Van Kasteren got his result of a lifetime

16.1.2019

Janus van Kasteren, the Dutch driver of the North-Bohemian Renault truck, scored his best Dakar result in the 8th stage. In this difficult stage he finished on sixth position and overall is still just behind the top ten. With just stages to go, overall classification has a new leader.

            "Janus is getting better every day, and this time he has done a great result and I have no doubt that he can still improve it. Dakar is not getting any easier, but vice versa. The last part will be very difficult, so you need to keep focus and not make a mistake, "said Mario Kress, designer of Van Kasteren's truck.

            The eighth stage from San Juan de Marcona to Pisco was nearly five hundred and eighty kilometres long, and the were racing against time on three hundred and sixty-six kilometres. Russian driver Sotnikov has had a fantastic ride and finished more than 20 minutes ahead of the second driver van Genugten. And in this stage, Dutch pilot Janus van Kasteren, who is driving MKR Technology cab-over-engine version of Renault from Židovice got his result of a lifetime. Van Kasteren finished with a loss of exactly three quarters of an hour to the winning Sotnikov. After his Tuesday ride, the Russian rider got into overall lead of the race, with the former leader Nikolaev arriving an hour behind, which completely changed the situation between the first and the the second. Sotnikov has now almost a half an hour margin. Sixth Van Kasteren is hanging just behind the top ten in eleventh position.

            However, there are more crews on the course fighting in their second chance. In the so-called "little Dakar", the competitors are classified together. Pilot of the North Bohemian truck Gert Huzink got fourth best time between the trucks, when Martin Macík was the best again. 

            There last two tests to go to Peruvian capital. The penultimate 9th stage has a start and finish in Pisco, measuring four hundred kilometres, where special sections take slightly over three hundred.