging for everyone. The boys only sleep a few hours a day and are literally looking forward to the moment. It is also such a thank you, because to experience this atmosphere is simply so unique. They all did a great job, for which I thank them. Although the Dakar was not what we wanted it to be, the technology held, the cars proved to be competitive, the fighting spirit and commitment of everyone was fantastic, but the overall result on the Dakar requires a good deal of luck. And we did not have it. But I believe that the stars will help us one day and we will come for the desired result," added Mario Kress, chief designer of the MKR Technology team, with typical determination.
