Van den Brink jumped up in the ranking after the marathon part

5.7.2021

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Just behind the elite five, the North Bohemian Renault from the MKR Technology workshop finished in the penultimate stage of the Silk Way Rally. Pilot Martin van den Brink and Kozlovský from Roudnice not only successfully tackled the marathon part, but improved by two places before the final stage as well.

"We have another wonderful stage behind us. We had the snow-capped peaks of the Altai Mountains in the background, we crossed beautifully clean rivers and, moreover, the car is running very reliably. We know that we have some reserves on the chassis, but unfortunately we are not able to do anything about it here and now, but it needs to be fine-tuned before next race. Otherwise, we can be satisfied," said Daniel Kozlovský, on-board truck technician of the Dutch Mammoet Rallysport team.

The Dutch-Czech crew managed the stage from Kosh-Agatch to Gorno-Altaisk in the sixth fastest time. The stage was extended by thirty kilometers, but the navigators were helped by the fact that they rode on similar mountain tracks as on the previous day. Russian pilot Sotnikov got third win this year, who is the overall leader and current Dakar champion is heading for another valuable victory. Van den Brink's crew improved by two places compared to the previous day and jumped to seventh position.

Only the final 5th stage is on the program of the 11th Silk Way Rally. The last special section returns to the route of the second special section. The first 50 kilometers of the route will be on winding trails, then the trucks will drive into a forest with mud and water, and after that they can finally accelerate on a sandy surface. The last kilometers lead along a bumpy gravel road. After the special section, there will be another 181 kilometers to the bivouac in Gorno-Altaisk to reach the final podium and the awards ceremony of this year's Silk Way Rally.

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