Van den Brink in the top ten, Huzink betrayed by his engine

5.1.2021

Martin van den Brink with on-board technician Daniel Kozlovsky from Roudnice finished the 2nd stage of the Dakar Rally again in the elite ten. But this time not only good news came from Saudi Arabia. The closely watched hybrid truck with Gert Huzink leaves the competition prematurely. The crew in the dunes was betrayed by the engine.

"This is simply every team's nightmare. You develop, prepare and the machinery all year round, and then such disappointment comes and the chances for success are gone. At the same time, we were happy with how everything worked and went. I have no words, it's sad. The exact time when this happens, is not important. Even if it was later, it's bad luck that no one wanted. We could have at least more data that could help prevent something like this next time. Unfortunately, it is still just machinery, which giving more than one hundred percent output on the Dakar and it suffers like a beast. I don't want to look for excuses, I'm upset because our goal is to build a machine that can handle these extreme conditions better than our competitors," said Mario Kress, chief designer of the MKR Technology team.

The second stage of the Dakar Rally from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir had a total of just over six hundred and twenty kilometers. The timed section, almost four hundred and sixty kilometers long, went practically entirely on sand, and the first dunes came at the beginning. And it was there, when the engine of the hybrid Renault failed. "There is nothing you can do on the spot. The boys have to tow the truck so we can find out the cause of its failure," said Mario Kress.

While Gert Huzink of the Riwald Dakar team lost his chance for a good position, his compatriot Martin van den Brink, with on-board mechanic Daniel Kozlovský from Roudnice is still fighting for a good position. The crew of the red truck of the Mammoet Rallysport team crossed the finish line in ninth position. The fastest was again Russian Dmitry Sotnikov with a Kamaz. He claimed second victory on the second day. The third of the trucks from Židovice, led by Pascal de Baar, arrived thirteenth. However, he arrived at the bivouac with a cracked windshield as he hit a tree branch at high speed. "The stage was long. At the beginning we lost about five minutes due to navigation, otherwise we drove without any problems. We kept pace according to the plan and we are gradually trying to accelerate," said Daniel Kozlovský, technician of the MKR Technology team.

The overall classification is led by Rus Sotnikov. Van den Brink is in ninth place, de Baar is thirteenth.

Tuesday's 3^rd stage is a loop that begins and ends in Wadi Ad-Dawasir, where a bivouac will stand for two days, which makes the life for technicians a bit easier. From almost six hundred and thirty kilometers, the timed section measures just over four hundred kilometers. Thanks to its sandy surface and treacherous dunes, the crews can struggle a lot and the first major gaps in the classification are expected.