Two Stages Left to The Finish The Alliance

16.1.2015

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There are only two stages left before the 37th stage of the world’s most famous and toughest rally ends. However, five crews onboard the trucks with technological support of our team have promising positions and hopefully will step up the final Dakar Rally 2015 podium together. Nothing changed either after the 11th stage, in which Martin van den Brink finished on eighth position and the remaining four of the trucks from the Czech-Dutch alliance arrived only a little later.

„The past two weeks have been incredibly difficult for us and we had to cope with a number of unexpected situations. But most importantly, none of the complications has made us stop the race prematurely, though we were close to wrapping things up. We’re now in a stage when we can hardly move up the overall ranking but it would make no sense to take any risks. I don’t want to speak to soon but the main goal, getting to the finish, should be fulfilled,“ told us Daniel Kozlovský, tired but optimistic about the idea of successfully completing his mission. He and his truck’s pilot Artur Ardavichus crossed the finish line of stage eleven on eighteenth position, ten minutes after the winning Stacey from Netherlands.

Overall, Dutch racers were very successful in the eleventh stage from Salta to Termas Rio Honda, as they managed to take by surprise Russian pilots on Kamaz trucks. There were five pilots from the Netherlands in the top ten, including Martin van den Brink from the Mammoet Rallysport team on the racing special constructed in our technology centre. The winner Stacey was followed by the former Dakar winner De Rooy with the loss of two minutes. Tomáš Vrátný completed the two-hundred-kilometre timed special exactly ten minutes after the winner and occupied seventeenth place. Right after him came Ardavichus and Kozlovký. Third Bonver Dakar Project team mate, Poland’s Szustkowski, was classified on twenty-first rank. Van den Brink’s „assistant“ Pascal de Baar came to the finish on twenty-fifth place.

Eventually, the eleventh stage did not have any influence on the overall ranking. Russia’s Mardeev is still in the lead. The best driver of the Czech-Dutch Bonver Dakar Project and Mammoet Rallyport alliance equipped with our engines is Tomáš Vrátný on position fourteen, immediately followed by Martin van den Brink. “Dakar requires mainly a great portion of luck. We didn’t have much of it, but racing in the truck that Mario Kress built for us is pure joy. The truck is running and fit, which is the cornerstone of success. We know what we would like to improve and what we need to work on. The debut has definitely been successful,“ praises the Dutch pilot van den Brink the racing special from the north of the Czech Republic.

Considering the nature of the remaining two timed tests we can not expect any major changes in the overall ranking. “However, Dakar is unpredictable. Anything can happen; moreover, the penultimate stage is the longest of this year’s race,“ says Dandy with a down-to-earth approach, when he reminded us of the fact that the twelfth episode on the distance from Termas Rio Hondo to Rosario that stretches over 1,024 km. This time, the special measures three hundred kilometres. “It’s apparent we’re returning to Argentina. The track is lined by fans. People here genuinely live the Dakar Rally. The atmosphere is truly fantastic,“ added the always smiling executive manager of our team Klára Kress.

Results - trucks – stage 11: 1. Stacey (NED) Iveco 2:08:11, 2. De Rooy (NED) Iveco +1:10, 3. Nikolaev (RUS) Kamaz +1:56, 4. Viazovich (BLR) MAZ +2:00, 5. Van Vliet (NED) MAN +3:07, 6. Kolomý (CZE) Tatra +3:17, 7. Loprais (CZE) MAN +3:49, 8. van den Brink (NED) Renault +3:57, 17. Vrátný (CZE) Tatra +10:00, 18. Ardavichus/Kozlovský (KAZ/CZE) Tatra +10:06, 21. Szustkowski (POL) Tatra +14:19, 25. de Baar (NED) Renault Trucks +16:21.

Overall ranking: 1. Mardeev (RUS) Kamaz 38:24:13, 2. Nikolaev (RUS) Kamaz +11:11, 3. Karginov (RUS) Kamaz +47:44, 4. Loprais (CZE) MAN +1:21:53, 5. Sotnikov (RUS) Kamaz +2:24:16, 7. Kolomý (CZE) Tatra +4:04:19, 14. Vrátný (CZE) Tatra +9:20:44, 15. van den Brink (NED) Renault Trucks +9:47:12, 18. Szustkowski (POL) Tatra +12:01:37, 22. Ardavichus/Kozlovský (KAZ/CZE) Tatra +16:42:56, 30. de Baar (NED) Renault Trucks +27:53:32.

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